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SUNDANCE-13

[BD Review] Lynchian ‘The Rambler’ Intriguing And Bizarre

Movies
Posted by Ryan Daley on January 26, 2013 @ 8:14pm
Category: Movies / Reviews

Following a Sundance screening of The Rambler, I found myself discussing the film with a stranger outside the theater. The man’s dislike of The Rambler ran so deep, he could hardly convey his opinion in words, relying primarily on frustrated mumbles and dismayed head shakes to get his point across. When I asked if he’d seen Calvin Lee Reeder’s previous feature, the polarizing 2011 Sundance entry The Oregonian, the man admitted that he hadn’t.

Although I could certainly sympathize with the man’s deep dislike for The Rambler, I was somewhat prepared for the experience having endured The Oregonian two years prior. Reeder is an experimental filmmaker with a deep disregard for narrative, coherence, and his potential audience. The Oregonian, at times, seemed designed to literally drive people from the theater. With The Rambler, Reeder pulls from his usual bag of slam-bang sounds and chop suey editing, but he takes the abrasiveness down a notch.

Dermot Mulroney plays the titular character, a recently paroled ex-con trying to make it to his brother’s Oregon pony ranch via a succession of Calvin Lee Reeder brain trips. Buried behind aviator shades and a cowboy hat, Mulroney isn’t given much in the way of dialogue, left to silently work a lit cigarette around his mouth as he contemplates the crazy-ass shit transpiring around him.

Bouncing from episode to episode, the movie skips and stutters like a hallucinogenic fever dream, with Mulroney getting booted out of the house by his old lady (an angry, horny Natasha Lyonne), accompanying a traveling inventor with a device that can allegedly record dreams to VHS, and falling in love with a mysterious stranger (Lindsay Pulsipher).

From the awkward, stilted dialogue to a roadhouse poker game where none of the players can shuffle, the film never bothers to hide its Lynchian underpinnings, but the bizarre-as-shit developments are intriguing rather than irritating. As much as some may dislike The Rambler, it’s a vast improvement over Reeder’s previous feature. Either Reeder is getting better as a filmmaker or I’m just becoming desensitized to his mind-numbing style.

[Sundance '13] It’s Official, Magnolia To Press Play On ‘S-VHS’!!!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 25, 2013 @ 10:29am
Category: Movies / News

Bloody Disgusting’s S-VHS, the latest V/H/S project, had its world premiere Saturday night at Park City’s Library Center Theatre during the Sundance 2013 Film Festival. It was followed by a wave of great reviews – a much more unanimously positive reception than last year’s outing. And then, like last year, a deal was made within days to bring the film to the big screen. It’s being reported via Variety that Magnolia Pictures, who scored V/H/S out of the 2012 fest, has acquired the second tape for limited theatrical run, alongside ultra VOD via Magnet Releasing. The announcement was held here until it was official.

“Our goal is to make each sequel better than the last, unlike any horror franchise ever,” Brad told me via text adding “We know that’s a bold and nearly impossible task, but we’re trying our best to deliver quality horror that we can be proud of.”

This latest tape features the works of Gareth Evans (The Raid) & Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project, Lovely Molly) & Gregg Hale, Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Adam Wingard (You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die) and Simon Barrett (You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die), the latter of which will be making his directorial debut on the film.

The first movie followed a group of students hired to break into a desolate house to find a lost VHS tape, paving the way for the movie to go into a series of found-footage stories directed by up-and-coming genre filmmakers. The new movie, starring Adam Wingard, Kelsy Abbott, Lawrence Michael, Levine Hannah Hughes and L.C. Holt, follows a similar structure, with a pair of investigators discovering a tape while looking for a student. READ MORE

[Sundance '13 Review] Feeling Of Dread Runs Through ‘In Fear’

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on January 24, 2013 @ 5:27pm
Category: Movies / News

Ryan Daley has chimed in with his thoughts on the Sundance Midnight psychological thriller In Fear, which stars Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert, and Allen Leech driving, lost and tormented in the night, where primal fears of the dark and the unknown give way to horrible fears.

Daley explains that “Pervasive feeling of dread runs throughout the first half” of Jeremy Lovering’s pic, and that “uneasy moans from the audience could be heard as Lovering takes a seemingly benign situation and slowly tightens the screws.”

Although, he goes into explain that it loses its magic: “But midway through the movie Lovering gives us an early peek at his hole card, and the tension, so cleverly sustained until now, begins to seep away.”

Click here for the full review. The pic premiered this past Sunday, January 20, Midnight at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City as part of the Sundance Film Festival. READ MORE

[BD Review] ‘In Fear’ Filled With Dread, Overstays Its Welcome

Movies
Posted by Ryan Daley on January 24, 2013 @ 12:32pm
Category: Movies / Reviews

A pervasive feeling of dread runs throughout the first half of In Fear, a British horror movie from filmmaker Jeremy Lovering. Uneasy moans from the audience could be heard at the Sundance Film Festival screening I attended, as Lovering takes a seemingly benign situation and slowly tightens the screws.

Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert), recently acquainted, are on their way to a music festival in Ireland. After stopping at a pub, Tom convinces Lucy to spend the night at the Kilairney House, an old hotel that’s supposedly somewhere nearby. Signs for the Kilairney House direct the couple through a maze of country roads. As the signs lead them in circles, Tom and Lucy begin to suspect that someone is messing with them. Before they know it, they’re hopelessly lost. The sun is setting. And they’re almost out of petrol.

It’s in the early going that Lovering really piles on a sense of foreboding. At a Sundance Film Festival Q&A he told the audience that the actors were unaware of the plot before shooting In Fear, that they weren’t given a script or a story. Lovering wanted to capture the actors’ genuine reactions, so he placed them in a harrowing situation, set up a few scares, and let the cameras roll. This “Blair Witch” approach pays off in the first half of In Fear, especially as Lucy begins to break down. Her fear is legit, and ultimately contagious.

But midway through the movie Lovering gives us an early peek at his hole card, and the tension, so cleverly sustained until now, begins to seep away. As the fear of the unknown is replaced with the fear of something more tangible, the movie loses its power. This may be the result of Lovering’s filmmaking style, which had him shooting 50 hours of improvisation and compiling In Fear in the editing bay. Perhaps if the movie was reedited to place the reveal closer to the end, Lovering could have goosed the tension even further. It’s hard to tell. These creative decisions don’t necessarily ruin In Fear, which remains a solid thriller with some hand-wringing moments. But by abandoning the tone he so carefully sets in the first half, Lovering misses out on making something great.

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[Sundance '13] eOne Gobbles Up ‘We Are What We Are’

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 23, 2013 @ 10:07am
Category: Movies / News

Another horror sale has come in from Sundance, this time it’s Stake Land director Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are (review here). It’s a remake of Mexican director Jorge Michel Grau’s picture about a family of cannibals that’s been moved from its original setting of Mexico City, to a poor part of the Catskills region in New York State.

eOne picked up the film, which was reportedly heatedly contested amongst bidders, for a low seven figures for the U.S. rights. eOne will role out the film to theaters in a platform formation.

In the film, “A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family.” Cast includes Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell and Kelly McGillis.

We’ll keep you posted on a release date!

[Sundance '13] Ketchup Entertainment Catches Up To ‘Vehicle 19′

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 23, 2013 @ 9:59am
Category: Movies / News

Per Deadline, Ketchup Entertainment has acquired the action thriller Vehicle 19. The film played at the Sundance Festival this past week and stars Paul Walker (The Fast And The Furious, Fast And Furious, Fast Five).

In the film directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil (Retribution), “Walker plays a recent parolee who unwittingly picks up the wrong rental vehicle after a long flight. He soon realizes that he is the target of an entire police force after discovering the tied-up female “passenger” in the trunk.”

Naima McLean, Gys de Villiers, Leyla Haidarian, and Tshepo Maseko also star. The film will be released in June.

[Sundance '13 Review] Ryan Digests ‘We Are What We Are’

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 21, 2013 @ 10:03am
Category: Movies / News

Sundance Film Festival kicked off this past weekend and one of the first films to play the “Park City At Midnight” portion of the event was Stake Land director Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are. It’s a remake of Mexican director Jorge Michel Grau’s picture about a family of cannibals that’s been moved from its original setting of Mexico City, to a poor part of the Catskills region in New York State.

Ryan Daley caught a screening of the film at the fest and wrote in with his review. “… this crafty exploration of familial ritual has a lot to say and it says it well. In Mickle’s film, tradition may have the power to bind people together, but if overused or outdated, tradition can also rip people apart.”

We Are What We Are has several other Sundance screenings coming up. 1/22/2013 @ 6:00 pm at the Egyptian Theatre, 1/25/2013 @ 11:30 pm at Prospector Square Theatre and 1/26/2013 @ 6:00 pm at Broadway Centre Cinema 6.

Check out the full review here!

[BD Review] ‘We Are What We Are’ Fashions Tradition Into Good Cinema

Movies
Posted by Ryan Daley on January 21, 2013 @ 1:55am
Category: Movies / Reviews

The Parker family has a secret. And anyone who has seen or has a passing familiarity with Jorg Michel Grou’s Somos lo que hay already knows that secret: The Parkers are cannibals. Jim Mickle’s (Mulberry Street, Stake Land) Sundance remake of the 2010 Mexican cult classic has a story as timeless as Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. But how that story is filmed and acted is what sets Mickle’s film apart.

Residing in a tiny, rain-battered town deep in the Catskills, the Parkers have managed to keep their family secret for hundreds of years. Patriarch Frank (Bill Sage) is a bit of a Bible freak, prone to belching scripture when his young’uns resist his regimented chow schedule. Teenage daughters Iris (Ambyr Childers) and Rose (Julia Garner), as well as young son Rory (Jack Gore), are sometimes denied food for days at a time, their sole sustenance obtained through a glass of milk or a handful of Snap Pops –– up until that one special day arrives. The day when they are finally able to hold hands around the table and dine as a family.

After one of the worst rainstorms on record results in heavy flooding, the local doctor (Michael Parks) discovers what he believes are human remains in the river bed. With the sheriff (Mickle cohort Nick Damici) unwilling to assist, the doc is forced to launch an investigation of his own, with the help of an agreeable deputy (Wyatt Russell). The clues inevitably lead to the Parkers. Already dealing with the recent loss of Mrs. Parker, the family begins to crumble under the increased scrutiny, each member contemplating their individual role in the ages-old tradition.

And “tradition” is the key to Mickle’s well-shot, contemplative family horror-drama. As Iris and Rose question their place in the family, the seams of the Parker clan begin to stretch and tear, which is where the script (penned by Mickle and Damici) really excels. Both Childers and Garner are excellent as the Parker daughters –– the rainy day lighting casts both actresses in vampiric shades of pale that add an otherworldly aspect to the movie –– and their inner conflict is palpable. Featuring strong performances and taking full advantage of the melancholy Catskills setting, this is undeniably one good-looking piece of cinema.

My only complaint about Mickle’s latest is that –– despite a few effective shocks and scares –– the overall story lacks any real surprises. And this is coming from a guy who has never seen the original. With We Are What We Are, what you see is essentially what you get. But this crafty exploration of familial ritual has a lot to say and it says it well. In Mickle’s film, tradition may have the power to bind people together, but if overused or outdated, tradition can also rip people apart.

[Sundance '13] Early Reviews For ‘S-VHS’ Come Tracking In!!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 20, 2013 @ 8:32pm
Category: Movies / News

S-VHS, the latest V/H/S project, had its world premiere last night at Park City’s Library Center Theatre during the Sundance 2013 Film Festival. When I woke up this morning, I was pretty thrilled to find that my twitter feed was filled with glowing chatter about the film, some of it even from critics who didn’t like the original V/H/S all that much.

Now, we are NEVER going to do an official review this film on this site. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna share what other people are saying. The general consensus is that this is a much more solid film than the original (some are saying it’s leaps and bounds better). It’s definitely shorter, gorier and bigger.

Head inside for a sample of what the critics are saying (and no, I’m not “only picking the good ones”). READ MORE

Exclusive

[Sundance '13 Interview] Director Jim Mickle Talks About Putting His Own Stamp On ‘We Are What We Are’!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 20, 2013 @ 4:37pm
Category: Movies / Exclusives

Sundance Film Festival just kicked off this weekend and one of the first films to play the “Park City At Midnight” portion of the event was Stake Land director Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are. It’s a remake of Mexican director Jorge Michel Grau’s picture about a family of cannibals that’s been moved from its original setting of Mexico City, to a poor part of the Catskills region in New York State.

If you’re following the fest at all, you may have seen more than a few glowing reviews pop up online after the film’s first screening. I just got off the phone with Mickle, who was on his way into yet another sold out showing of the film. We talked about his approach to remakes, the violence in the film and what he’s got coming up after the fest.

[Sundance '13] First Look At The Poster For ‘We Are What We Are’!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 19, 2013 @ 1:23am
Category: Movies / Images

Sundance Film Festival just kicked off this weekend and already we’ve got a look at a poster for one of our most anticipated films of the event, Stake Land director Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are. It’s a remake of Mexican director Jorge Michel Grau’s picture about a family of cannibals that’s been moved from its original setting of Mexico City, to a poor part of the Catskills region in New York State.

We managed to snap a look at the poster, which sells cannibalism in a regal and stately manner. Check it out inside! READ MORE

[Sundance '13] Satanic Tenenbaums! A New Clip And More Images From Park Chan-wook’s ‘Stoker’!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 18, 2013 @ 4:58pm
Category: Movies / Images

We’ve got some great new images Park Chan-wook’s (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengenace, Lady Vengeance, Thirst) english-language debut, Stoker, penned by Ted Foulke (aka Wentworth Miller). One of the things I love about the look of this film is how precious and regal it is, like it’s some (even more) twisted take on the Wes Anderson universe.

Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver, Lucas Till, Alden Ehrenreich, Phyllis Somerville and Dermot Mulroney all star. The film is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

“After India’s (Wasikowska’s) father dies in an auto accident, her Uncle Charlie (Goode), who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother (Kidman). Soon after his arrival, she comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him.”

Stoker hits theaters March 1st from Fox Searchlight. Head inside to check out the clip and new gallery! READ MORE

[Sundance '13] Anchor Bay Lets ‘The Rambler’ Mosey On In

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 17, 2013 @ 8:42pm
Category: Movies / News

Calvin Lee Reeder’s The Rambler is one of the Midnight selections joining the Festival taking place January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. It turns out it didn’t even need to screen yet to get its first sale.

Per Deadline, Anchor Bay has picked up distribution rights to the film in the North America, the U.K. and Australia. In a statement Reeder said, “I’ve always loved Anchor Bay Films. Repo Man, Holy Mountain and El Topo make my top 10 all timers for sure. I am so excited to be working with the company that revived those legendary midnight movies, it’s a real honor.”

Foreign sales will be handled by Celluloid Nightmares, the partnership between XYZ Films and Celluloid Dreams.

Starring Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne, James Cady, Scott Sharot, “After being released from prison, a man known as “The Rambler” stumbles upon a strange mystery as he attempts the treacherous journey through back roads and small towns en route to reconnecting with his long-lost brother.”

[Sundance '13] Trailer For ‘Wrong Cops’ Trilogy, Starring Marilyn Manson!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on January 17, 2013 @ 2:17pm
Category: Movies / Trailers

The boys at Twitch have premiered the trailer for Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, which premieres as three “Chapters” at this weekend’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Imagine a Los Angeles where crime is so low that a bored cop (Mark Burnham) sells drugs and harasses a teenager (Marilyn Manson) to pass the time. Shot in stand-alone chapters as it is being financed, screened, and released, Wrong Cops is gonzo filmmaking with a unique online strategy. Watch the first 45 minutes of craziness, and then dive into conversation with the cast and creative team.”

Wrong Cops is written and directed by Quentin Dupieux (Rubber) and produced by Gregory Bernard. The first 45 minutes of the project (Chapter 1-3) will be showcased at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival! The other 50 minutes will be added later for its full length run. READ MORE

[Sundance '13] Road Trip Goes South In First ‘In Fear’ Footage

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on January 17, 2013 @ 11:00am
Category: Movies / Videos

The first clip from the psychological thriller In Fear has gone online and features a road strip going south. Unfortunately, the first piece of footage is nothing more than a fake scare and some atmosphere.

Directed by Jeremy Lovering, and starring Iain De Caestecker (U.K. TV show “The Fades”), Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures), and Allen Leech (Downtown Abbey), “Driving, lost and tormented in the night, primal fears of the dark and the unknown give way to fear that you have let the evil in, or that it is already there.”

The pic will premiere this coming Sunday, January 20, Midnight at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City as part of the Sundance Film Festival. READ MORE

[Sundance '13] How About A Little Teaser Video For ‘S-VHS’?!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on January 16, 2013 @ 11:37am
Category: Movies / Trailers

While we typically like to keep our cards close to our collective chests, going into this Saturday’s World Premiere of S-VHS, our latest V/H/S project, we decided to give a little video tease of the terror that awaits Sundance audiences!

Inside you’ll find a link to footage from the latest tape that features the works of Gareth Evans (The Raid) & Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project, Lovely Molly) & Gregg Hale, Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Adam Wingard (You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die) and Simon Barrett (You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die), the latter of which will be making his directorial debut on the film.

[Sundance '13] Poster Premiere For Psychological Thriller ‘In Fear’

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on January 16, 2013 @ 11:36am
Category: Movies / News

Bloody Disgusting has landed the official festival one-sheet for the chilling psychological thriller In Fear, starring Iain De Caestecker (U.K. TV show “The Fades”), Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures), and Allen Leech (Downtown Abbey).

Directed by Jeremy Lovering, “Driving, lost and tormented in the night, primal fears of the dark and the unknown give way to fear that you have let the evil in, or that it is already there.”

The pic will premiere this coming Sunday, January 20, Midnight at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City as part of the Sundance Film Festival. READ MORE

[Sundance '13] ‘Magic, Magic’ Joins Midnight, ‘Wrong Cops’ For New Frontier

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 13, 2012 @ 3:25pm
Category: Movies / Images

Sundance Institute today announced the addition of four films to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, including Sebastián Silva’s Magic, Magic and Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops.

The 2013 Festival will be January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Magic Magic, starring Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Augustín Silva, joins the Midnight line-up. It follows “An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger.”

Wrong Cops, starring Mark Burnham, Marilyn Manson, Steve Little and Eric Wareheim, joins New Frontier. In it, “Imagine a Los Angeles where crime is so low that a bored cop sells drugs and harasses a teenager to pass the time. Shot in standalone chapters, as it is being financed, screened and released, watch the 45 minutes of crazy.”

Get new Magic, Magic stills below. READ MORE

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