Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara (Gemma Arterton) meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.
Arriving on VOD and in limited theaters June 28 is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival. I loved the last trailer and this new clip takes a subdued look at the film, still digging the tone though.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
Arriving on VOD and in limited theaters June 28 is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival. A new UK quad has hit with some rather glowing praise, with one blurb in particular claiming it’s the best vampire film since Let The Right One In (I’ve got an open mind, but we’ll see about that).
Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
Arriving on VOD and in limited theaters June 28 is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival. A new trailer has hit – and a really dig it! It doesn’t seem like a terribly new take on vampires, but it does seem like a take that we haven’t seen in a long time. Classic, regal, sexy, bloody and stately. It’s sort of like the international trailer we had a few months back, but I like this version more.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
SundanceNOW and IFC Midnight’s Antiviral, directed by Brandon Cronenberg, opens on VOD and in limited theaters this Today, April 12th. So we figured we’d do two things, the first of which is to remind you to read Mr. Disgusting’s review (excerpted here),”The expectations may have been unfairly high (being the son of a legend demands some sort of competence), yet he surpasses them by delivering a deep, engaging, and beautifully shot art house horror film.”
The second thing is a quick mini-contest. We’re giving TWO lucky readers the chance to watch the film on SundanceNOW for free! Just email [email protected] with your favorite David Cronenberg movie. I’ll hit the winners back on Monday with their passes so they can watch the movie.
Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade all star in the film. Click here to read the review in its entirety, then write your own.
Story revolves around a salesman (Jones) for a clinic that replicates celebrity diseases for public consumption. He becomes obsessed with a celebrity and injects himself with her disease, then must figure out how to cure it before time runs out.
Long: ‘Antiviral’ follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.
IFC’s Antiviral, Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial debut that Mr. Disgusting loved out of the TIFF last September (review here), will be opening on VOD and in limited theaters this Friday, April 12th. With the release date looming, I figured I’d share my interview with the film’s star, Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class). We start talking about the film, but things take some interesting detours.
In the film, “Syd March (Caleb Landry) is an employee at The Lucas Clinic – a company that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Gadon).”
Head inside for the interview. It was a long divergent conversation that I couldn’t totally understand, but I have transcribed it to the best of my ability. Even if you can’t make sense of this interview, he turns in a remarkable performance in the film. READ MORE
Arriving on VOD and in limited theaters June 28 is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival. We now have a large image gallery loaded with sexy looks at star Gemma Arterton.
Also starring Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
“ Irresistible. Immoral. Immortal.”
Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival, will arrive on VOD and in limited theaters June 28.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
We’ve landed the official U.S. trailer for IFC’s awesome Antiviral, Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial debut that we loved out of the TIFF last September (read our review).
The film will be opening on VOD and in limited theaters April 12, so mark your calendars as to not miss out on Cronenberg’s gross social commentary on celeb obsession.
In the film, “Syd March (Landry Jones) is an employee at The Lucas Clinic – a company that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Gadon).” READ MORE
We’re told IFC Films is taking a step back from acquiring genre films, but until then, they have quite a few to unload.
First, Brandon Cronenberg’s social commentary horror Antiviral, pictured above, gets released on April 12. Starring Caleb Landy Jones, Malcolm McDowell and Sarah Gadon, the son of David Cronenberg’s film “Revolves around a salesman (Jones) for a clinic that replicates celebrity diseases for public consumption. He becomes obsessed with a celebrity and injects himself with her disease, then must figure out how to cure it before time runs out.” I was a pretty big fan of the flick, read my review here.
Getting released on May 10 is Kill List director Ben Wheatley’s serial killer comedy Sightseers, pictured below, which I thought was pretty OK. The film is “The story is about a couple on a countryside caravan trip that goes wrong.”
Both films played strong through the festival scene and are worthy of a VOD rental. READ MORE
An international trailer shares the first ever look at Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, which was acquired by IFC Films out of the Toronto International Film Festival for a yet-to-be-determined date.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander, the pic is about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!” READ MORE
One of my favorite films of the past year was Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, a celebrity body mod horror film that certainly left a mark with me.
While IFC owns domestic rights, the flick set for a limited cinema release in the UK on February 8, before a DVD release on February 11. Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade all star.
“Syd March (Landry Jones) is an employee at The Lucas Clinic – a company that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Gadon).
When the news breaks that Hannah has died, Syd realises that the virus running rampant in his system will soon kill him too. Hallucinating and struggling to remain in control, Syd must race to solve the mystery surrounding Hannah’s death if he has any hopes to avoid suffering the same fate.” READ MORE
Brandon Cronenberg, son of infamous Canadian filmmaker David, has quietly snuck onto the scene with his horror drama Antiviral, a social commentary on our culture’s obsession with celebrities. The expectations may have been unfairly high (being the son of a legend demands some sort of competence), yet he surpasses them by delivering a deep, engaging, and beautifully shot art house horror film.
Antiviral, acquired by IFC Midnight earlier this year, takes place in the unknown future where celebrity worship has reached epic levels. Besides being able to eat harvested meat from the cells of celebs, bioengineering has evolved into developing a way to infect fans with an infection carried by their favorite icon (yes, you could carry Paris Hilton’s herpes!). Caleb Landry Jones is black marketing the infections he sells, and ends up in the middle of a conspiracy to kill THE superstar of the times by injecting himself with her virus.
While the commentary is something most of us can immediately connect with, the story does lose some steam, and ultimately wears out is welcome. Once the film has clarity, instead of pacing forward, it slows to a dead stop. Jones’ outstanding performance, Karim Hussain’s stunning cinematography, and Cronenberg’s artful eye are what keep the film interesting. Antiviral is simply a stunning piece if Canadian filmmaking that puts all the local talent on display.
While I feel some viewers may find the experience tedious or exhausting, it does carry quite a few twists and turns, not to mention the much-desired “Cronenberg” imagery that will delight the hardcore horror nuts. Antiviral is quite an entrance by the young filmmaker who has one hell of a bright future.
The Toronto International Film Festival today announced the Canadian features lineup including first-time feature filmmakers Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville, as well as filmmakers returning to the Festival —including Bruce Sweeney, Sarah Polley, Xavier Dolan, Michael McGowan and Bernard Émond.
Included in the line-up is Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, which will be making its North American Premiere at the fest, which takes place this coming September.
“‘Antiviral’ follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.”
Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade all star. Check out a new image below. READ MORE
While we wait for the elusive Midnight Madness line-up, we’ve scored a list of the first titles playing at this September’s 37th Toronto International Film Festival. Films announced include titles in the Galas and Special Presentations programmes. The announced films include 17 Galas and 45 Special Presentations, including 38 world premieres.
Although horror is slim pickings (for now), the one premiere that stands out is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley and Saoirse Ronan
In the film, “Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.”
We’ve also landed a handful of new stills from the hotly anticipated vampire thriller.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2012.
![1 byzantium 05 medium 150x150 [TIFF 12] Byzantium To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!](http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/1-byzantium_05_medium.jpeg "1-byzantium_05_medium")
![2 byzantium 05 medium 150x150 [TIFF 12] Byzantium To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!](http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2-byzantium_05_medium.jpeg "2-byzantium_05_medium")
![3 byzantium 05 medium 150x150 [TIFF 12] Byzantium To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!](http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/3-byzantium_05_medium.jpeg "3-byzantium_05_medium")
![4 byzantium 05 medium 150x150 [TIFF 12] Byzantium To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!](http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/4-byzantium_05_medium.jpeg "4-byzantium_05_medium")
![5 byzantium 05 medium 150x150 [TIFF 12] Byzantium To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!](http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/5-byzantium_05_medium.jpeg "5-byzantium_05_medium")
A fresh image has been released of Gemma Arterton in Byzantium that features the star overlooking the city in the indie vamp thriller. Saoirse Ronan, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Caleb Landry Jones, Tom Hollander and Danny Mays all star in the flick directed by Neil Jordan.
“Eleanor and Clara, two mysterious and penniless young women, flee the scene of a violent crime and arrive in a run-down coastal resort. They try to find money and refuge along the tawdry seafront and in the dilapidated hotels.
Clara, ever-practical, sells her body. She soon meets shy and lonely Noel, who provides a roof over their heads in his seedy guesthouse, Byzantium. Clara, always looking towards the future, turns it into a ‘pop-up’ brothel.
Meanwhile Eleanor, the eternal schoolgirl, meets Frank, a kindred spirit who unwittingly prompts her to tell the truth about her life. She tells him that Clara is her mother; yet Clara is only a few years older. She says that she was born in 1804; yet she is just sixteen. She confesses that she must drink human blood to stay alive – and so must her mother. In the small, quiet town, people start to die.
And the past that the girls have been running from for so long, finally catches up with them – with astonishing consequences.” READ MORE
Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, a bizarre celebrity thriller that stars Caleb Landry Jones (Byzantium, X-Men: First Class, The Last Exorcism) has made its debut at the ongoing Cannes market/festival, and while a few images hit last week, we’ve now landed the first ever clip. The footage is a slow burn as Landry Jones sneaks into a woman’s room for a blood sample.
“‘Antiviral’ follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.”
The Toronto production also stars Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade.
Getting ready for its Cannes debut, the first three images have been release for Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, a bizarre celebrity thriller that stars Caleb Landry Jones (Byzantium, X-Men: First Class, The Last Exorcism). The below images display Jones playing doctor. Brandon is the son of legendary director David Cronenberg.
“‘Antiviral’ follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.”
The Toronto production also stars Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade.
Above we’ve landed yet another look at Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, about a pair of women (Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan, displayed above) who claim to be vampire siblings.
Having just wrapped principal photography, Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander all star.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!
Eleanor is exhausted by 200 years on the run and desperate to settle down. But little does she know that her mother has been protecting her all of the years from their own kind, “The Brotherhood”. To escape them, they must either blend in or continue running away. But just as they think they may have escaped, their past rapidly catches up with them.” READ MORE
![[EFM 12] First Look At Vampire Thriller Byzantium](/photosizer/upload/byztanimum021212.jpg "[EFM 12] First Look At Vampire Thriller Byzantium")
Below you’ll find the first ever image from Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, about a pair of women who claim to be vampire siblings.
Having just wrapped principal photography, Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and Tom Hollander all star. It is for sale at EFM in Berlin.
“On the run for murder, two young “sisters” arrive penniless at an English seaside town. Clara is a fiercely modern woman who has her eyes on the future and no time for the past. Teenager Eleanor is shy and innocent. Yet they both hide the same secrets: they are really mother and daughter, and they are both … vampires!
Eleanor is exhausted by 200 years on the run and desperate to settle down. But little does she know that her mother has been protecting her all of the years from their own kind, “The Brotherhood”. To escape them, they must either blend in or continue running away. But just as they think they may have escaped, their past rapidly catches up with them.” READ MORE
The Daily Mail is reporting some addition casting for Neil Jordan’s now-filming sci-fi thriller Byzantium.
Both Jonny Lee Miller (“Dexter”, Hackers, Dark Shadows) and Tom Hollander (Pirates of the Caribbean) will join Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Caleb Landry Jones, Danny Mays, Bradley James, and Sam Riley in the vampire flick where Arterton stars as Clara, a vampire who has to protect herself and her daughter (played by Saoirse Ronan) from those seeking to plunge a stake through their hearts.
Here’s the official plot crunch: “Two young women arrive in a nameless British small town. Their names are not their own. They don’t declare their ages. Their relationship with each other is not clear. Are they sisters, as their assumed identities declare? Or are they mother and daughter? The eldest, Claire, takes a job in a pub. The youngest, Eleanor, goes to school.
During a truth exercise in her drama class, Eleanor confesses that she has been alive for over two hundred years and has survived by drinking human blood. Her classmates think she is utterly crazy and Mint, her teacher, puts her in touch with the school counsellor. She makes one friend, Frank, a boy who has been home educated and is as much of an oddity as Eleanor. He tries to get to the bottom of her vampire delusion, thinking it an epic and compelling psychosis. Why would anyone want to be undead?” READ MORE
The boys over at Twitch landed the first ever image from Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, a bizarre celebrity thriller that stars Caleb Landry Jones (Byzantium, X-Men: First Class, The Last Exorcism). The below image features Jones staring at something interesting growing in jars. Brandon is the son of legendary director David Cronenberg.
“‘Antiviral’ follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.”
Now filming in Toronto, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade also star. READ MORE
It was announced the other say that David Cronenberg’s son would be taking the helm on Antiviral, a bizarre celebrity thriller that would star Caleb Landry Jones (Byzantium, X-Men: First Class, The Last Exorcism).
THR reports that Brandon Cronenberg will be shooting in Toronto and Hamilton from November 7 to December 11, and also stars Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade.
The Canadian indie, written by Cronenberg, echoes his father’s more outrageous earlier sci-fi flicks by portraying an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.
“The story revolves around a salesman (Jones) for a clinic that replicates celebrity diseases for public consumption. He becomes obsessed with a celebrity and injects himself with her disease, then must figure out how to cure it before time runs out.” READ MORE
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