Movies
TV: ‘The Walking Dead’ Fireworks Begin in February
The first half of “The Walking Dead” season 2 was a bust. It never elevated the characters and it never fully grabbed my attention. But there’s some hope, which comes from executive producer Glen Mazzara who was added midseason as the series’ new showrunner. I believe his was behind the midseason finale, which leads me to believe the second half could be a major step in the right direction.
Actor Norman Reedus (“Daryl”) talked about the show’s February revival with Daemon’s TV and explained that we haven’t seen anything yet…
“I can say that in the second half, after this hiatus, people are done talking,” he explained. “It’s all kind of firecrackers from here on out. It gets more action packed. The first part of the season, it gets slow when people have to talk. That’s just how it works. I think the writers have done such a great job with setting up storylines and explaining them when they need to be explained, not over talking it and not over thinking it. There are certain things that need to be said to keep the story moving and I think they’ve done a good job with it. I know when people watch the show they go, ‘More zombies. More death.’ But you have to do a bit of talking. Otherwise it’s ‘Transformers.’”
Bring the fireworks!
There’s no slowing down Alice Maio Mackay. The filmmaker behind So Vam, Bad Girl Boogey, and this year’s The Serpent’s Skin is already back with sci-fi horror Our Effed Up World.
Starring Annapurna Sriram (Fucktoys), Sara Thompson (“One of Us is Lying”) and Jess McLeod (It’s a Wonderful Knife) and produced by Dark Star Pictures, the film will receive its International Premiere at Fantasia Film Festival on July 18, 2026.
The first teaser has arrived ahead of its fest screening, which sees a group of friends contend with terror from outer space when it crash lands nearby.
The synopsis reads: “Sheri thought her biggest problem in life was dealing with the recent loss of her beloved grandma. But when a mysterious entity crash lands in the woods, only she and her group of shitkicker friends are what stands in the way of an insatiable, intergalactic hunger.”
Scott Major, Brandon Flynn, Jordan Dulieu, JackHaven, Leela Varghese, Tommy Dorfman, and Chris Gun also star.
I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun produces.
Mackay directs from a script co-written with Ben Pahl Robinson.
Mackay shares of her latest, “Our Effed Up World is my latest no budget queer film. I wanted to delve into a completely new sub-genre—sci-fi. But still through my signature lens and blend of campiness and melodrama. This project allowed me to take a step back from all the horrors that are happening around us and to really reflect on what makes us who we are and what we need to do to hang on to what is important in our lives. Whilst also being a rumination on grief and how we cope with living in an ‘effed” up world.'”
The 30th edition of Fantasia begins today; stay tuned for more from our coverage of the fest.
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