Sony is bringing Eli Roth’s long-awaited slasher Thanksgiving (read our review HERE, check out our interview with Roth at THIS LINK) back to theatre screens, and they’re not waiting for the Thanksgiving holiday to do it. Our friends at Bloody Disgusting report that Thanksgiving, which was just released to theatres for the first time back in November, will be returning to more than 500 theatres (the count is 511, to be exact) this weekend. The movie already received a digital release last week, so presumably this theatrical boost is meant to promote Blu-ray and DVD release that’s coming on January 30th.

Thanksgiving is a feature expansion of the faux trailer Roth made for the Robert Rodriguez / Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse sixteen years ago. Roth has been wanting to make a feature version of Thanksgiving ever since he made the faux trailer, and even wrote the screenplay with Jeff Rendell (who played the homicidal pilgrim in the trailer) a dozen years ago. The feature has happened thanks to Spyglass Media stepping in to provide the funding. Roth jumped at the chance to get the movie made, even though it meant having Deadpool‘s Tim Miller take over as director on the reshoots for his video game adaptation Borderlands.

Roth and Rendell produced the film with Roger Birnbaum. Spyglass chairman and CEO Gary Barber and president of production Peter Oillataguerre serve as executive producers alongside Kate Harrison and Greg Denny of Cream Productions Inc. Oillataguerre and SVP Production & Development Chris Stone oversaw the project for Spyglass while Caellum Allan and Kelseigh Coombs oversaw for TriStar.

If you’ve watched the original Thanksgiving trailer, you have a good idea of what this slasher movie is going to be about, but here’s the synopsis: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.

The film stars Nell Verlaque (Big Shot), Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Addison Rae (He’s All That), Jalen Thomas Brooks (Walker), Milo Manheim (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S), Gina Gershon (Bound), comedian Tim Dillon (who was in a TV show called Thanksgiving), Rick Hoffman (Hostel), Gabriel Davenport (Mistletoe Time Machine), Tomaso Sanelli (Titans), and Jenna Warren (The Young Arsonists).

I had been looking forward to Thanksgiving ever since seeing the faux trailer with Grindhouse, and I loved the finished film. I won’t be catching a theatrical screening this weekend, but I am very glad to know we have a sequel coming in 2025, and will definitely be adding a physical media copy to my collection.

What do you think of Thanksgiving returning to theatres this weekend? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Amanda Seyfried – whose credits include The Dropout, Mank, You Should Have Left, Mamma Mia!, Big Love, Jennifer’s Body, Veronica Mars, the original Mean Girls, and much more – has signed on to star in the suspense thriller limited series Long Bright River for the Peacock streaming service. The series is based on Liz Moore’s bestselling novel of the same name, and Deadline reports that word of this project leaked out after Seyfried and Moore were spotted taking a ride-along with the 26th District Police in Philadelphia earlier this week.

Long Bright River will see Seyfried taking on the role of Mickey, a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid crisis. When a series of murders begins in the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her personal history might be related to the case.  

Moore’s novel (pick up a copy HERE) has the following description: In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit–and her sister–before it’s too late. Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters’ childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.

The series is coming our way from Sony Pictures Television and UCP. Seyfried is executive producing the show with Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, and Amanda Lewis of Original Film and Amy Pascal of Pascal Pictures. Moore is also an executive producer and is writing the series with Nikki Toscano, who has had writing credits on multiple TV shows, including Revenge, Bates Motel, 24: Legacy, Hunters, and The Offer. Also executive producing is Hagar Ben-Asher (Dead Women Walking), director of the first episode.

Moore and Toscano provided the following statement: “We are thrilled that Amanda Seyfried will lead this series about how those initially perceived as victims can band together to regain their power. Moore’s family history and her work with harm-reduction and community-service organizations in Philadelphia informed the series, which aims to portray with compassion the lives of those struggling with addiction and the family members who love them.“

Are you interested in Long Bright River? What do you think of Amanda Seyfried taking the lead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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We thought there could be only one. Clearly, that’s not the case, as Henry Cavill will be taking over the Highlander series for the upcoming Chad Stahelski-directed reboot. And while filming is expected to begin a little later this year, Cavill is ready to head back to the gym.

Speaking with Collider, Henry Cavill said he’s on the verge of beginning his intense training program for Highlander, saying, “The training is about to begin in earnest. It’ll be a very long training process, and I’m very excited to get into it.” But that’s about all Cavill offered, adding, “There’s only so much I can tell you at the moment. I want to keep everything under wraps for as long as possible.”

As of now, we do know where Stahelski is partly taking inspiration from and somewhat where in the timeline Highlander will be set. “Our story engages a lot of the same characters…but we’ve also brought in elements of all the TV shows. We’re trying to do a bit of a prequel — a setup to The Gathering — so we have room to grow the property.” As for Henry Cavill, he got the Highlander role not just because he can physically handle it but because Stahelski knows he can exude the empathetic nature of the character.

It’s not much of a surprise that Henry Cavill can’t wait to hit the weights for Highlander, as he was in peak shape to play Superman and Geralt in The Witcher. This time around, though, we can only assume he’ll be blasting Queen every morning.

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Fans of Highlander have been waiting for more news on the reboot for quite some time now, so anything announced this year is most welcome. And while the original movies (OK, not all of them…) have their legion of fans, let’s hope the Henry Cavill version will go smoothly from here on out and won’t end up with its own episode of “WTF Happened to This Movie?!” 

Do you think Henry Cavill is a perfect cast for the upcoming Highlander movie? How do you think the reboot will turn out? Let us know below!

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Move over, John Wick, the Monkey Man, is here to bring revenge cinema to a new level! NBCUniversal debuted a trailer for the Dev Patel-directed action bonanza Monkey Man on Friday, showcasing a brutal display of power that could establish Patel as one of cinema’s newest and most agile players. The Monkey Man trailer is a tour-de-force of hand-to-hand combat, Jackie Chan-like environmental manipulation, and visuals that pop with color, blood, and broken bones!

Here’s the official synopsis for Monkey Man courtesy of NBCUniversal:

Monkey Man is an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to victimize the poor and powerless systemically.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven, The Night Manager), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm, Go Goa Gone), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai, Like Stars on Earth), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya, 24) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Oscar winner Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, and Anjay Nagpal. Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney, and Steven Thibault executive produce.

It’s hard to breathe after watching that Monkey Man trailer, no? Patel is on fire in this preview of his new film, and I’m excited to see more. Monkey Man is definitely on my must-see list of films for 2024, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’ve enjoyed Patel’s contributions to cinema for years, but I’ve never seen him like this. Let’s f**king go!

Dev Patel’s Monkey Man swings into theaters on April 5, 2024.

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Amazon MGM has announced (via Deadline) that they will be giving the thriller Pussy Island a global theatrical release on August 23rd – but, to the shock and surprise of no one, they’re not actually going to be releasing the film under the title Pussy Island. The feature directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz (who played Catwoman in The Batman), the thriller is now going by the title Blink Twice. By giving the film a more public-friendly title, they’ve just saved some members of the public from having to protest the fact that a movie called Pussy Island is showing at their local theatre.

Written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, the film will follow Frida, a young, clever, Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on the prize: philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King. When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime. Despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s more to this island than meets the eye. Something she can’t quite put her finger on. Something terrifying.

Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), Naomi Ackie (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody), and Simon Rex (Red Rocket) star alongside Christian Slater (Heathers), Alia Shawkat (Search Party), Geena Davis (The Long Kiss Goodnight), Adria Arjona (Morbius), Haley Joel Osment (Tusk), Liz Caribel Sierra (God’s Time), Levon Hawke (The Crowded Room), Trew Mullen (Sunny Family Cult), Saul Williams (Akilla’s Escape), Chris Costa (People You Know), and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks). Ackie plays Frida, with Tatum as Slater King and Rex as Slater’s chef, trainer, and oldest friend, Cody.

Blink Twice (don’t call it Pussy Island) has been produced by Kravitz, Bruce Cohen, Tiffany Persons, and Tatum’s company Free Association. Garret Levitz oversaw the project for Free Association. The movie was made in conjunction with Free Association, this is important, and Bold Choices.

Does Blink Twice sound like a movie you’ll be heading out to see during its theatrical release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Arrow Video has given director Frank Henenlotter’s 1982 cult classic Basket Case (watch it HERE) a couple Blu-ray releases in recent years, and now the company has announced that they’re bringing the film to 4K UHD for the first time! This release is for the US, the UK, and Canada, and the street date is April 29th. The pre-order link for the UK is HERE and the pre-order link for the US and Canada is HERE.

Basket Case has the following synopsis: Duane Bradley is a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed, fleshy lump whom he carries around in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at the seedy Hotel Broslin, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation. But tensions flare up when Duane starts spending time with a pretty blonde secretary, and Belial’s homicidal tendencies reach bloody new extremes.

The film stars Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne, Lloyd Pace, Bill Freeman, Joe Clarke, Ruth Neuman, Richard Pierce, and Sean McCabe. 

The 4K release has a ton of features, and here’s the line-up:

4K restoration from the original 16mm negative by MoMA
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin VanHentenryck
Archival audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, actor Beverly Bonner and filmmaker Scooter McRae
Basket Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley – short film by Frank Henenlotter
Me and the Bradley Boys – interview with actor Kevin VanHentenryck
A Brief Interview with Director Frank Henenlotter – a strange 2017 interview with the director
Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins – interview with actors Florence and Maryellen Schultz
Blood, Basket and Beyond – interview with actor Beverly Bonner
The Latvian Connection – featurette including interviews with producer Edgar Ievins, casting person/actor Ilze Balodis, associate producer/special effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
Belial Goes to the Drive-In – interview with film critic Joe Bob Briggs
Basket Case at MoMA – footage from the 2017 restoration premiere
What’s in the Basket? – feature-length documentary covering the three films in the Basket Case series
In Search of the Hotel Broslin – archival location featurette
The Frisson of Fission: Basket Case, Conjoined Twins, and ‘Freaks’ in Cinema – video essay by Travis Crawford
Slash of the Knife (1976, 30 mins) – short made by Frank Henenlotter featuring many of the same actors from Basket Case, including optional audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter and playwright Mike Bencivenga
Basket Case and Slash of the Knife outtakes
Belial’s Dream (2017, 5 mins) – animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
Extensive image galleries
Trailers, TV & radio spots
Limited edition slipcover featuring artwork by Graham Humphreys
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Michael Gingold and a Basket Case comic strip by artist Martin Trafford

We’re big fans of Basket Case here on Arrow in the Head, as you can tell from the fact that we covered as part of both our The Best Horror Movie You Never Saw and Best Horror Party Movies video series. Are you a fan of the film, and will you be buying a copy of the 4K release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Everyone loves an underdog story. We love them as much as sports movies and precocious kids. The only other thing we love as much as those is profanity. When you combine those together, you have a tricky project that could be masterful, or it could be a disaster. Luckily, no one can drop an f-bomb quite like Snoop Dogg, and he does that in his latest film, The Underdoggs.

In the great tradition of The Bad News Bears, Little Giants, and Hardball, The Underdoggs stars Snoop as a washed-up former NFL wide receiver who has burned all the bridges in his career. With a chance to redeem himself by coaching a group of pee-wee football players in his hometown of Long Beach, Two Js encounters more than he bargained for, as coaching is much more than just standing around basking in your greatness. Two Js must also deal with all of the kids’ challenges while also trying to woo his former high school girlfriend.

I got the chance to talk with a few involved with The Underdoggs, including stars Tika Sumpter and Kal Penn and director Charles Stone III. Tika Sumpter talked about how funny Snoop Dogg is and what it was like hearing the kids swear like an adult. Kal Penn talked about whether his character was inspired by a real agent he has met, as well as the hilarious Harold and Kumar joke in the movie. Director Charles Stone III talked about his experience directing sports movies and what set this film apart. Check out the full interviews in the embed above.

The Underdoggs is now streaming on Prime Video.

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Writer/director Thomas Walton’s 1980s-inspired slasher Camp Pleasant Lake has secured a distribution deal with DeskPop Entertainment, Deadline reports, with the plan being for DeskPop to give the film a VOD and limited theatrical release on February 27th. Since that date is only a month away, we should be seeing a trailer for this movie very soon – but in the meantime, a first look image can be found at the bottom of this article.

The story Walton crafted for Camp Pleasant Lake follows Rick and Darlene Rutherford, who attempt to breathe life into the eerie remnants of an old campsite, unaware of its dark past. Strange occurrences haunt the area, mirroring the tragedies of the old camp, where two decades earlier, a young girl was kidnapped and her parents brutally murdered. Amidst chilling atmospheres and long-forgotten secrets, the couple grapples with a horrifying revelation—they are entwined in the camp’s history. And as the shadows of the past collide with the present, the Rutherfords must confront the haunting histories of a sinister crime.

The film stars Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire), Michael Paré (Eddie and the Cruisers), Robert LaSardo (Death Race), Maritza Brikisak (They Turned Us Into Killers), Greg Tally (Bermuda Island), and Kelly Lynn Reiter of Maneater and Slotherhouse.

Camp Pleasant Lake is coming our way from Safier Entertainment, PhilaDreams Films, Lux Angeles Studios, Stag Mountain Films, RMR Productions, and Movies By Misfits. Walton produced the film with Jared Safier, while Jeremy Hirsch, Matthew Macur, Damien Douglas, Lenny Vitulli, Jackson Everest, and Michael Mahal serve as executive producers.

Walton had this to say about the distribution deal: “Collaborating with the DeskPop team to release Camp Pleasant Lake has been a pleasure. We’ve crafted an intense, frightening, and entertaining experience, and we’re excited for horror enthusiasts to come together in cinemas and VOD and relish the twists and turns we’ve brought to life.“

Slashers, particularly those from the ’80s, are my favorite kind of movies to watch and Friday the 13th is my favorite franchise, so I’ll definitely be watching Camp Pleasant Lake.

How does Camp Pleasant Lake sound to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and take a look at this image while you’re scrolling down:

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Pharrell Williams has come a long way from producing music as part of the Neptunes and as part of the rap/rock band N.E.R.D. Williams went on to do some of the most catchy, ear-wormy pop hits that radio and television would play ad nauseam. Pharrell would also break through into movies as he composed music for such films as the Despicable Me movies, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Hidden Figures. Additionally, his pop hits would be all over countless trailers and be featured in movies like Trolls Band Together and Sing 2.

Recently, Pharrell took to his Instagram to announce that his life story will be told in Lego form in a film from Focus Features, titled Piece by Piece. The film is due to hit theaters on October 11. On his post, Pharrell would include the teaser poster, which parodies the “evolution of man” poster with Lego pieces building up to a version of him as a figurine. The caption to his photo reads, “Who would’ve thought that playing with Legos as a kid would evolve into a movie about my life. It’s proof that anyone else can do it too… #PieceByPiece.”

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According to Deadline, Piece by Piece is produced by Morgan Neville and Caitrin Rogers (Tremolo Productions) alongside producers Pharrell Williams, Mimi Valdés, and Shani Saxon (i am OTHER). Jill Wilfert and Keith Malone are executive producing for the LEGO Group.

Peter Kujawski, the chairman of Focus Features shared his excitement about the project, “Pharrell Williams is a true trailblazer whose influence across music, art and fashion continually reshapes global culture with an undeniable sense of joy.  In partnering with the inimitable Morgan Neville and the limitless creativity of the LEGO brand his visionary spirit comes to life in a wholly unique and uplifting way that will inspire everyone to dance, to sing, and to use their voice to build the world they want to see, brick by brick, and piece by piece.”

Neville would add, “Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of helping him tell his story through LEGO animation. It was one of those rare moments where I knew in a second that this was a journey I wanted to go on. I’m grateful to our partners at Focus Features and at the LEGO Group for their belief in our crazy mission. We assembled an incredible team of creative collaborators to help make a new type of film. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

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After working together on the surprisingly good old school action movie The Beekeeper, director David Ayer and actor Jason Statham are set to reteam on another action project, Levon’s Trade. And this time they’ll be working from a screenplay that was written by Sylvester Stallone! (With some revisions by Ayer.) Levon’s Trade was announced a few months ago, and Deadline reports that it has just secured distribution through Amazon MGM. Amazon MGM will be giving the film a wide theatrical release in the U.S., while Prime Video takes streaming rights in a slew of major international territories. “Outside of the Prime Video international territories (where the film may go online only), producers Black Bear have sold the film independently to theatrical distributors in multiple overseas markets.”

Based on a novel by prolific comic book writer Chuck Dixon, Levon’s Trade will show us that Levon Cade (Statham) left his “profession” behind him to go ‘straight’ and work in construction. He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.

If all goes well, this could turn out to be a new franchise for Statham, because there are currently twelve books in Dixon’s Levon Cade series.

Levon’s Trade is expected to start filming in London this spring. Ayer and Chris Long are producing for Cedar Park Entertainment, Statham is producing for Punch Palace Productions, and Stallone is producing for Balboa Productions, while John Friedberg does the same for Black Bear and Bill Block produces for BlockFilm.

Statham and Stallone have, of course, collaborated on the Expendables films, but back in 2013 Statham also starred in a movie called Homefront, which Gary Fleder directed from a screenplay by Stallone (based on a novel like Chuck Logan). I really enjoyed that movie and The Beekeeper, so I’m excited to see Levon’s Trade.

Are you interested in Levon’s Trade? Let us know what you think of this one, and the Amazon MGM distribution deal, by leaving a comment below.

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