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The 'polaroid' style one-sheet is a particular favourite of mine. As you can see below for Elena Martín's Cannes fêted Creatura, it allows room for pull quotes at the top, a well-kerned title below the image, and an ample credit block that reads more like graphics and less like text. The tiny funding logos below that act in the same fashion. The image itself is from the point of view below the waterline. It offers the vague idea of a (ahem) creature looking up at the curious, innocent, adolescents. It is the distortion, playing with focal planes, that makes this one-sheet distinctive. It reminds me of Sarah Adina Smith's debut The Midnight Swim. Where that film dealt with sisterhood and grief and letting go, Martín is more concerned...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Two highly-anticipated comedy series are hitting streaming platforms this week, the excruciatingly relatable "Beef" on Netflix and the musical prequel series, "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies" on Paramount+. Meanwhile, there are films like "The Drop" and "Mayhem" available to stream that might help viewers get ready for a series like "Beef." Both flicks are exclusive to their prospective streaming platforms, so hopefully you've got Hulu and Shudder in addition to Netflix. There's also the Netflix series "Julie and the Phantoms" and the oft-forgotten "Grease 2" on Paramount+ to serve as the perfect companion pieces to "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies." Last-up, there's also the Prime Video series "Paper Girls" which manages to capture the girl-power energy of the new prequel series while boasting a stand-out performance by one of the stars of "Beef."

Beef Is About To Become Your Latest TV Obsession

Where to Watch "Beef": NetflixWhen...

Hey everyone! We have one last batch of horror and sci-fi home media releases headed our way before the end of the month, and this week’s offerings are massive, with well over 20 titles coming out on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD this Tuesday alone.

One of my favorite creature features ever is getting some love in HD finally, with Scream Factory’s 4K release of Lewis Teague’s Alligator (and its sequel is headed to Blu-ray this week as well), and the horror comedy Dead Heat is also getting a 4K upgrade. For all you giallo fans out there, Forgotten Gialli: Volume 3 is being released tomorrow and features three more Italian classics genre fans are going to want to own, and Severin Films is keeping busy with a ton of titles this week too: Bloody Pit of Horror, Black Candles, Night of the Demon, and The Halfway House.

Other titles...

New Release Wall

“House of Gucci” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) The legendary and legendarily vicious Gucci fashion empire gets the old-fashioned big movie treatment with Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, and Lady Gaga. Is it kind of ridiculous? Yes, but it’s also the reboot of “Dynasty” you never knew you wanted, one that’s best watched with a living room full of your rowdiest and most opinionated friends. Everyone in the movie is doing a variation on Italian-accented English, the settings are opulent, and Gaga is giving look after look after hat after hat and you will respect the wild, criminal duh-raaamaaa of it all.

Also Available:

“American Underdog” (Lionsgate) Zachary Levi stars as NFL champ Kurt Warner, who overcame multiple challenges and setbacks on the road to football glory.

“Apex” (Rlje Films) Bruce Willis must kill or be killed in order to escape prison.

“Clifford the Big Red Dog...

Stars: Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Lafleur, Aleksa Palladino, Beth Grant, Ross Partridge | Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Originally premièring at the Fantasia International Film festival in 2014 and going on to win the Breakthrough Audience Award at AFI Fest, as well as Best Feature Film at the Denver International Film Festival, The Midnight Swim is now being digitally re-released alongside a special edition Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome/Yellow Veil Pictures. As a fan of found footage movies, I was excited to see this little known film.

We immediately meet three sisters who are returning to their childhood home after their mother has disappeared (presumed dead) after deep-sea diving into a mysterious lake near the home. Spirit Lake is apparently so deep that no one has ever managed to find the bottom. As the three sisters decide what to do with the house, the lake and its surroundings are the location...

If there is a Sarah Adina Smith fan club out there, I want to be a member. Her debut feature, The Midnight Swim, is a work of creeping strangeness, tenderness, sorrow, and fear. Her sophomore film, Buster's Mal Heart, starring a pre-Oscar™ Rami Malik, is even more strange and disturbing, in the best way possible. We announced last month that Yellow Veil had acquired The Midnight Swim for home and VOD release. The Midnight Swim is both an outlier as found footage horror (being focused more on home movie as the siblings mourn their lost mother) and a cabin-in-the-woods horror (the monster is definitely not what it seems). It is a film that I often return to, perfect for a rainy afternoon when the world...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Today, the entire nation turns to two dueling sides using strategy and physical skill to claim victory while pursuing a common goal where a tiny piece of metal carries undue influence over the outcome. We are of course talking about the new Amazon series “Hanna.”

The show, which debuts in its entirety in March, will make its first episode available to watch for Prime Video subscribers tonight, following an ad during the football that’s also happening today. Following the game, anyone with an account has 24 hours to watch that opening installment, in advance of the series’ official debut next month.

Based on Joe Wright’s 2011 film, the series follows the title character, stolen from a hospital at a young age and systematically trained to become the ultimate field operative in a mysterious, ongoing battle. Esme Creed-Miles stars as Hanna, trying to figure out why ex-CIA agent Erik (Joel Kinnaman...

It's been nearly eight years since Joe Wright's offbeat action flick Hanna hit theaters, but the titular teenage assassin is now returning to the screen in a straight-to-series drama developed by Amazon. The show isn't due to premiere until March, but the two teaser trailers that Amazon released early this year has us curious how this story will be modified for an eight-episode full-length series. Here's everything we know so far about the upcoming reboot.

Related: 13 TV Show Premieres to Add to Your Must-Watch List in 2019 The Main Cast

The 2011 Joe Wright film starred Saoirse Ronan as the title character, Hanna Heller, but in the series, that role will be taken over by 18-year-old British actress Esme Creed-Miles, who appeared in the 2017 films Pond Life and Dark River. Hanna's father Erik Heller (who was originated by Eric Bana) will be played by Joel Kinnaman, a Swedish actor best known...

February is known as Women in Horror Month, when the spotlight is put on female filmmakers working inside our favorite genre, and many horror sites run pieces about movies directed by women. And that’s great! But there’s no reason why that spotlight should be limited to only one month, particularly when there are so many brilliant and talented female filmmakers working in the genre. Why not use this October to hit up these titles on Shudder and get to know some of the most exciting female voices in horror right now?

Prevenge (2016, dir. Alice Lowe) Alice Lowe writes, directs, and stars in this darkly comic, twisted fantasy about a woman who is very, very pregnant (Lowe herself was pregnant during shooting) and goes on a killing spree when her unborn baby talks to her and tells her to take revenge for a past tragedy. The film never fully transcends its gimmick,...

[Editor’s Note: The below interview and analysis includes spoilers for “Room 104,” Episode 1, “Ralphie.”]

“Room 104” welcomed guests with an absolutely wild first episode, setting a high bar for the season to come (but one they do meet).

In “Ralphie,” a single father (Ross Partridge) leaves his adolescent son, Ralph (Ethan Kent), with a babysitter, Meg (Melonie Diaz), while he goes out on a date. The job seems simple enough: Feed the kid, get him in bed at a reasonable hour, and expect the dad to return relatively early. Granted, Meg wasn’t explicitly instructed not to strangle Ralph to death, but she also wasn’t warned of an evil, identical twin brother named Ralphie who terrorizes them both.

…if that’s what happened. Thanks to a few well-placed clues as to Meg’s mental state, including a lack of references, as well as the creepy vibes of the room itself, it’s plausible she might have imagined the whole thing. Ralph could have...

Buster’s Mal Heart is indie sci-fi at its most abstract, taking elements of more populist, influential films like Fight Club and The Matrix and filtering them through philosophical exchanges and coolly stylized compositions to produce something that’s somehow simultaneously more weighty and more slight. Director Sarah Adina Smith, who broke through with the similarly ambiguous The Midnight Swim in 2014, takes a cerebral approach to the material, referring to “spiritual fission” and “individual responsibility in a mechanistic universe” in her official statement on the film. Whether you find this sort of thing pretentious or intriguing is, essentially, a matter of taste.

The main character, whose consciousness appears to be split into three distinct identities, is played by a quietly intense Rami Malek, who serendipitously took the part shortly before his breakout role in Mr. Robot. We’re initially introduced to him as a nameless man covered in long ...

We chat with Sarah Adina Smith, writer and director, about the magic available to us today and “fortune cookie” wisdom.The Sword of Damocles is an apology for those who rule us in the systems of control. Time is a butcher’s chop and existence is its block. What are we doing?!

The Shallow Pocket Project is going to Tribeca (in spirit)! We’ll be chatting with several independent filmmakers making the trek to New York for this year’s film festival. Stay tuned! Check out our last Tribeca chat with Jamie M. Dagg (Director of ‘Sweet Virginia’). Special thanks, as always, to In The Mouth of Dorkness, Brad Gullickson, and Darren Smith.

Sarah Adina Smith is a fucking brilliant madwoman. It hurt my brain talking with her. Honest to goodness, I am not being hyperbolic. She is so effortlessly purposeful and creative in her casual discussion of philosophy that it made me wish I was smarter...

Maybe it's just me. Several of this decade's most acclaimed independent horror films have left me relatively cold. While I am not immune to the charms of films like The Babadook, and You're Next; there is another separate wave of new low-budget horror that I just cannot seem to get behind. Films like Sarah Adina Smith's The Midnight Swim and Osgood Perkins' The Blackcoat's Daughter (Fka February) have squandered what is clearly an immense amount of talent in telling stories with no real purpose or central conflict. Director Karen Skloss first narrative feature, pseudo-horror headscratcher The Honor Farm, falls firmly into the latter category and it makes me all the more curious if I'm the one being left behind. Best friends Lucy and Annie plan...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Los Angeles’ annual AFI Fest presented by Audi kicks off this week, and boasts a robust slate of some of the festival season’s most beloved offerings and a few highly anticipated new premieres. If you’ve missed out on the rest of the year’s big festivals, AFI Fest is a prime opportunity to catch up on the starriest titles before awards season really kicks into high gear, along with enough bonafide premieres to keep even the most ravenous movie-goer very happy indeed.

Ahead, we pick out 14 of our most anticipated films from the fest, including a handful of genuine classics, some big contenders and at least one very buzzy debut. Take a look and start filling up your schedule now.

“Jackie”

The hype is real. Pablo Larrain’s English-language debut features Natalie Portman in not just the best performance of her career, but what’s currently shaping up...

Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American and select international rights for Sarah Adina Smith’s psychological thriller “Buster’s Mal Heart.” The film stars Emmy winner Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot“) as a troubled man who goes on the run as he seeks distance from his past and what awaits him. The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival last month in the Vanguard section of the annual gathering. Also Read: 'Toy Story 4,' 'Incredibles 2' Swap Release Dates “Buster’s Mal Heart” marks the second feature from writer-director Smith (“The Midnight Swim”). The movie also features performances...

Female horror fans are hardly unicorns. Quite the opposite – we go to the movies to get scared, often in greater numbers than men. Female horror directors aren't mythical beings either, even though it can sometimes feel this way. But in fact, the last few years have seen an exciting wave of horror films helmed by women who haven't merely joined the rank-and-file as encouraging statistics. Instead, movies like Jennifer Kent's The Babadook or Karyn Kusama's The Invitation have helped elevate the genre by opening it up to stories that unsettle audiences in new,...

With the award-winning faux documentary The Midnight Swim hitting DVD today from Candy Factory Films, we have an exclusive clip from the film to share. Sarah Adina Smith’s The Midnight Swim (review) captured awards from AFI Fest and the Denver… Continue Reading →

The post Exclusive Clip from The Midnight Swim Warns Don’t Go in the Lake!! appeared first on Dread Central.

If you live near Austin and you feel the earth shifting beneath your feet, then you might want to throw on your sneakers and start running now, because the King of the Monsters is heading to Texas this week for the North American premiere of Shin Godzilla at Fantastic Fest 2016:

Press Release: Austin, TX - September 21, 2016 - Alamo Drafthouse's Fantastic Fest is excited to unveil last minute additions to the schedule, adding to one of the most highly diverse lineups in the festival's twelve-year history. And see who will go toe to toe in the fest's highly anticipated yearly event, the Fantastic Debates!

Godzilla returns to the big screen in 2016 with Shin Godzilla, the 32nd film in the legendary franchise and currently the 3rd highest grossing film in Japan this year. The King of the Monsters stomps into Fantastic Fest for its North American Premiere before smashing its way through the U.

After making an impression in films from Paul Thomas Anderson, David Lowery, and Spike Lee, thanks to his new exposure as television’s most intelligent anti-social hacker, Rami Malek has graduated from indelible supporting character appearances to the coveted leading role. His first endeavor in the arena comes with Buster’s Mal Heart, a structurally oblique, emotionally flat drama which finds him once again embracing the peculiarities of the human psyche.

Opening on a pristine lake as the sun sets, we find Malek’s scraggy Buster adrift on a boat sitting face-to-face with another man — or is it? After the title card, he’s in better physical shape, but hunted in the woods, evading gunfire and on the run. Things get progressively better for our lead in the next time jump, as we see Buster’s past life as Jonah, working at a dead-end job as a hotel concierge, but...

“There are a lot of places people can go to find simple stories. My brain is just not one of them.” That’s writer/director Sarah Adina Smith talking about her filmmaking sensibility, which gravitates towards psychological mystery and cinematic mindbenders. She follows up her haunting, SXSW-premiering drama The Midnight Swim with Buster’s Mal Heart, a movie dealing with psychological breakdown set against the expansive natural spaces of the Montana wild. In a time-skipping narrative, Mr. Robot star Rami Malek plays an eccentric fugitive who breaks into luxury mountain homes while their owners have decamped for the winter. As we learn, he […]...

The new teaser for Tiff drama “Buster’s Mal Heart” has arrived, and it looks like it’s going to be an intense addition to the festival. ‘Mr. Robot’ star Rami Malek plays a fugitive surviving a harsh winter climate by breaking into vacation homes. He earns the nickname ‘Buster’ after repeatedly calling into the same radio station to warn about Y2K. But things get strange once he’s haunted by images of his old life as a clean-cut family man and nightmares of being lost at sea.

Read More: Where I Shot It: Finding the Right Backdrop for a Character’s Spiritual Quest in ‘Buster’s Mal Heart’

“Buster’s Mal Heart” is the sophomore feature from filmmaker Sarah Adina Smith, who wrote, directed and edited the film. Smith describes the movie as an “existential journey.” It was shot in Montana and produced by Gamechanger Films, Everything is Everything,...

The first teaser has arrived for the Tiff drama/mystery Buster’s Mal Heart, led by Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek. Penned, helmed, and edited by Sarah Adina Smith (who had a segment in the horror anthology Holidays, as well as directed The Midnight Swim) in her sophomore feature, the film concerns an on-the-run mountain man (Malek) who has survived the harsh winter conditions by breaking into empty houses in a remote town. Plagued by visions of drifting at sea and of his past life, he also frequently calls into a radio station to rant about Y2K and other dangers — a station where he has now gained the moniker “Buster.”

The teaser borrows from The Shining‘s playbook, utilizing the ominous repetitions of a ball hitting a wall to guide the edits through haunting portraits of family life paired with loneliness and isolation. It then dips into a fast...

Few film festivals in the world double as an acquisitions marketplace quite like the Toronto International Film Festival, which will screen more than 300 movies between September 8 and September 18. Most of these films have yet to land a U.S. distributor, and only a select group of titles will secure a distribution deal before the end of the fest.

Which movies are likely to be swarmed by buyers at Tiff 2016? Here are nine hot titles from the lineup that could be prime targets for acquisition execs.

“The Bad Batch”

Writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour’s follow-up to her hit debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” is billed as a “dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland.” The film follows a young girl named Samantha (Suki Waterhouse) who’s been banished from civilized society and ends up escaping from a community of cannibals. Produced by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, the film stars Keanu Reeves,...

Sarah Adina Smith wowed us a couple years ago with her supernatural drama, The Midnight Swim involving the complex emotional ecosystem of three sisters at the family cottage. She is back with Mr. Robot star Rami Malik at the centre of an eliptical mind-fuck story involving pre-millenial tension, extreme isolation and talk-radio. The teaser is here is more of a feeling than any sort of telling what the film is actually about. Fortunately, we also have the Tiff catalogue description, below, where the film will have its world premiere on September 11th. An eccentric mountain man is on the run from the authorities, surviving the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes in a remote community. Regularly calling into radio talk shows — where he...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Wme has signed up-and-coming filmmaker Sarah Adina Smith, whose film Buster’s Mal Heart will premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, which Smith wrote and directed, stars Mr. Robot Emmy nominee Rami Malek in his first film lead. Smith also wrote and directed The Midnight Swim, which earned her a Breakthrough Audience Award at the AFI Festival, where the film premiered to critical raves. Buster’s Mal Heart co-stars Kate Lyn Sheil (The Girlf…...

Millions of Americans will flock to the beach this summer for sun-filled days of ocean fun. And while a sandy weekend getaway can be the ultimate relaxing vacation, there is one major concern many beachgoers share while swimming in the ocean - sharks. According to experts at the International Shark Attack File, last year there were 98 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks on humans. The majority of these attacks were considered "hit and run" bites that resulted in minor injury. But six attacks, worldwide, in 2015 were fatal. Experts say it is important for beachgoers to remember that humans are visitors of the...

Millions of Americans will flock to the beach this summer for sun-filled days of ocean fun. And while a sandy weekend getaway can be the ultimate relaxing vacation, there is one major concern many beachgoers share while swimming in the ocean - sharks. According to experts at the International Shark Attack File, last year there were 98 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks on humans. The majority of these attacks were considered "hit and run" bites that resulted in minor injury. But six attacks, worldwide, in 2015 were fatal. Experts say it is important for beachgoers to remember that humans are visitors of the...

Shock talks to director Sarah Adina Smith about her work in horror anthology Holidays. Sarah Adina Smith made quite an impression with her film The Midnight Swim, an indie horror film that established Smith as an up and coming filmmaker to watch out for. In Holidays (now in theaters), Sarah tackles Mother’s Day, a look…

The post Interview: Director Sarah Adina Smith Talks Holidays Segment ‘Mother’s Day’ appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Some of the biggest days on the calendar are viewed through a dark lens in the new horror anthology Holidays. Featuring a plethora of intriguing characters, one of the film’s standouts is Andrew Bowen’s performance as Reggie: an unconventional serial killer looking for his next victim on New Year’s Eve. Following Holidays’ world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival (and VOD debut) and ahead of its April 22nd theatrical release, we caught up with Bowen for our latest Q&A feature.

Andrew, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, and congratulations on your excellent work in Holidays. What attracted you to this film and the role of Reggie in the “New Year’s Eve” segment?

Andrew Bowen: Thank you so much! It was such a cool project to work on. I got involved after my friend and producer Gabriella Lugo (who produced [the] “Christmas...

Another Sunday and another installment of VOD Vault, taking a look at some of this weeks on-demand releases that have hit various VOD platforms here in the UK. This week we have a very seasonal edition, featuring two films that take a horrific look at the holidays…

Krampus

Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen, Krista Stadler | Directed by Michael Dougherty

Krampus has seemingly become the de jour villain in the horror genre recently. We’ve already had two movies featuring the evil anti-Santa, Krampus: The Christmas Devil and Krampus: The Reckoning; and now comes a third. Although unlike its seasonal brethren, this Krampus at least made it into cinemas – and so it should have. This is the latest film from director Michael Dougherty, who exploded onto the UK horror scene a few years back when his Halloween anthology Trick ‘r’ Treat was screened at Frightfest.

For centuries, annual holidays have been widely celebrated as a time to put aside one’s worries and responsibilities in order to come together with loved ones and enjoy each other’s company. Holidays are magical, not only because they represent a time of love and harmony, but also because many of them are commemorated on a global scale, making them not only a positive junction, but a universal one that can be shared by nearly all of humankind.

Although we can all look back on our happy moments as a collective people, we can also all relate to the sense of dread that often goes hand-in-hand with an approaching festivity. Holidays like Valentine’s Day can be ridiculously expensive, Christmastime can mean grueling hosting duties for many, as well as fights with family. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can bring emotional baggage with it if a person has a lost parent,...

Growing up, I was a sucker for gimmicks. Blame my Mom. Every time a new M&M flavor (did you know they make Coconut and Cherry?) or Oreo remix hit the shelves, our house was the first on the block to sample it. I like to think it’s this upbringing that now influences my taste in horror films, like my adoration of holiday themes (Krampus! Gremlins!) and anthology collections. Or how about an entire horror anthology themed around major holidays, aptly titled – you guessed it – Holidays! It was going to take an act of Satan to keep me away from this one…

Let me start by confirming that yes, Holidays works. It’s an admitted mixed-bag of highs and lows (more highs), but that’s to be expected with eight *very* different segments. Some will love Kevin Smith’s Halloween whorishness, while others will start with their typical anti-Smith...

This April’s VOD offerings are a strong and eclectic bunch, including one of my favorite films out of the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, The Invitation, which arrives on digital platforms April 8th.

For you Norman Reedus fans out there, IFC releases the road thriller Sky, in which he plays a supporting role, on April 15th. The latest horror anthology, Holidays, makes its VOD bow on the same day, courtesy of Vertical Entertainment and Xyz Films, and if you dig Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, then you have The Tell-Tale Heart to look forward to on April 5th.

Other notable VOD titles for April 2016 include The Girl in the Photographs, Pandemic, The Forest, and 13 Cameras.

The Girl in the Photographs (Vertical Entertainment) – April 1st

In Nick Simon’s The Girl In The Photographs, Colleen’s life isn’t going anywhere. The small town check out girl with natural beauty is bored with...

There’s a fun looking horror anthology film coming out soon called Holidays. The movie is described as a “uniquely dark” film that puts an “original spin on some of the most iconic and beloved holidays of all time. The film challenges our folklore, traditions and assumptions, making Holidays a celebration of the horror on those same special days’ year after year.”

There’s a lot of great talent that came together to create this movie. The directors involved with the project are Kevin Smith (Tusk), Gary Shore (Dracula Untold), Scott Stewart (Dark Skies), Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim), Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact), Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate), and Anthony Scott Burns (Darknet).

There are also a few actors that you might recognize, like Seth Green (Robot Chicken). The movie is being distributed by Vertical Entertainment, and co-president Rich Goldberg...

In what will be will be one of the first global launches of a day-and-date independent film campaign Vertical Entertainment and Xyz will release the new horror anthology, Holidays, April 15th with worldwide digital and VOD platforms followed by a targeted U.S. theatrical release on April 22nd.

The film will have its world premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival only one day prior on April 14th.

A collaboration of some of Hollywood’s most distinct voices, the directors include Kevin Smith (Tusk), Gary Shore (Dracula Unbound), Scott Stewart (Dark Skies), Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim), Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact), Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate [Continued ...]...

If "The ABCs Of Death" and "V/H/S" haven't sated your appetite for bite-sized horror, a new anthology is on the way, sporting its own clever concept. As you might guess from the title, "Holidays" delivers scares centered around various celebrations on the calendar, and the first international trailer has landed to give you a taste of what's coming. Read More: Kevin Smith, Scott Stewart, Sarah Adina Smith, And More Lend Their Talents To Horror Anthology 'Holidays' Kevin Smith, Gary Shore ("Dracula Untold"), Scott Stewart ("Priest," "Legion"), Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer ("Starry Eyes"), Sarah Adina Smith ("The Midnight Swim"), Nicholas McCarthy ("The Pact"), Adam Egypt Mortimer ("Some Kind of Hate"), and Anthony Scott Burns are the filmmakers who helm the segments in "Holidays," and Seth Green is the biggest star among the cast that's mostly made up of smaller...

Strangers With Cabins : Partridge’s Uncomfortable Sophomore Film

Returning behind the camera for the first time since his 2000 debut indie film Interstate 84, actor Ross Partridge reaches uncomfortable and unpredictable heights with Lamb, an adaptation of a novel by Bonnie Nadzam. Exploring a socially inappropriate relationship between a middle aged man and a pre-teen female barely on the horizon of adolescence, Ross reaches a perfect emotional pitch in-between punctuations of queasy discomfort. With impressive finesse, Partridge, who adapted the screenplay, maintains the sense of dense characterization sometimes lost in cinematic translations dealing with material as fragile as this.

Having just buried his father and in the midst of a divorce, Chicago businessman David Lamb (Partridge) finds himself adrift in an increasing tangle of little white lies and untruths that have forced him into a stagnant personal ennui. He’s having a tepid affair with co-worker, Linny (Jess Weixler), though...

Over the last few years, I’ve rocked out a Top 13 and Bottom 13 for the horror genre here at We Got This Covered. My thought process was simple – recommend the horror films you shouldn’t miss, and the worst duds you should avoid. But there’s just too much hate in the world today, and we need more positivity! We, nay – I need a change. So, instead of pumping out a generically snarky “Worst Of Horror” list for y’all this year, I’ll just recommend a few more horror flicks that Definitely deserve your attention, even if they didn’t make my top-tier cut.

There are still a good amount of films I’d love to have included here, but we must limit to how many lists pollute our search engines. For example, Insidious: Chapter 3 saw Leigh Whannell achieve success through his own unique vision, and while we...

[Editor's Note: This article is presented in partnership with the Montana Film Office, a central information source for on-location filmmakers. Click here to learn more.] Read More: How the Filmmakers Found the Perfect Locations for 'The Revenant' When writer-director Sarah Adina Smith (AFI Fest Audience Award Winner "The Midnight Swim") was writing her new film, "Buster’s Mal Heart," she just assumed she would film in Colorado. "Colorado is where I'm from and where I assumed I would have the most resources to make the movie," Smith told Indiewire in a recent interview. "We scouted there, but Quentin Tarantino was shooting "The Hateful Eight" and using up the state’s entire tax incentive. Also it didn't quite have that spirit that I was looking for. I love Colorado and it's an incredibly interesting place, but there's something about Montana that has a little bit more of the spiritual quest-type atmosphere I needed for this...

While Tiff is more inclusive to programming them, Sundance is not one to shy away from anthology horror films of the V/H/S type, so perhaps they’ll be looking to get into the holiday spirit with horror comedy vignette package aptly called Holidays. Among the group of filmmakers contributing to the project Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate), Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), Anthony Scott Burns (Manifold), Matt Johnson (The Dirties), Kevin Kolsch (Starry Eyes), Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact), Gary Shore (Dracula Untold), Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim) and Scott Stewart (Priest) we do find former Sundance attendees. Announced in the trades back in February and saw this set-visit write-up in April, this divided up pie is likely ready to bang out some holiday cheer and easter egg hunt glee.

Gist: This is a group of subversive tales fashioned around globally recognized celebrations like Christmas,...

As was the case for Joe Swanberg, it’s not unheard of that trailblazing names synonymous with micro American indie film fail to crack the Sundance line-up. Despite the accolades and their idiosyncratic style guides, Mike Ott and Nathan Silver are a pair of names that have yet to set foot in snowy Park City, and with this, perhaps the idiom of two filmmaking heads are better than one is applicable. Both have been prolific in their own right, collectively outputting nine feature films in less than a decade, and with production for their Denver shot Actor Martinez ending somewhere this past July and a rough cut being selected for the American Film Festival in Poland’s Us in Progress, things are looking good for an early 2016 bid. Starring indie actress girl crush Lindsay Burdge (in 2015 we caught her in The Midnight Swim, 6 Years and Lace Crater), we’re curious...

It’s been a long time coming for Short Term 12 supporting player Rami Malek, but the momentum built around television’s highly successful “Mr.Robot” has landed him the coveted lead role in Sarah Adina Smith‘s sophomore film. THR reports that actor leads a cast comprised of Kate Lyn Sheil, DJ Qualls, Toby Huss, Lin Shaye, Lance Barber, Mark Kelly, Bruce Bundy and Teresa Yenque in Smith’s Buster’s Mal Heart — production is being set up in Montana and should commence filming shortly. Jonako Donley and Snowfort Films’ Travis Stevens (We Are Still Here) are producing. Gamechanger’s Mynette Louie, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger are executive producing.

Gist: This follows an eccentric mountain man (Malek) on the run from authorities who survives the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes. He’s haunted by a recurring dream of being lost at...

Rami Malek, leading star of the so-hot-right-now cyber-thriller Mr. Robot, has today landed his first major role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the up-and-comer has agreed a deal to topline Sarah Adina Smith’s mystery drama Buster’s Mal Heart.

Financed by Gamechanger Films, Smith’s indie feature has already recruited the likes of DJ Qualls, Toby Huss and House of Cards alum Kate Lyn Sheil. It;s Malek who will spearhead the drama, however, as an eccentric recluse who lives out his days in the mountains, breaking into one vacation home after another in order to survive through the harsh winters.

During his illicit escapades – which ought to be right in Malek’s wheelhouse after Mr. Robot – our protagonist is plagued by a series of vivid and indeed recurring dreams; dreams that cast him astray at sea without a hope. As the narrative unfolds, Malek’s character learns that...

At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"Inside Out"

Joy! Joy! Joy! Disney/Pixar's brilliant emotional roller coaster is finally out on Blu-ray and DVD on November 3. There are so many special features with the various in-home releases, especially if you get the Blu-ray Combo Pack, including the short film "Riley's First Date," another short film called "Lava," tons of behind-the-scenes featurettes, four deleted scenes, and commentary. Check out the extras breakdown.

"Vacation"

The Griswolds are back, for better or worse, in this next generation comedy, which is out on DVD and Blu-ray November 3. Ed Helms plays the adult Rusty Griswold, who takes his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and their two sons on a road trip to Walley World. OGs Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo co-star,...

It’s almost the start of a new month and that means Netflix is about to refresh their content by adding a lot of new titles and removing some as well. Some of the titles we’re losing include Fargo, Stand By Me, and Batman & Robin, oh no! But some of the highlights for November include the first season of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’s new Netflix show With Bob and David; Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Check out the full listings below:

All Title Dates are Subject to Change

Netflix U.S. Release Dates Only

Available 11/1

Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure (2011)

Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce: Season 1

Idris Elba: Mandela, My Dad and Me (2015)

Last Days in Vietnam (2014)

Pasion de Gavilanes (2003)

Robot Overlords (2015)

Seven Deadly Sins: Season 1 — Netflix Original

Smithsonian Channel: The Day Kennedy Died (2013)

The Last Time You Had Fun (2014)

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie...

We can't wait for Netflix's November 20th debut of "Marvel's Jessica Jones" starring Krysten Ritter as a superhero who becomes a private detective. The noirish series, which received a great reception at New York Comic Con, costars Carrie-Anne Moss and former Dr. Who David Tennant.

Other Netflix originals premiering in November: "River," starring Stellan Skarsgård as a detective haunted by visions of his murdered colleague; the Aziz Ansari comedy series "Master of None;" and "W/Bob and David," which re-teams Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

As for movies, you might have missed Keira Knightley in "Anna Karenina" (2012), which first paired "Ex Machina's" Alicia Vikander and Domhnall Gleeson. Also new, Nicolas Cage's "The Runner" and documentaries "Idris Elba: Mandela, My Dad and Me," "Call Me Lucky" and "Do I Sound Gay?"

Here's the entire list of what's new on Netflix in November.

Available November 1

"Beethoven's Christmas Adventure" (2011)

"Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce...

This year's No Budget Film Festival has chosen 25 innovative short films to play for one day only at historic Barnsdall Park in Los Feliz, California. The lineup will showcase world premieres and curated selections of low-to-no budget projects from top festivals around the world. The festival has rounded up a jury of indie stalwarts — including Daniel Myrick, who pretty much defined no-budget filmmaking with "The Blair Witch Project." This year's jurors, which we reveal exclusively, are: Alicia Lutes, Associate Editor at Nerdist Lee Jameson, Film Education Manager at Film Independent Daniel Myrick, Director (The Blair Witch Project) Dave Kneebone, Producer / Exec Producer (Absolutely Productions - "Tim and Eric", "Nathan For You") Lindsay Burdge, Actress (Digging For Fire, The Midnight Swim) Polly Morgan, Cinematographer (The Pretty One, The Truth About Emmanuel) Anna Hollingsworth, Animation Director (Netflix's "BoJack Horseman")...

Article and photo by Michael Lizaragga.

Call it a Mardi Gras for comic geeks or a mosh pit for monster fans, Comic-Con International was again the world’s largest epicenter for the eclectic masses July 9-12. More than 130,000 pop culture devotees gathered in San Diego, CA for a quasi-crazed kaleidescope that ranged from Batman Vs Superman cast member panels to previews of the anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

But amongst the hammers and shields of superheroes were also the axes and gallows of the grotesque and gruesome. Sdcc featured a session with Blumhouse Productions, with Elijah Wood and other producers praising and empowering the independent horror genre and its filmmakers.

It Follows, You’Re Next, The Gallows, Resolution, Unfriended, and The Visit are just a few of today’s successful horror movies coming straight out of the independent genre vault, making film festivals such as Sundance and Fantastic...

“Budgets? We don’t need no stinking budgets!” Sara Adina Smith (probably) uttered before making The Midnight Swim, because budgets be damned, this focused tale-teller achieves chills through natural, organic storytelling. You won’t find a single special effect, any inclusion of CGI, or any trace of cinematic magic, yet tension mounts like a thick fog rolling over a glassy lake. It’s a slow, steady burn whose mundane presentation certainly won’t play to all audiences equally, but for more patient minds, an Earthy story ripe with curiosity and exploration exists for the taking. And what an oh-so-sugary-sweet victory for Smith it is.

This is a “W” for the little guys; the ones who go the independent route so they can tell their own story without restriction. On the flip side, I’m sure a whole new generation of wannabes will now be inspired to find the same success...

San Diego Comic-Con 2015 has released their full schedule for Saturday, July 11. For your convenience, we have pulled out all of the movie, TV and DVD related panels and events below, but you can can visit Comic-Con.org to check out the full schedule including comic book and video game panels. Take a look at all of the movie, TV and DVD events that will take place during the first day of Comic Con.

10:00am - 11:00am SpongeBob SquarePants

The cast of SpongeBob is back! All your Bikini Bottom favorites are on hand to perform Idiot Box at a live table read as chosen by the fans online. Featuring Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), and Dee Bradley Baker (all other Biukini Bottomites.. Following the performance will be a Q&A with the cast and creative director, Vincent Waller. Plus, a sneak peek at a...