Movies
Not Quite Hollywood (limited)
“The infectious love the nearly 100 interviewees have for one country’s shameful output—and the insane collection of violent, perverse and downright mind-bending clips included here—makes the viewer want to dash onto the nearest computer and start tracking these lost classics down immediately.”
If you think you know Australian genre cinema is basically the realm of Mad Max, then you’re in for a rude awakening. We’re talking miles beyond Thunderdome here into a lawless cinematic land of sexual perverts, marsupials and a car chase scene that makes Death Proof look like a Disney ride.
Director Mark Hartley and Editor Jamie Blanks (Storm Warning) have culled together hundreds of hours of footage over the course of three years to bring you this definitive documentary on a subgenre of world cinema that even those who have seen dozens of these films probably can’t quite fathom…and they dub it: Ozploitation!
In a vain attempt to structure the anarchy that appears on screen, Hartley has broken the 103-minute doc down into three distinct sections.
The first section is titled—Ockers, Knockers, Pubes and Tubes. I’ll give you one guess what that’s about. But, even better than the title is, that this 20-odd minutes of interviews and clips delivers exactly what the cue card suggests! How’s that for breaking the mold? Usually exploitation films promise the moon but only deliver green cheese. In this section we get genius clips from films like Alvin Purple and (the film I’m most desperate to find now) the 1974 mondo film Australia After Dark and every one of them (I’d guestimate we see at least 2 or 3 dozen movies represented here) fill the frames with every manner of naked naughty bits! Girls, you wanna see John Holmes business? No problem it’s right here. Guys, will be thrilled to know that the outback isn’t the only “bush” on display here. The best part, the filmmakers not only interview the guys behind these films, they interview the starlets (now in their 50’s) too. Their thoughts? It’s all just a big naked joke. Brilliant!
Up next is Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers. The title immediately references Richard Franklin’s 1978 freak fest Patrick (which just came out on DVD from Synapse films in October 2008). The film about a hospital patient that uses telekinesis to kill is a classic example of WTF filmmaking at its best. Self-proclaimed Aussie genre junkie Quentin Tarantino (who is—per usual—the best and most hyperbolic interview subject in the doc) even reveals that The Bride’s comatose spitting scene in Kill Bill is in direct homage to this film. Other genre faves, including Saw duo James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Wolf Creek’s John Jarrett and director Greg McLean all harp on the classics all the way up to and including McLean’s recent giant croc flick Rogue and Jarrett’s previous killer croc pic Dark Age (also coming to DVD from Synapse).
The final section High Octane Disasters and Kung Fu Masters brings out the post apocalyptic big guns of George Miller and Mad Max but is most notable for the 10 minutes it devotes to the 1986 thriller Fair Game. In this “masterpiece” of exploitation, a beautiful blond girl is terrorized by poachers before being stripped naked and strapped to the hood of a jacked up red truck. I will now do anything it takes to see this film! As Tarantino so eloquently states in the documentary “who the fuck thinks of this stuff”? Turns out this was thought of by writer Rob George. I’d just like to shake that dude’s hand.
Not Quite Hollywood is probably the be all, end all, final word on Ozploitation films. It highlights dozens upon dozens of productions, from mundane puff pieces like the Nicole Kidman teen romp BMX Bandits to the classic man vs. nature thriller Lost Weekend, everything you’ve never wanted to know about an entire industry is on display here. But, the films success lies much further than simply documenting its subject. The infectious love the nearly 100 interviewees have for one country’s shameful output—and the insane collection of violent, perverse and downright mind-bending clips included here—makes the viewer want to dash onto the nearest computer and start tracking these lost classics down immediately. I know my Netflix queue will be stockpiled with Aussie trash cinema for months to come! You can’t ask for more than that!!!
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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