Connect with us

Movies

[Sundance ’12] Anchor Bay Acquires Coming-Of-Age Horror ‘Excision’

Published

on

Sundance 2012

Anchor Bay Films announced today the acquisition of all North American distribution rights to director/writer Richard Bates, Jr.’s debut feature film, Excision (review), which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month. Produced by Dylan Hale Lewis, the horror film features an all-star cast including: AnnaLynne McCord (“90210”), Traci Lords (Cry Baby), Ariel Winter (“Modern Family”), Roger Bart (“Desperate Housewives”), Jeremy Sumpter (Soul Surfer), Malcolm McDowell, Matthew Gray Gubler (“Criminal Minds”), Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God), Ray Wise (Good Night, and Good Luck) and John Waters.

‘Excision’ is the story of Pauline (McCord), a delusional teenage outcast. Pauline picks scabs. Pauline dissects road kill. Pauline fantasizes about performing surgery on strangers. Her fascinations disturb her schoolmates and her parents, Phyllis (Lords) and Bob (Bart). No one understands Pauline except for Grace (Winter), her younger sister who suffers from cystic fibrosis. An outcast at school and at home, Pauline is convinced that the best way to repair her estranged relationship with her family is to perform a risky operation to save her sister’s life.

Ryan Daley had this to say in his review of the film: “It’s like a Shakespearean tragedy without the Shakespeare. In the end, all of the subconscious craziness in ‘Excision’ is just an unnecessary afterthought tacked onto an insightful coming-of-age story.

Keep up with all of our Sundance coverage here.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Movies

‘The Exorcism’ Trailer – Russell Crowe Gets Possessed in Meta Horror Movie from Producer Kevin Williamson

Published

on

Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist) is starring in a brand new meta possession horror movie titled The Exorcism, and Vertical has unleashed the official trailer this afternoon.

Vertical has picked up the North American rights to The Exorcism, which they’ll be bringing to theaters on June 7. Shudder is also on board to bring the film home later this year.

Joshua John Miller, who wrote 2015’s The Final Girls and also starred in films including Near Dark and And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird, directed The Exorcism.

Joshua John Miller also wrote the script with M.A. Fortin (The Final Girls). This one is personal for Miller, as his late father was the star of the best possession movie ever made.

Miller said in a statement this week, “The origins of the film stem from my childhood spent watching my father, Jason Miller, playing the doomed Father Karras flinging himself out a window at the climax of The Exorcist. If that wasn’t haunting enough on its own, my dad never shied away from telling me stories of just how “cursed” the movie was: the mysterious fires that plagued the production, the strange deaths, the lifelong injuries— the list went on and on. The lore of any “cursed film” has captivated me ever since.”

“With The Exorcism, we wanted to update the possession movie formula (“Heroic man rescues woman from forces she’s too weak and simple to battle herself!”) for a world where no one group owns goodness and decency over another,” he adds. “We were gifted with an extraordinary cast and creative team to tell a story about how we’re all vulnerable to darkness, to perpetuating it, if we fail to face our demons. The devil may retaliate, but what other choice do we have?”

The film had previously been announced under the title The Georgetown Project.

The Exorcism follows Anthony Miller (Crowe), a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.”

Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water), Chloe Bailey (Praise This), Adam Goldberg (The Equalizer) and David Hyde Pierce (Frasier) also star.

Of particular note, Kevin Williamson (Scream, Sick) produced The Exorcism.

Continue Reading