A thriller about a contagious virus sweeping through a small town that Octane. Breslin will play a teenager confronting a virus that turns friends and neighbors into vicious monsters. Quarantined with her family, she believes they are out of harm’s way until the contagion infiltrates their home.
In this modern-gothic vampire story, a recently bereaved teenage girl finds herself the focus of everyone’s attention at her elitist private school where life is steeped in tradition and ceremony. As she deals with her mother’s death, her father’s new relationship and falls in love for the first time, she is blissfully unaware that the school is home to a house of vampires who have their sights firmly set on capturing her and making her the subject of a ritual virgin sacrifice.
As she struggles against time to uncover the truth, the vampires carefully close their net with those around her questioning whether or not she is losing her mind.
Lisa Johnson is one day shy of her sixteenth birthday. And she will be forever. She and her family are dead and doomed to repeat that fateful last day before they were all killed in 1985. Only Lisa has “woken up” and realizes what is going on. She starts to feel as if she is being haunted, but the “ghost” turns out to be Olivia, a very much alive girl who lives in the house in the present day with her own family. With her help, Lisa discovers that the house once belonged to a serial killer who kidnapped teenage girls and burned their remains in a hidden furnace room. When he died, he became a Haunter – a powerful, evil spirit able to possess the living.
In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
Signs, Zombieland and The Call star Abigail Breslin, pictured, is set to star in Peste, a thriller about a contagious virus sweeping through a small town that Octane, says THR.
Breslin will play a teenager confronting a virus that turns friends and neighbors into vicious monsters. Quarantined with her family, she believes they are out of harm’s way until the contagion infiltrates their home.
The film, to be directed by Mark Ponderai (House at the End of the Street) and produced by Sheryll Clark (Cloverfield), is scheduled to begin production in September, IM Global’s CEO Stuart Ford announced.
IM Global’s genre label, is financing and shopping at Cannes.
Peste is based on Barbara Marshall’s screenplay, which appeared on the Black List, the Blood List and the Hit List in 2012. READ MORE
Here’s the official trailer to Summit Entertainment’s Ender’s Game, starring Ben Kingsley, as well as Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, and Hailee Steinfeld.
“70 years after a horrific alien war, an unusually gifted child is sent to an advanced military school in space to prepare for a future invasion.”
Ender’s Game, directed by Gavin Hood, opens theatrically on November 1st. READ MORE
WWE and TriStar’s The Call will bit DVD/Blu-ray on June 25th with a host of extra features. I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, but will admit that it had a really good 2nd act and can’t begrudge anyone liking it. There’s also an alternate ending on the disc, and we all know this movie needs one.
In the film, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.” I also recently spent some time on set and you can read that report right here. Halle Berry, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the film directed by genre vet Brad Anderson (Session 9).
Head inside for the box art and specs! READ MORE
While we’ve already seen a pretty astounding trailer for photographer Tyler Shields’ Final Girl, we now have the film’s first official still, as well as a unique Cannes sales poster.
Abigail Breslin, Alexander Ludwig, Wes Bentley, Logan Huffman, Michael Trevino, Connor Paolo, Francesca Eastwood and Michael Trevino all star.
“Loner Veronica is new to school, shy and vulnerable the perfect target for a group of teenage boys who lure girls into the woods to hunt and kill them for sport. It’s only after they get her alone that she turns the tables on them, escaping and revealing she’s armed and knows how to defend herself. Little do they know, Veronica is an assassin-in-training, and she’s chosen killing these boys as her final test. When the dust clears, Veronica will find out if she can be the final girl these boys ever have a chance to hurt.” READ MORE
TriStar opens Brad Anderson’s latest thriller, WWE Studio’s The Call, today, March 15th. The film stars Halle Berry as a 911 operator who takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted and Bloody D’s Evan Dickson wished things had played out differently in the film, especially the ending.
While it doesn’t sound all that bad, Evan did say the movie was pretty bland.
“The Call is exactly the same movie the trailers are selling. You’ve already seen a sped-up version of it so if you’ve been wanting to spend another 93 minutes in that world, odds are you’ll have a good time. But if you’ve already decided that this film isn’t for you, you’re probably right” he says further adding, “Either way, you’ll probably hate the ending.”
Click here to read the review, or take the time to write your own review and tell all of Bloody what YOU thought.
The Call is a serviceable thriller that makes enough smart choices to make you realize how dumb everything else in the movie is. Not that this the kind of story that writers/directors usually have as a passion project – but I would almost like to see a version of this movie without all of the horrendous “film by committee” moments that pervade its occasional flashes of inspiration.
Halle Berry plays Jordan, a 911 operator who is the best at what she does until one day she suddenly becomes the worst at what she does and leads a serial killer to his intended target – a 17 year old blond who ends up scalped in a field. Unable to deal with the pressure, she gets on a few prescriptions and starts phasing herself out of the “Hive life” (the Hive being what the buzzing call center is referred to in the film) by becoming a trainer for future operators. Aside from a general blandness that seeps in around frame one, this is the first sign of the true problems that plague this movie. One of the trainees literally serves as the surrogate for whatever toddlers might be in the audience by asking Berry dumb questions both he and we already know the answer to. It’s not even exposition, it’s the abyss of character beats.
Things pick up a notch when we meet Abigail Breslin’s Casey Welson. Breslin manages to make the mall-rat Casey a smart, assertive and vulnerable character in a few quick moments and it’s a pleasure to watch her work. When her promiscuous friend has to bolt from the mall in order to pick up her brother, she leaves behind her secondary phone – a generic pre-paid number she uses for hook-ups. Breslin pockets the phone, intending to return it later. It’s a good thing she does because, moments later, she’s kidnapped by Michael Eklund’s Michael Foster – the same serial killer Berry assisted 6 months prior. With her iPhone smashed but the pre-paid working, Breslin calls 911 and is directed to a newbie operator from whom Berry quickly takes the reigns.
It’s here that the film rises up a few notches to actually become really good for about 45 minutes. Breslin, trapped in the trunk of Eklund’s car, must collaborate with Berry on potential methods of discovery and/or escape. There’s some truly smart stuff here when it comes to the methodology of getting noticed when you’re trapped in the trunk of a car speeding down the highway. This segment of the film also allows director Brad Anderson to craft a truly suspenseful sustained set piece. Eklund, who I disliked in The Divide, does some great work here as well – killing anybody who gets in his way while demonstrating a palpable sense of regret over his actions. I found myself engaged and looking forward to what the film had to offer.
Unfortunately, all The Call has to offer once that car chase ends is contrivance piled upon contrivance. Breslin’s phone goes dead and Berry’s supervisor informs her that it’s time to go home (it’s rare that a 911 operator ever achieves any closure when it comes to knowing what happened to the person on the other end of the line). But that’s not good enough for Berry. With Eklund’s primary address (containing his innocent wife and kids) having already been raided by the police, she heads off to find his other home – a remote cabin with an elaborately hidden basement.
Here, the film implodes upon itself. Every serial killer cliche imaginable is piled on, including a kitschy new wave song a la Silence Of The Lambs. Once Berry infiltrates the compound, which is filmed like a haunted house with a new surprise around every corner, The Call loses all sense of momentum and tension. There’s also an incredibly tacked-on ending that I’d be willing to bet was a WWE mandated re-shoot. This final sting manages to make the microwave bit at the end of The Last House On The Left remake seem like the epitome of common sense and character consistency.
I’ll put it this way, The Call is exactly the same movie the trailers are selling. You’ve already seen a sped-up version of it so if you’ve been wanting to spend another 93 minutes in that world, odds are you’ll have a good time. But if you’ve already decided that this film isn’t for you, you’re probably right. Either way, you’ll probably hate the ending.
Out today March 15th is WWE’s The Call (formerly The Hive), which is being released by TriStar. Last week I spent a few minutes with Abigail Breslin (Zombieland, Haunter) and we talked about the rigors of playing the kidnapping victim of Michael Eklund’s deranged serial killer. Even worse, she has to do 80% of that from the trunk of a car – that’s a rough 3 or so weeks!
In the film, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.” I also recently spent some time on set and you can read that report right here. Halle Berry, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the film directed by genre vet Brad Anderson (Session 9).
The Call is now rated “R.” Head inside for the interview! READ MORE
When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.
Out on March 15th is WWE’s The Call (formerly The Hive), which is being released by TriStar. I recently sat down with the film’s star Halle Berry (Gothika, X-Men) to discuss the challenges of performing in the relatively static (yet buzzing) environment of a 911 call center and the perks of working with director Brad Anderson (Session 9).
In the film, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.” I also recently spent some time on set and you can read that report right here. Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the film.
The Call is now rated “R.” Head inside for the interview! READ MORE
I’m a huge fan of Vincenzo Natali, the man behind Cube and Splice, which is why I have high hopes for his latest genre offering.
Starring Zombieland and The Call‘s Abigail Breslin, as well as Stephen McHattie, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden and David Hewlett, Haunter premiered last night at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. In it, the ghost of a teenager who died years ago reaches out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate.
Evan Dickson attended the World Premiere and had mixed feelings.
“It’s an interesting concept, The Others meets Groundhog Day. Some truly special stuff comes out of this early on as Natali and screenwriter Brian King nicely develop their world.”
Even with a cool concept, the film’s direction is where it falters: “I just wish it hadn’t gone in the direction it did,” Dickson states. “It starts with the makings of a modest miracle, but eventually uses up exactly as much goodwill as it earns.”
Click here for the entire review. READ MORE
It’s tough when you can’t fall in love with a movie you admire but, unfortunately, director Vincenzo Natali (the excellent Splice) is unable to bring his usual flair to the heavily uneven Haunter. After getting easily hooked into the film via an incredibly interesting first act, I found myself losing more and more interest as the movie began to throw its own rules out the window.
Abigail Breslin is excellent as Lisa, a mopey new-wave teen who also happens to be dead and stuck in 1986. Her whole family is dead too, but she’s the only one who’s actually aware of their predicament. Thus, her family enacts the same routine every day and treats her as if she’s acting out when she tries to tell them that she’s tired of having meatloaf for the thousandth day in a row. It’s an interesting concept, The Others meets Groundhog Day. Some truly special stuff comes out of this early on as Natali and screenwriter Brian King nicely develop their world. There’s a moment about halfway though when Lisa’s father suddenly starts smoking at dinner – not part of his normal routine – that signals the onset of what I assumed would be a truly remarkable second half.
Sadly, the remarkable version never shows up. Instead, Haunter disappears down a convoluted rabbit hole once Lisa’s objective – to save the family living in the 2013 version of their house – becomes clear. There’s very little that works after this point. We never get to know the family Lisa’s trying to save well enough (or at all, really) to become truly invested. It’s a horror movie, so when you place the innocent and anonymous in peril the audience doesn’t really care if they die or not. But Haunter isn’t interested in providing that type of investment. The film becomes obsessed with the ins and outs of ghost time travel (that’s a thing here) and, much like its’ protagonists, disappears into a virtual limbo.
Stephen McHattie (Pontypool) is effectively creepy as the film’s villain, but the energy around his motives and actions is so laconic and thinly drawn that his efforts are effectively neutered. An evil lacking any sort of definition, he’s sort of reduced to mugging for the camera by the end. Additionally, in what seems like a bid to appeal to younger teens and a PG-13 rating, the film lacks any punch whatsoever. Brightly lit with people learning important life (or death, I suppose) lessons, I was fairly shocked by the gummy toothlessness of its ending.
Haunter isn’t a bad film, and I certainly commend it for trying something new, I just wish it hadn’t gone in the direction it did. It starts with the makings of a modest miracle, but eventually uses up exactly as much goodwill as it earns. Hopefully it just serves as the ultimate palate cleanser (and expectation diminisher) before Natali returns back to better waters.
Director Vincenzo Natali (Splice, Cube) premiered his new film, Haunter, from Copperheart Entertainment, last night at the SXSW film festival in Austin, TX. Starring Abigail Breslin (Zombieland, Rango, Little Miss Sunshine), Stephen McHattie (300, Watchmen, Immortals, Pontypool), Peter Outerbridge (Silent Hill: Revelation, Lucky Number Slevin), Michelle Nolden (Red, Time Traveler’s Wife) and David Hewlett (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). It’s an inventive take on the haunted house genre and I look forward to sharing my review with you in a day or so.
In the film “Teenage Lisa (Breslin) and her family died in 1986 under sinister circumstances but remain trapped in their house, unable to move on. Lisa must reach out from beyond the grave to help her present-day, living counterpart, Olivia, avoid the same fate Lisa and her family suffered.”
Directed by Natali from a screenplay written by Brian King (Cypher, Night Train), the film is produced by Steven Hoban (Splice, Ryan, Ginger Snaps trilogy) and co-produced by Mark Smith (388 Arletta Avenue, The Spine).
Head inside for the interview! READ MORE
Out on March 15th is WWE’s Halle Berry starring The Call (formerly The Hive), which is being released by TriStar. And it’s going international baby, as evidenced by this poster. Whereas the posters for Evil Dead have been geting more red, The Call has been losing its hottest hue.
In the film, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.” I also recently spent some time on set and you can read that report right here.
Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the flick directed by genre fav Brad Anderson (Session 9) and written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thir13en Ghosts).
The Call was rated “R” yesterday. Head inside for the poster! READ MORE
In super weird late news, TriStar’s The Call, pictured, in theaters March 15, has been rated “R” for violence, disturbing content and some language.” In the film, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.”
Universal Pictures has provided us with the official synopsis and cast for Mercy, a supernatural thriller from The Haunting in Connecticut‘s Peter Cornwell. “Based on a short story by Stephen King, Mercy tells the tale of two young boys (“The Walking Dead’s” Chandler Riggs and Super 8’s Joel Courtney) who move with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at her decrepit farmhouse. When they suspect that the elderly woman they love has encountered a dark spirit, they fear she might not be the only one who won’t make it through the summer alive. Once George (Riggs) and Buddy McCoy (Courtney) arrive at their Gramma Mercy’s (Shirley Knight), what they find inside her 150-year-old home is nothing short of terrifying. As the brothers experience deeply disturbing phenomena they believe to be the work of an ancient witch, they must fight for their lives and overcome the evil forces threatening their family. Shirley Knight, Frances O’Connor, Mark Duplass and Dylan McDermott also star.
Lastly, genre icon Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead; pictured below) is starring in Nevermore, a supernatural horror thriller written and being directed by Dean C. Jones, writes THR. Jason Cook and Valerie Azlynn also are starring in the movie, shooing in Graham, N.C. “The movie centers on a couple who experience paranormal activity involving dead children when they move to an estate in Massachusetts.” Henriksen will play a parish priest whom the couple turn to, but the move is a mistake because the priest already knows all about resurrected children. READ MORE
I think it’s safe to say most of us here on Bloody love Brad Anderson, especially when he delivers films like Session 9, The Machinist and even Vanishing on 7th Street. WWE Films on the other hand, yeah, bunch o’ garbage. Put the two together and what do you get? We’ll find out on March 15 when TriStar releases their Halle Berry starring The Call (formerly The Hive).
A second trailer has been released from the film that begins, “When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.”
Dickson recently spent some time on set, you can read that report here.
Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the flick directed by genre fav Brad Anderson (Session 9) and written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thir13en Ghosts). READ MORE
Sony TriStar is gearing up for the impending release of their Halle Berry starring The Call (formerly The Hive), which is just over a month away. I recently spent some time on set if you want a more detailed glimpse that what the one-sheet provides, you can read that report here.
Now there’s a 2nd TV Spot, it doesn’t really add much beyond what we saw in the trailer, but it works as a quick refresher on the film’s gist I suppose.
In the film, “ When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.” Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the flick directed by genre fav Brad Anderson (Session 9) and written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thir13en Ghosts) The Call will be released March 15th, 2013.
Head inside to check it out. READ MORE
That’s not an exaggeration. Photographer Tyler Shields makes his directorial debut with Final Girl, and he’s opted to show you a condensed 60 second version of the entire film in this trailer (via Yahoo). It’s a bold move and I’m curious to see what you think.
“Loner Veronica is new to school, shy and vulnerable the perfect target for a group of teenage boys who lure girls into the woods to hunt and kill them for sport. It’s only after they get her alone that she turns the tables on them, escaping and revealing she’s armed and knows how to defend herself. Little do they know, Veronica is an assassin-in-training, and she’s chosen killing these boys as her final test. When the dust clears, Veronica will find out if she can be the final girl these boys ever have a chance to hurt.” Abigail Breslin, Alexander Ludwig, Wes Bentley, Logan Huffman, Michael Trevino, Connor Paolo, Francesca Eastwood and Michael Trevino all star.
Head inside to check it out! READ MORE
Sony TriStar has just released a new poster from their Halle Berry starring The Call (formerly The Hive). I recently spent some time on set if you want a more detailed glimpse that what the one-sheet provides, you can read that report here.
In The film, “ When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.”
Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the flick directed by genre fav Brad Anderson (Session 9) and written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thir13en Ghosts) The Call will be released March 15th, 2013.
Head inside to check it out! You can take ‘The Call’ on March 15th! READ MORE
In theaters March 15 from TriStar and genre fav Brad Anderson comes The Call, a new horror film that stars Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut.
The film begins when veteran 911 operator, Jordan (played by Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.
While we’re still months out, TV Spots have begun airing. Check out the first one inside. READ MORE
Sony TriStar will release their Halle Berry The Call (formerly The Hive) on March 15th, 2013. In the film, “ When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.”
Abigail Breslin, Justina Machado, Tara Platt, Evie Thompson, David Otunga, Michael Linstroth, Michael Eklund and Morris Chestnut also star in the flick directed by genre fav Brad Anderson (Session 9) and written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thir13en Ghosts).
I recently spent some time on the film’s set in Thousand Oaks, CA – head inside for the report! READ MORE
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