Movies
‘Excision’ & ‘Suburban Gothic’ Director Sets a ‘Trash Fire’
Writer/director Richard Bates Jr. makes some really unique films. He followed up the dark coming of age tale Excision with the morbidly madcap Suburban Gothic (our review). In both, Bates exhibits a knack for addressing the fears of the youth while embracing the horror genre he loves. Now for his third feature, which just wrapped filming, Bates has set a Trash Fire. Starring Adrian Grenier (Cecil B. Demented) and Angela Trimbur (The Final Girls), Trash Fire is a psychological horror comedy being described as “Pyscho meets Harold and Maude.” Richard’s last name is Bates, after all.
Bates’ Suburban Gothic dealt with the fear of having to move back home again, which is painfully relatable. I’m excited to see the direction he takes tackling the sins of the family. Plus, I’m stoked to see Trimbur in another dark comedy – she’s wicked talented and an absolute riot in The Final Girls.
The synopsis for Trash Fire reads:
When an unforeseen event forces Owen (Grenier) to confront the past he’s been running from his whole adult life, he and his girlfriend, Isabel (Trimbur), become entangled in a horrifying web of lies, deceit, and murder. Trash Fire is a deeply, darkly comedic take on the traditional psychological horror film. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be scarred for life.
Joining Grenier in the film’s cast is Angela Trimbur (The Final Girls), Fionnula Flanagan (The Others), AnnaLynne McCord (“90210”), Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds), Sally Kirkland (JFK), Ray Santiago (“Ash vs. Evil Dead”), Ezra Buzzington (The Hills Have Eyes) and Molly McCook (Excision).
When an unforeseen event forces Owen (Grenier) to confront the past he’s been running from his whole adult life, he and his girlfriend, Isabel (Trimbur), become entangled in a horrifying web of lies, deceit, and murder. Trash Fire is a deeply, darkly comedic take on the traditional psychological horror film. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be scarred for life.
Lawrence Mattis and Matt Smith of Circle of Confusion and David Lawson Jr. of Snowfort Pictures produce the feature, which wrapped principal photography in Los Angeles last week.
Two-time BAFTA winning filmmaker Joe Wright (Hanna, “Black Mirror“) is set to direct the feature adaptation of post-apocalyptic thriller novel, Juice, Deadline reports today.
Emmy winner Abi Morgan (Shame, “Eric”) will adapt Tim Winton‘s novel for Working Title Films.
In Juice, “A young husband and father is recruited into a top-secret resistance organization, to join the ranks of militia men tasked with targeting the isolated and wealthy culprits responsible for this global catastrophe. When a mission goes wrong, he finds himself on the run, having to fight to the end to survive in this hostile world.”
It’s set in a world ravaged by climate-change disaster.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that Tim Winton has entrusted us with his extraordinary epic,” Wright told Deadline. “The story is both a thrilling modern family saga and an urgent call to action. I cannot wait for audiences to experience it on the big screen.”
Winton added, “I’m pleased to know a filmmaker of Joe Wright’s calibre has chosen to adapt Juice for the screen. His capacity to portray the turmoil and the turning points of nations and peoples as well as private individuals distinguishes his work as a director and I’m confident that Juice is in good hands.”
Juice was initially published in October 2024 and longlisted for The Climate Fiction Prize 2026.
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