Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of buzz about A24’s Heretic, a horror movie that earned rave reviews following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, rising scream queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and The Fabelmans star Chloe East star as two Mormon missionaries who knock on the wrong door one rainy night and wind up in a game of psychological cat and mouse with Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed. A diabolical intellectual, he not only wants to do away with our heroines but also shake the foundations of their faith.
While at TIFF, I spoke with the entire cast, including Grant, who explained what attracted him to his first horror role in many years (since Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm, which he doesn’t seem overly fond of). I also spoke to East and Thatcher, who grew up in the Mormon faith, about how the film subverts audience expectations of the character’s naiveté, while Thatcher shares her wish to one day play a horror villain. I also spoke to the writers/directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), about how the film is unusually dialogue-driven for a horror flick, with it almost seemingly like a play (an allusion Grant didn’t care for – as he thinks saying something is play-like means it’s boring, which the movie is not at all).
Check out the interviews embedded above and read my review here! Heretic opens in theaters tomorrow!
Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of buzz about A24’s Heretic, a horror movie that earned rave reviews following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, rising scream queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and The Fabelmans star Chloe East star as two Mormon missionaries who knock on the wrong door one rainy night and wind up in a game of psychological cat and mouse with Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed. A diabolical intellectual, he not only wants to do away with our heroines but also shake the foundations of their faith.
While at TIFF, I spoke with the entire cast, including Grant, who explained what attracted him to his first horror role in many years (since Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm, which he doesn’t seem overly fond of). I also spoke to East and Thatcher, who grew up in the Mormon faith, about how the film subverts audience expectations of the character’s naiveté, while Thatcher shares her wish to one day play a horror villain. I also spoke to the writers/directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), about how the film is unusually dialogue-driven for a horror flick, with it almost seemingly like a play (an allusion Grant didn’t care for – as he thinks saying something is play-like means it’s boring, which the movie is not at all).
Check out the interviews embedded above and read my review here! Heretic opens in theaters tomorrow!
We’ve taken a look at Tony Jaa’s breakout hit Ong Bak in an episode of our Reel Action series that’s available on the JoBlo Originals Channel on YouTube. Since his first few Thai films, in which he was heavily involved in the action creation, Jaa would inevitably branch out into international films. Movies like Furious 7, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Skin Trade, Triple Threat and KillZone 2 would utilize him, but the Thai star wouldn’t quite reach the kind of showmanship that he displayed in his earlier movies.
The upcoming movie Striking Rescue may just be the return to form. And The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the film has been acquired by frequent martial arts film distributor Well Go USA for the North American distribution rights. Per THR, “Directed by Cheng Siyi, the action revenge movie follows An Bai (Jaa), a veteran Muay Thai expert who goes on a take-no-prisoners mission of revenge after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered by mysterious forces. The film co-stars Chinese actors Hong Junjia and Shi Yanneng.”
The movie is an original production from the Chinese streaming service, Youku, which will be releasing the film to its subscribers in China on Friday. Striking Rescue will also be the first Youku original that has secured U.S. distribution, and the company is planning to make this the jumping-off point to expand their content and theatrical productions into the international markets. The hard-hitting action film was being shopped to international buyers at this week’s American Film Market by the sales outfit Blossoms Entertainment, which is based out of Beijing.
Additionally, a deal is also in place for the distribution by Shinesaeng Ad.Venture, which will see a theatrical release of Stiking Rescue in Jaa’s native country of Thailand. The film is scheduled to start screening in Thai movie theaters on December 5, followed by North American theaters on December 6.
Are you excited to see Jaa back in an elbow-striking, knee-flying starring role? Have you enjoyed the other movies in his filmography? Sound off below!
Last year, it was announced that the 1987 cult classic horror comedy Street Trash (buy it HERE) would be getting a remake from Ryan Kruger, the director of the 2020 body horror film Fried Barry! Kruger’s take on the concept, which moves the story from Brooklyn to South Africa, is now ready to make its way out into the world, as a premiere screening was held last month at the New Beverly Cinema. Cineverse holds the North American distribution rights and they’re planning to release the film through the Screambox streaming service on November 19th. The Street Trash remake will also receive a digital release on the same date.
The original Street Trash was directed by J. Michael Muro from a screenplay by Roy Frumkes. Fourteen years ago, Frumkes said he was working on the script for Street Trash 2… but that sequel never made it into production. Thankfully, Muro and Frumkes are both involved with the remake. They served as executive producers alongside Bad Dragon and Vinegar Syndrome.
The Street Trash remake follows a group of homeless misfits as they fight for survival when they discover a plot to exterminate every homeless person in the city. Variety assured that this new take on the concept “stays true to the original plot — which chronicles the disgusting decay of New York wanderers after ingesting bottles of toxic alcohol — but expounds the gore to create a metaphor for something much larger.”
When the project was first announced, Kruger provided the following statement: “Our reimagining of Street Trash takes place in Cape Town, South Africa where the growing divide between rich and poor has changed the world as we know it. I was a huge fan of the original Street Trash when I was a kid, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce a whole new generation to the melted gonzo goodness that made the original such a classic. While our reimagining features new, exciting plot elements that give the film many bizarre twists and turns, the core of the film lies with our diverse and unique cast of characters. As a director, I am very character centric and I can’t wait to see our strange and hilarious ensemble on screen together as they navigate the hostile streets of Cape Town. Our version of Street Trash will be raw, hilarious, packed with vibrant characters and multi-colored explosions of gooey greatness.“
Fans of the Shudder series The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs might point out the fact that Fried Barry and the original Street Trash have both been screened on that show – and it’s no coincidence, as the Street Trash remake is being produced by The Last Drive-In producers Justin Martell and Matt Manjourides of Not the Funeral Home. Cineverse’s Chris McGurk, Brandon Hill, Brad Miska, and Yolanda Macias also serve as executive producers. Production in South Africa was handled by Protagonist Studios and Stage Five Films.
Are you looking forward to watching the Street Trash remake later this month? Will you be catching it on Screambox or checking out the digital release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
PLOT: A single father and two women venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy.
REVIEW: Post-apocalyptic movies seem to have a little more credence to them after the mess we went through in 2020. It’s become much easier to imagine the collapse of society and filmmakers have taken advantage of this to tap into viewers’ fears. Elevation brings the concept of monstrous creatures taking over Earth and gives them an intriguing limitation: they can’t go above 8000 feet. So rather than the broken-down urban landscapes and destruction of standard post-apocalyptic cinema, our setting is decidedly more heavenly mountaintops. But will the humans that have survived the invasion, ever be able to return below the line ever again? Or will the monster eventually get them all?
Elevation picks up three years after the initial invasion and follows Anthony Mackie‘s Will as he has to go into the danger zone in order to save his son’s life. The ticking time bomb of his son’s medication means the stakes could not be higher. Either Will dies on his mission and his son perishes from his illness, or he stays and his son passes anyway. The only way to keep his son alive is to take the massive risk of entering the city of Boulder. Joining him on his trip are fellow survivors, Nina and Katie. Nina is a hardened scientist who is insistent on finding a way to kill the monsters. And Katie is struggling with the idea of this life being the only thing she knows/experiences.
I tend to like Anthony Mackie but admittedly Will is a bit of a dull character. He has devotion for his son but is pretty one-dimensional. The dialogue isn’t doing him any favors, especially with the exposition he has to expound. But Morena Baccarin‘s Nina manages to keep things interesting. There’s a lot of nuance to her character, even if she seems like a walking stereotype at first. Loved seeing Baccarin in a role like this. Maddie Hasson‘s Katie is tragic, with her mostly just trying to find her purpose in this new world. She has to contend with her feelings for Will while still wanting to respect her deceased best friend and Will’s wife. But as you can tell, this isn’t the most entertaining group to hang out with for 90 minutes. It’s mostly just arguing and being mad about their situation.
The biggest issue with Elevation is that its story feels very chopped up and derivative. This almost feels like it could have spread out throughout an entire season. And that’s not to even say that there’s a ton going on within the narrative. But the things that do happen, require so much more room to breathe than what we’re given. Because of this, nearly everything needs to be wrapped up so quickly, that big events come together a little too quickly for my liking. There’s a reason that A Quiet Place ended with an implication of a widespread solution, not the actual application of it.
I have to give the filmmakers credit for filming on location in the Colorado Mountains. This makes for some absolutely stunning visuals. With plenty of beautiful mountain vistas, a working mine, and even a ski lift, anyone who’s been to Boulder will get a kick out of seeing these sights on film. But there’s one moment of action involving the ski lift that is pretty brutal in its execution. Given how good other visual FX turn out, it makes the bad green screen stick out like a sore thumb and it really took me out of it.
The monsters are a bit generic, looking like some bipedal transformers. The digital FX are handled well I like the concept of the monsters being unable to go above a certain elevation, but there’s no payoff to the rule. I was hoping they would subvert it for drama or take away their safe haven but it never happens. And they seem to target humans based on their CO2 output, yet completely ignore animals. Given that living creatures are invisible to the monsters except when exhaling CO2, I’m not sure how the monsters would differentiate animals from humans. Seems like the filmmakers were just trying to make a point regarding humans destroying the planet, but it just makes the monsters’ motivations more convoluted.
One of the more baffling elements of Elevation is its R rating. To say that this could have been PG-13 would be the understatement of the century. I have no idea why they would kneecap their box office so much by making it R, especially when it’s not needed for the story they’re telling. It just results in Baccarin swearing a bunch and could have easily been looped over without much notice. Even when things get violent, the events are relatively bloodless. I really can’t understand why they went this route as it doesn’t add anything to the story. With how much Elevation feels like a PG-13 rollercoaster versus a more hopeless journey, the rating makes less and less sense.
Overall, I ended up being very disappointed by Elevation. It’s clear the filmmakers took A Quiet Place as some sort of inspiration but failed to execute an intriguing story in the same way. This world isn’t set up very well and the stakes feel very wishy-washy. While the story should end up feeling triumphant, its quick desire for a resolution, neatly tied up like a bowtie, just makes it feel pointless. While the actors are all decent, they inhabit characters that don’t really stand out.
ELEVATION IS PLAYING EXCLUSIVELY IN THEATERS ON NOVEMBER 8TH, 2024.
There was a time when we thought director Fede Álvarez’s contribution to the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus (read our review HERE), was going to receive a straight-to-Hulu streaming release, just like the Predator movie Prey did. But it ended up getting a theatrical release back in August, with a digital release following in October. Now, Deadline has been able to confirm exactly when Alien: Romulus is going to start streaming on Hulu, and it’s a date that is very close: November 21st. The 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD physical media release will follow on December 3rd.
It has been said that the story Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues crafted for Alien: Romulus is not directly connected to the other films in the Alien franchise (which isn’t exactly true), but it’s not ignoring any of the other entries, either. Álvarez has been clear about the fact that his story takes place within the established franchise continuity. In fact, it slots right in between the events of Alien and Aliens. It has the following official logline: The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
The cast includes Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), Isabela Merced (Madame Web), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), and Aileen Wu (Away from Home).
Speaking with Variety a while back, Álvarez said that the initial Hulu plan was “a reaction to theaters being completely gone” in the wake of the pandemic. “That decision was not made at the point where theaters were healthy. [But] it was always going to be an ambitious movie for [a streaming] platform.” The studio made the choice to push for a theatrical release as production got underway, and Álvarez said, “I remember making an announcement to everybody that this movie was going to in theaters, and there was a big cheer. I was like, wow, even the gaffer cares that this goes into theaters!“
Now the time has come for the Hulu release. Will you be watching Alien: Romulus on Hulu? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Another week, another ho-hum weekend at the box office. When the studios were figuring out their release schedules for 2024, it seems they deliberately left the pre-and-post election period empty, with the notion being that people would be too distracted to go to movies. That’s pretty bad news for exhibitors, as typically the first full weekend in November kinda kicks off the late fall period. Usually, it’s a big weekend for the MCU, with The Marvels (well, that wasn’t so big) opening last year and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022. I guess next weekend we’re getting Red One, but does anyone expect that to do well? I have my doubts.
As such, this weekend seems slow, with the general consensus among all being that it should be an easy weekend for Venom: The Last Dance to win. It had an impressively light week-to-week decline in week 2 (after an underwhelming opening) and should gross around $14 or so million this weekend. A24’s horror flick Heretic, starring Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher, should make about $10 million, with it lacking the hook recent horror hits had but boasting strong reviews out of TIFF (read ours here).
In third place, we’ll likely find the faith-based release, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This one seems primed to have a better opening than usual, with it based on a beloved book, and also having director Dallas Jenkins (The Chosen) at the helm, along with his large following. The film is also said to play fairly well to a non-religious audience as well, with it fairly subtle for the genre, and given the holiday theme, it should make at least $8 million (if it doesn’t end up beating Heretic).
The Wild Robotshould nab fourth place (after increasing its audience last weekend), with about $5 million, while Smile 2 should make about $4 million or so. Expect Focus Features’s Conclave and A24’s breakout word-of-mouth sleeper We Live in Time to not be too far behind.
Here are my predictions:
Venom: The Last Dance: $14 million
Heretic: $10 million
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: $8 million
The Wild Robot: $5 million
Smile 2: $4 million
What are you seeing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers‘ remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it HERE) is set to reach theatres on Wednesday, December 25th – and to celebrate the occasion, Heretic Parfum and Focus Features have teamed up to bring the world a limited edition fragrance that will allow people to smell like “an encounter with an apparition in the cold, damp caves of Count Orlok’s castle.” This fragrance is called NosferatuEau de Macabre, and can be purchased through the Heretic Parfum website.
Here’s the description of the Nosferatu Eau de Macabre fragrance: “In partnership with Nosferatu and Focus Features, Heretic is proud to present Nosferatu Eau de Macabre, a fragrance inspired by the iconic vampire. A chilling scent of wilting lilacs, velvety vegan ambergris and strikes of lightning that fill the air with petrichor and electricity—It’s both delicate and hedonistic. Nosferatu is only in theaters this Christmas. TOP: Lilac, Ambrette. HEART: Petrichor, Violet Absolute, Orris Concrete, Cypriol. BASE: Vegan Ambergris, Oud, Labdanum.“
An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the original Nosferatu has the following synopsis: In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock (Alexander Granach), prepares for his master to arrive at his new home. Werner Herzog directed his own remake of the film in 1979.
Eggers’ take on Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.
The film stars Bill Skarsgard (It) as the title character, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as crazy vampire hunter Von Franz, Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol) as Ellen Hutter and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) as her husband Thomas – a role Skarsgard was going to play at one point. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) is in there as Thomas’s friend Friedrich Harding, with Emma Corrin (The Crown) as Friedrich’s wife Anna, Ralph Ineson (The Witch) as Von Franz’s cohort Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, and Simon McBurney (The Conjuring 2) in an unspecified role. Skarsgard has said that playing Nosferatu / Count Orlok was like “conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me. … I do not think people are gonna recognize me in it.“
Will you be buying the Nosferatu fragrance from Heretic Parfum? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Esteemed directors like Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott still churn out amazing works at their age and it’s undeniable that their willingness to continue shows how passionate they are and how much they love making movies. Ridley Scott turns 87 this month and the acclaimed filmmaker will celebrate it with the self-proclaimed biggest movie he’s ever done — Gladiator II. Scott recently sat down for a profile with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about how he doesn’t plan to slow down his career in the slightest.
He provides some context on how he was a pretty late bloomer to the business, “I entered Hollywood when I was 40 years old. [Steven] Spielberg was 19. George [Lucas] was 20. And Francis [Ford Coppola] was 22 or something. They were all from exalted film schools. All I had was a very good show reel of my television commercials.” Then, when the interviewer gathered that directing must not feel like work to Scott, he replied, “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t be doing it [if directing felt like work]. It’s my passion and therefore my pleasure. I think it actually keeps me going. I’ve damaged myself with too much tennis. I’ve got dodgy knees and I’m now getting injections in them — I can’t be the old guy staggering around the set because when we were doing Gladiator II we’re in 112 degrees and I have to be out there.”
When it’s addressed that Scott’s output of films seems even more frequent now, he explained, “Yeah. I got good at cutting away all the crap. You can’t have 40 projects in development. That’s a bad idea. I usually have three or four. And I think that’s why I have a great relationship with Fox. I’ve done 13 films for Fox, which may be the highest any director would do for a studio. It’s a bit like opening a restaurant. You better eat there every night. So I eat at my table every night with Fox. I think that’s why I’ve been valuable to them. You win some, you lose some, but overall they have been rewarded for what I do. Because they’re now Fox-Disney, there’s now this tricky balance of how extreme they can go, and I respect that.”
As much of a workhorse as he is because of his love of filmmaking, when Scott was inquired if he thought Quentin Tarantino would actually retire after his tenth movie, he answered, “I don’t believe it.” The interviewer alluded to the notion that when you love something, you can get pulled back in and Scott added, “Exactly. I don’t fucking believe that bullsh*t. Shut up and go make another movie. Quentin wrote a few things for my brother. They got along great. I’m not sure I’ve met him.”
Ginny & Georgia star Antonia Gentry was recently seen in the time travel slasher Time Cut, and earlier today we heard that Gentry’s co-star Nikki Roumel stars in the upcoming time travel supernatural thriller You Don’t Belong Here. Now, Deadline has revealed that another Ginny & Georgia cast member has just signed on to star in a genre film… although this one doesn’t involve time travel. Titled Nest, this film is about deadly arachnids, and the Ginny & Georgia cast member who is set to star in it is Felix Mallard.
The feature directorial debut of writer/director Guy Edmonds, who previously co-created and directed the Australian series Spooky Files and ABC’s Hardball, Nest will see Mallard taking on the role of Remy, a new father daunted by the prospect of parenthood and outfitting the family’s new home. With his high-flying wife Grace often away from the house, Remy must care for baby Zoe, while juggling his own career aspirations and the job of turning their new house into a home. But this house is already occupied… Edmonds was inspired to make the film while he was “facing up to the daunting task of becoming a parent.”
Deadline notes that “the film’s antagonist, and matriarch of the ‘nest’, is a giant female spider which, with a mixture of puppetry enhanced by VFX, will be brought to life by effects artist Russell Sharp and his team at Sharp FX, together with creature visual effects house Alt.FX.” Architect is representing worldwide sales on the project at this week’s American Film Market in Las Vegas. Filming is expected to take place in Australia during the second quarter of 2025.
Developed with the support of Screen Australia, Nest is being produced by Melissa Kelly and by Bethany Jones for Mushroom Studios, who also developed the script with Edmonds alongside script consultant Daina Reid. Joe Weatherstone serves as executive producer.
Edmonds provided the following statement: “Nest is every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s a home invasion film from within, which becomes a fight to defend their child as the house is infested by another family: of spiders!” Jones added, “Guy has written a skin-crawling creature feature with a beating heart – focused on a couple you’ll fall in love with and want to see thrive as they’re threatened by a nightmarish intruder.“
Does Nest sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this Guy Edmonds / Felix Mallard genre project by leaving a comment below.
