The 2024 edition of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) is officially in the books, with it proving to be the biggest edition of the fest since back in 2019. You see, like many other festivals, TIFF was hard hit by a variety of things, including the pandemic, which made the 2020 a stay-at-home edition and the 2021 one a hybrid, while in 2022, folks were still somewhat wary of being at a festival in person. 2023 was almost a big year until the SAG-AFTRA/ WGA Strikes meant there was very little talent on the red carpet, greatly affecting their usual star-studded lineup.

However, this year TIFF seemed to be back and stronger than ever, with no shorter of star power and movies you’ll no doubt be hearing about in the months to come. While Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck won the prestigious TIFF People’s Choice Award, now is the time for us here at JoBlo to give our own picks for the best of the fest (and check out all our reviews HERE)!

The Brutalist

Former actor turned director Brady Corbet has put himself in the higher echelon of working directors with The Brutalist, his 3.5-hour post-WWII epic shot in 70mm. It stars Adrien Brody in his best role since The Pianist. A24 picked this one up for theatrical distribution, and it seems like a sure-fire Oscar contender for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Brody), Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce), and Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones).

The Wild Robot

Our own Steve Seigh was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of this at the Roy Thompson Hall gala screening, and he hasn’t stopped raving about it since, with him saying that it’s the finest movie Dreamworks Animation has ever been involved in.

The Apprentice

This wasn’t an official part of the TIFF lineup, with it an eleventh-hour addition at a special private screening arranged for critics and “tastemakers.” I was lucky enough to attend for JoBlo, and found this to be a highly entertaining account of how Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) rose to power in the seventies and eighties. Jeremy Strong is awards-worthy in his depiction of infamous Trump fixer Roy Cohn.

Saturday Night

This frenzied account of the chaotic ninety minutes just before the airing of the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live ranks as director Jason Reitman’s best movie since Up in Air. Made by (and for) SNL super fans, the amazing young cast helped make this one of the most purely entertaining movies I saw at the festival this year. 

Conclave

Ralph Fiennes stars in this drama about a papal election in the Vatican and all the backstabbing done by seemingly pious men of God to achieve perhaps the most powerful position in the world. Fiennes is incredible as the driven Cardinal who, despite his own crisis of faith, is determined to make sure only the most worthy candidate becomes Pope.

The Substance

This wild body horror movie won TIFF’s Midnight Madness top prize, and I’m not a bit surprised. Despite a lengthy 150-minute running time, you likely won’t see a faster-paced, more effective (and gory) horror flick any time soon, with Demi Moore having the best role of her career as an aging starlet who makes a Faustian bargain to become young again.

Better Man

A unique biopic of the legendary UK pop star Robbie Williams. How unique is it? Well, Robbie Williams is actually played by a WETA-designed CGI chimpanzee. Sound crazy? It is, but what’s even crazier is how well the gimmick works with this one of the most entertaining biopics I’ve ever seen. 

The Order

The fact-based thriller, revolving around the rise of a right wing militia bent on domestic terrorism in the 1980s went under-the-radar a bit at TIFF. That’s too bad because Jude Law gives one of the best performances of his career as a heroic, determined FBI agent looking to take down the organization before it’s too late. 

Friendship

I Think You Should Leave star Tim Robinson makes his big-screen debut with his potential cult classic starring him as a suburbanite who develops the bro-crush to end all bro-crushes on his new neighbour, played by the always great Paul Rudd. I haven’t laughed so hard during a movie in a long, long time. 

The Life of Chuck

While I don’t think Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation is quite the masterpiece some are saying it is, it’s still a very affectionate, sweet-natured movie, with this very much in line with the feel-good side of King’s work. This is much more like Stand By Me or The Shawshank Redemption than The Shining or Carrie. 

The post Our 10 Favorite Movies From The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival appeared first on JoBlo.

Only eight months after the last Emmy ceremony (which was delayed due to the strikes), the Primetime Emmy Awards are back, although there were some big surprises in store. Everyone (myself included) expected The Bear to own every category it was nominated in. While it did well, winning many big categories including Best Actor in a Comedy Series, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, it lost Best Comedy Series (and actress) to Hacks.

Netflix’s controversial limited series Baby Reindeer also cleaned up, nabbing awards for star and creator Richard Gadd plus co-star Jessica Gunning. But, FX was the evening’s big winner, with their epic series, Shogun, dominating the drama categories, with the great Hiroyuki Sanada winning the prize for Best Actor, and Anna Sawai taking Best Actress, alongside the show’s Best Drama win. It’s amazing to see how Shogun’s become an absolute phenomenon, with the show recently being reconfigured from a limited series to an ongoing drama (check out our preview of Season 2 here).

Here are all the winners:

Best Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary (ABC) 
The Bear (FX)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO/Max)
Hacks (HBO/Max)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
Reservation Dogs (FX)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Best Drama Series

The Crown (Netflix)
Fallout (Prime Video)
The Gilded Age (HBO)
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
Shogun (FX)
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
3 Body Problem (Netflix)

Best Limited or Anthology Series

Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Fargo (FX)
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Ripley (Netflix)
True Detective: Night Country (HBO)

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, FX)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO/Max)
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building, Hulu)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building, Hulu)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear, FX)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs, FX)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary, ABC)
Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, FX)
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building, Hulu) 
Maya Rudolph (Loot, Apple)
Jean Smart (Hacks, HBO/Max)
Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale, Apple) 

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Idris Elba (Hijack, Apple)
Donald Glover (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Prime Video)
Walton Goggins (Fallout, Prime Video)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses, Apple) 
Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun, FX)
Dominic West (The Crown, Prime Video)

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show, Apple)
Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age, HBO/Max)
Maya Erskine (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Prime Video)
Anna Sawai (Shogun, FX) 
Imelda Staunton (The Crown, Netflix)
Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show, Apple)

Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie

Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers, Showtime)
Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Netflix)
Jon Hamm (Fargo, FX)
Tom Hollander (Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, FX)
Andrew Scott (Ripley, Netflix)

Best Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie

Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country, HBO/Max)
Brie Larson (Lessons in Chemistry, Apple) 
Juno Temple (Fargo, FX)
Sofía Vergara (Griselda, Netflix) 
Naomi Watts (Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, FX)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 

Lionel Boyce (The Bear, FX)
Paul W. Downs (Hacks, HBO/Max)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, FX)
Paul Rudd (Only Murders in the Building, Hulu)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary, ABC)
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live, NBC)

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 

Carol Burnett (Palm Royale, Apple TV+)
Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear, FX)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks, HBO/Max)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary, ABC)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary, ABC)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building, Hulu)

Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Jonathan Bailey (Fellow Travelers, Showtime)
Robert Downey Jr. (The Sympathizer, HBO/Max)
Tom Goodman-Hill (Baby Reindeer, Netflix)
John Hawkes (True Detective: Night Country, HBO/Max)
Lamorne Morris (Fargo, FX)
Lewis Pullman (Lessons in Chemistry, Apple TV+)
Treat Williams (Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, FX)

Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Dakota Fanning (Ripley, Netflix)
Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge, Hulu)
Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer, Netflix)
Aja Naomi King (Lessons in Chemistry, Apple TV+)
Diane Lane (Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, FX)
Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer, Netflix)
Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country, HBO/Max)

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Christine Baranski (The Gilded Age, HBO/Max)
Nicole Beharie (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown, Netflix)
Greta Lee (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Lesley Manville (The Crown, Netflix)
Karen Pittman (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Holland Taylor (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Tadanobu Asano (Shogun, FX)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Jon Hamm (The Morning Show, Apple TV+)
Takehiro Hira (Shogun, FX)
Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Apple TV+)
Jonathan Pryce (The Crown, Netflix)

Best Talk Series

The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)

Best Reality Competition Series

The Amazing Race (CBS)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Traitors (Peacock)
The Voice (NBC)

Any of the Emmy wins surprise you? Let us know in the comments!

The post The 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards: Shogun and Baby Reindeer win big, but The Bear loses Best Comedy Series to Hacks appeared first on JoBlo.

Sometimes you just have to let sleeping dogs – or One-Eyed Willy – lie. Next year, The Goonies will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. But don’t expect a sequel to The Goonies, as one is neither in development nor being considered, according to two cast members from the original 1985 movie.

Word about a sequel to The Goonies has been swirling about the rumor mill this past week, but both Corey Feldman (“Mouth”) and Martha Plimpton (Andy’s best friend Stef) have sent those misconceptions to walk the plank. As Plimpton wrote on Instagram, “People, there is no Goonies 2 script, there is no one ‘attached’, Spielberg is not directing, it’s not real,” before encouraging people to vote. Feldman (who has been against the idea since Richard Donner’s death), meanwhile, posted on X earlier in the week, “2’SDAY, IS #GOONIES2 REAL?! EVERY1 IS ASKING…I CAN OFFICIALLY TELL U 100% NO! I HAV NO INFO THAT A SEQUEL IS IN THE WORX,” before encouraging people to see a movie of his that is 20 years old.

But Sean Astin (Mikey) has done absolutely nothing to stop fans from getting their hopes up about a Goonies sequel, retweeting a mock poster for a follow-up called Goonies Are Good Enough purported to be directed by Steven Spielberg and writing, “It’s our time. C’mon, Steven…”

We all know that nostalgia is all the rage, but 40 years later, is a sequel to The Goonies necessary or just something to work that little itch? You could easily generate a plot where Mikey has to save his own home from foreclosure while the kids of the original Goonies get into adventures to help…but if I can come up with that on the fly while writing, then it’s probably not worth making it into a movie. And anyway, we’ve seen how legacy sequels have gone with the Ghostbusters movies…

Just to play along, here’s my plot idea for a Goonies sequel: the original Goonies cast has to work together to keep pesky fans of the original off of the property of the famous Astoria, Oregon house. The twist is that they can’t help but adopt their characters’ personas, so there will still be plenty of mothermouthing, boobytrapping and truffle shuffling. C’mon, Steven…

What are your thoughts on a sequel to The Goonies? Could it ever be good enough or is it just too late?

The post The Goonies cast says die on rumors of a sequel appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A suburban dad (Tim Robinson) becomes hellbent on being BFFs with his charismatic new neighbour (Paul Rudd).

REVIEW: Confession time – this movie is my introduction to Tim Robinson. Sure, I’ve had folks name-drop his show I Think You Should Leave, and it’s always been on my list of stuff to check out. But, I walked into this more-or-less fresh, not knowing what to expect. What I got was one of the most cringe-inducing comedies I’ve ever seen – and I loved every second of it.

To be sure, this kind of humour isn’t for everyone. There were times while I was watching Friendship in the (jam-packed) TIFF screening that I’m sure I annoyed the people sitting next to me by how many times I sunk in my seat, covering my face with my hands and repeating “no, no, no” louder than I should. That’s the effect this had on me.

In it, Tim Robinson plays a painful, awkward suburbanite who, despite his many foibles, has somehow managed to land a gorgeous wife (Kate Mara) who puts up with his madness and seems to have a good, if evil, job designing ways to get people addicted to apps on their phone. His whole world changes when a TV weatherman, Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd), moves in next door and takes an interest in him.

Rudd, for his part, weaponizes his cool guy charisma. Almost everyone reading this probably wants to be best friends with Rudd, so we get why Robinson wants to impress him so much. The film starts off as a quasi-charming bromance in the vein of a more indie-flavoured I Love You Man before becoming something more radical.

Friendship is the kind of movie indie distributors should be fighting over because, more than anything else I’ve seen at TIFF this year, it seems to have a chance to become the kind of cult comedy its fans watch repeatedly. While it’s horrifically uncomfortable to watch at times, it’s also hilarious, with instantly quotable dialogue (watching Robinson’s character get crazy excited over the MCU will go viral) and characters – such as a teenage drug dealer named T-Boy, cool folks might start dressing up as for screenings. 

It’s also surprisingly nuanced about how hard it is to make friends as an adult male. Indeed, we’re not always wired that way, with our natural inclination as we get older being to hibernate with our families. It’s not true for everyone, but some folks watching this will relate to how Robinson’s character develops a bro crush on Rudd and wants to be instant best buds, even if the way he goes about it is certifiably insane.

The supporting cast is good, too, with Kate Mara both warm and funny in an offhand way throughout the movie. She gets to be more three-dimensional than usual for a movie like this, with her having both agency and a sense of humour. I also loved It’s Jack Dylan Glazer as Robinson’s cool son whose uncomfortably warm relationship with his hot mom is good fodder for even more uncomfortable laughs. 

Hopefully, someone will snap up Friendship, as it rocked the house at TIFF’s Midnight Madness (it was the runner-up in its TIFF awards category). Director Andrew DeYoung (Our Flag Means Death) directs this with real flair, with Keegan Dewitt’s score also impressive. Heck, it’s hard not to love a movie that opens with a synth wave riff on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s theme for Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. If that last line there made you chuckle, then this is the movie for you. It’s niche, but I think in a couple of years the Friendship cult will grow and grow. 

TIFF

GREAT

8

The post Friendship (TIFF) Review: We Just Saw The Next Great Cult Comedy appeared first on JoBlo.

The weekend box office numbers have begun rolling in, and it looks like Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice held up much better than anyone (except us) expected in week two. According to Deadline, the popular sequel grossed $51.6 million this weekend, which is the second-best sophomore weekend for a fall movie since It back in 2017. Notably, the film only dipped 54% this weekend, a strong hold for a movie that opened north of $100 million. 

With a $188 million domestic total, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seems certain to end its domestic run with a $250 million-plus final gross. It is another winner for Warner Bros, who are having a good year. Wonka, Dune: Part Two, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire were all major worldwide hits, with only their underrated Furiosa and Horizon: Chapter 1 box office misfires for them this year. They also have Joker: Folie a Deux coming up in a few weeks, which should be another hit, even if the buzz has been muted after the movie was met with a surprisingly chilly reception from critics in Venice. 

Universal and Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil opened within expectations, making $11.5 million, which isn’t that far off from what their movies Night Swim and Imaginary opened with earlier this year. This dark remake of the Danish horror film is targeted at an older audience, with its R-rating, and reviews have been largely positive (our own Tyler Nichols enjoyed it), so word of mouth should be good. Given that the studio is thrifty with their budgets, Speak No Evil should be a solid moneymaker for them.

However, the weekend’s other big new release, The Killer’s Game with Dave Bautista, is shaping up to be Lionsgate’s third massive flop in a row (following Borderlands and The Crow), only grossing $2.6 million (good enough for sixth place). Given how it was financed, The Killer’s Game isn’t even playing in Canada. It is likely destined for a streaming debut in a few months, similar to what happened with The League of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Lucky for them, their horror flick, Never Let Go, opens next week and is getting solid buzz. Horror seems to be a good genre for them, with The Strangers: Chapter 1 also a moneymaker earlier this summer. 

While Deadpool and Wolverine added $5.2 million to its coffers in third place (for a massive $621.5 million total), the rest of the top five was dominated by two specialty releases, the Matt Walsh documentary Am I Racist? and the biopic, Reagan, which has proven to be a sleeper hit. Am I Racist? is The Daily Wire’s first wide theatrical release, and the $4.75 million opening is pretty solid, although it’ll be interesting to see whether or not it’s front-loaded at the box office. 

Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th President of the United States, has proven to be surprisingly popular. While critics largely disliked it (it has a deadly 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences have turned this one into a pretty big sleeper hit, earning another $2.96 million this weekend towards a $23 million gross. While that may not sound like a huge number, this is big for a lower-key, grassroots release. 

Meanwhile, Alien: Romulus crossed the magic $100 million mark at the domestic box office, making it only the second movie in the franchise (after Prometheus) to do so. That said, both Alien and Aliens, adjusted for inflation would easily surpass that number, having been major hits in their time. The Blake Lively romantic drama It Ends With Us has started wrapping up its run, making just over $2 million this weekend for an eighth-place finish and a $144 million domestic total. It was neck-and-neck with Sony’s faith-based, The Forge, which has earned $24.1 million so far. Another faith-based movie, God’s Not Dead: In Good We Trust, rounded out the top 10, making $1.46 million. Further down the list, A24’s The Front Room plummeted a whopping 73% at the box office, with only $427K in grosses over the weekend (according to Exhibitor Relations).

Do you think Lionsgate’s Never Let Go will finally break that studio’s losing streak at the box office? Let us know in the comments. 

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The winners for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival have been announced, with Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck taking home the People’s Choice Award.

Check out the full list of winners below:

People’s Choice Award: The Life of Chuck, dir. Mike Flanagan 

People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award: The Substance, dir. Coralie Fargeat

People’s Choice Documentary Award: The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, dir. Mike Downie

Short Cuts Award for Best International Film: Deck 5B, dir. Malin Ingrid Johansson 

Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Film: Are You Scared To Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail?, dir. Bec Pecaut

FIPRESCI Award: Mother Mother, dir. K’naan Warsame

NETPAC Award: The Last of the Sea Women, dir. Sue Kim

Best Canadian Discovery Award: Universal Language, dir. Matthew Rankin

Best Canadian Feature Film Award: Shepherds, dir. Sophie Deraspe

Platform Award: They Will Be Dust, dir. Carlos Marques-Marcet

That’s a promising lineup, but one movie we want to focus on especially is Mike Flanagan’s latest Stephen King adaptation, The Life of Chuck, as it has garnered just the sort of buzz we would expect and is officially part of the Oscar discussion.

No doubt TIFF had some incredible films screening this year, which our own Chris Bumbray kept our readers in the loop about over the course of the event. One of the movies he dug was indeed The Life of Chuck (read his review here), of which he wrote: “[Flanagan’s fans (of which I am one) will undoubtedly appreciate this detour and find The Life of Chuck a bittersweet tearjerker.” In other words, don’t expect your typical Stephen King fare here. Regardless, it nabbing the People’s Choice Award is a major get, edging out the Zoe Saldaña-starring Emilia Pérez and Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning Anora, both of which were named runners-up.

Posting to social media following the announcement of The Life of Chuck’s achievement, Mike Flanagan wrote, “I am absolutely, positively overwhelmed by this. Thank you so much to the audiences who opened their hearts to Chuck, and to TIFF for bringing the movie to those audiences. My heart is dancing!” Every winner since 2012 has gone on to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, with three – 12 Years a Slave, Green Book and Nomadland – taking it home.

It would be unfair to say that Mike Flanagan put Stephen King on the screen considering people have been adapting his works since the ‘70s (hell, King himself has been involved in the screenplays since the ‘80s). But Flanagan has been one of the most committed, having previously helmed Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. That he has so much love for King and selected a non-horror keeps Flanagan at the top of ideal adapters of the writer’s works.

Meanwhile, the Demi Moore-led body horror flick, The Substance, nabbed the top Midnight Madness award. Check out our review of that WILD movie right here!

Do you think The Life of Chuck has a legitimate shot at being nominated for Best Picture? Let us know below!

The post Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck & body horror flick The Substance nab top TIFF awards appeared first on JoBlo.

Dennis Hopper is tied to some of the wildest behind-the-scenes stories in Hollywood history, not the least of which stem from Apocalypse Now, with tales ranging from nearly getting into fistfights with Marlon Brando to requesting to be paid in cocaine rather than money. So when Francis Ford Coppola compares Shia LaBeouf’s on-set behavior on Megalopolis to that of Hopper’s on Apocalypse Now, it doesn’t exactly feel like a compliment. Only, surprisingly, Coppola means no disrespect.

In promotion of Megalopolis – which, like it or not (read our 5/10 review here), is hitting screens later this month – Francis Ford Coppola told The Telegraph that Shia LaBeouf reminded him of Dennis Hopper to a degree with the sort of vibe he brought with him. “Shia has had problems. He’s so talented, but he’s had a string of problems. And on set, he does create tremendous conflict. His method was so infuriating and illogical, it had me pulling my hair out. But I think he’s getting the set so charged with electricity that his reactions will have the ring of pure truth. Dennis Hopper did something similar on Apocalypse Now. He would be so nutty that even Brando wanted to throw bananas at him.”

While Coppola didn’t go into exactly what that “conflict” is that Shia LaBeouf brought to Megalopolis every day, we can totally buy it considering the actor’s past issues both on and off the set. Without going into details (the paper bag on the head was probably the least controversial at this point), Coppola clearly knew what he was getting into. But Coppola went all-in for Megalopolis, purposely hiring so-called “canceled” actors like LaBeouf, Jon Voight and, to a lesser degree, Dustin Hoffman.

Actual stories about what Coppola is referring to with LaBeouf may come out at some point, but in the meantime, Megalopolis has more than enough working against it as it is: allegations of sexual misconduct, rumors of an overblown budget, fabricated pull quotes…And that’s all after everything Coppola went through to get the movie greenlit!

Despite the negative press surrounding Megalopolis, will you be seeing it in theaters?

The post Francis Ford Coppola compares Shia LaBeouf’s Megalopolis method to Dennis Hopper’s on Apocalypse Now appeared first on JoBlo.

There used to be a very big difference when talking about independent horror and mainstream horror. The latter would often be much more tame, with a goal of maximizing the audience, therefore maximizing Box Office. Indie horror would often be darker, going for moments that would stick with you long after the credits roll. But as society has shifted into this different entertainment landscape, there’s more of a desire than ever for something wholly unique. Mostly in the sake of profit. Thinking outside of the box is rewarded as it’s all about grabbing attention. It’s why a film like Longlegs can come out and absolutely light the world on fire. Because filmmakers are being forced to take risks in an attempt to get people to the theaters. Audiences are tired of the same old, same old.

This has never been more evident than with the failures of Blumhouse’s 2024 lineup. Night Swim, Imaginary, and Afraid are amongst the most creatively bankrupt and desire-for-profit types of films out there. PG-13 Horror is designed to maximize audience reach while coincidentally being completely barren of any originality. Afraid simply ripped off M3GAN (which was a rip-off of Child’s Play) and I don’t know about you, but pools stopped being scary the moment I learned to swim. These were hollow experiences, completely devoid of entertainment. And while Blumhouse may still consider themselves indie, they’re about as “studio” as you can get these days, so if I say studio, I’m mostly talking about them.

And that’s not to say all mainstream horror is bad. The studios have made a lot of great films over the years. But it’s when they’re going the indie approach versus just sequelizing or trying to take advantage of a property that they truly have success. Even just a decade ago, the idea of Longlegs being released theatrically was a long shot. This kind of horror simply wasn’t viable for that kind of release. They’re so risk-averse that they’d rather remake a well-received Dutch movie from two years ago than actually develop an original story. And sure, Speak No Evil kicks ass but that doesn’t change the fact that’s a remake of a film already in English. Risk aversion 101.

Yet it seems as though horror is one of the only genres where originality can be done on a cheaper level and still succeed. Streaming has all but taken out mid-tier comedies and action films (usually made in the $60-70 Million range) and those genres are harder to do on a lower budget. Sure, comedies don’t need big effects, but Kevin Hart isn’t cheap, so budgets tend to balloon. There always needs to be that anchor of familiarity to get them into a movie theater seat. Yet Horror doesn’t always need that.

Horror fans will show up to a movie with no name stars and made for under $10 Million. The only promise you need to make to horror fans is that you’re going to try and scare them. Success rate will depend on the individual person but it’s a simple exchange. I give you money, you make me squirm in my seat for 90 minutes. Yet, why are studios starting to make the same mistakes they do in other genres instead of focusing on what works? Strongarming creatives instead of letting them do their thing will often result in a subpar product.

Blumhouse’s 2025 lineup seems to be spitting in the face of originality with Megan 2.0, An Untitled Insidious Movie,  The Black Phone 2, and Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2 all expected to release. And who knows what foreign remake they’ll target now that Speak No Evil is a nice little success. This is why it’s on us as the audience to seek out great cinema and not go simply because it’s the weekend’s new release. The studio and Indie world will just become more and more intermingled as we lose out on more and more mid-tier films. And we just have to hope that those meddling execs who usually focus on the bigger fare, don’t start setting their sights on their low-budget offerings. Because otherwise, horror is doomed.

Now, I fully acknowledge that Indie Horror is capable of being absolute shit. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to all the awful films that get made on a daily basis. And sometimes too much creativity and lack of supervision can be a bad thing. But I will take something that’s trying to fulfill some kind of creative niche versus solely trying to eek out a profit. Longlegs, Cuckoo, and Strange Darling are amongst the year’s best and they are completely original works where the filmmakers were allowed to see their vision through. And I’ll take that over a bloodless CGI bear.

What do you think of the current state of horror? Do you think mainstream horror is dying? Is Indie horror taking over? Will Blumhouse ever turn their slate around? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Studio Horror Needs To Take A Lesson From Indie Horror appeared first on JoBlo.

On Friday night, the hosts of our weekly Live Stream (which you can watch above), Kier Gomes and Tyler Nichols, discussed the horror movies they’re most excited to see this fall – leading up to the spooky movie season (Halloween!). For a detailed breakdown of what’s coming (and beyond) you can check out our horror movie preview here. But, right now, we want to know what Fall Horror Movie you’re most excited to see. Take the poll below and let us know!

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Say, would you like another chocolate-covered pretzel? Malls may have passed their prime but the rats still roam, as Kevin Smith is still actively interested in returning to his much-discussed Mallrats sequel, Twilight of the Mallrats, if he can get the right support.

Like a schooner in a Magic Eye poster, Mallrats sequel has never fully materialized (whether as a movie or a TV series), with various postponements tied to everything from studio disinterest to the death of Shannen Doherty. But as discussions have popped up once again, Smith sees a way to navigate Universal. “I think we’re going back to have a discussion again about like, look, you guys are never gonna do anything with this. Like, but we can and would and would and would love to. So can you let us take it out? We’re not asking Universal to finance it, but it’s just like, hey, can we have it so we can go out because I can get that movie financed in a heartbeat, Mallrats 2. So, fingers crossed the good folks at Universal go like, “You know what? We’re never gonna do anything with this. Go ahead.’ I mean, it’s hysterical. There are times when I’ve dealt with folks at Universal to talk about a Mallrats sequel and the people I deal with are like, ‘We have Mallrats?’”

Even still, if Kevin Smith never gets around to his Mallrats sequel for one reason or another, he’s pretty indifferent, saying he’s not fully locked in and he’ll manage to move on. Really, that might be the better decision when it comes down to it. After all, hell hath no fury like a fan scorned for a useless sequel…

Outside of the Mallrats sequel, Kevin Smith — always a sucker for nostalgia — recently released The 4:30 Movie, a coming-of-age movie about teens challenged by life, love and the cinema in the 1980s. You can read our review here.

Has the time passed for a Mallrats sequel or would you welcome it? Get back on the escalator and let us know in the comments section below!

The post Kevin Smith says Mallrats sequel is back on the table — snoochie boochies! appeared first on JoBlo.