The 2012 Canadian body horror film has been newly scanned in 4K from the 35mm protection internegative, supervised by Cronenberg and cinematographer Karim Hussain, with Dolby Vision.

Get Out‘s Caleb Landry Jones stars with Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Joe Pingue, Nicholas Campbell, Sheila McCarthy, Wendy Crewson, and Malcolm McDowell.

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary by Writer-Director Brandon Cronenberg and Director of Photography Karim Hussain
• Anatomy of a Virus – Making-of Featurette
• Reviving a Dead Cell – Brandon Cronenberg and Karim Hussain Discuss the Restoration
• Brandon Cronenberg: A First-Time Director’s Vision
• The Design of Antiviral – Interview with Production Designer Arvinder Greywal
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Brandon Cronenberg and Karim Hussain
• First Meeting with Actors Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon
• Manufacturing Celebrity – EPK with Cast and Crew
• Broken Tulips – 2008 Short Film by Brandon Cronenberg
• Trailer

In the film, “Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) is a top sales representative for The Lucas Clinic, which harvests exclusive infections from celebrities for injection into obsessed fans. But in a near future consumed by the possibilities of biological communion, will Syd himself pay a horrific price for the toxicity of fame?”

Brad Miska wrote in his review, “The expectations may have been unfairly high (being the son of a legend demands some sort of competence), yet [Cronenberg] surpasses them by delivering a deep, engaging, and beautifully shot art house horror film.”

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Three films into his feature film career, Brandon Cronenberg has established himself as an innovative and confronting auteur in his own right. When he debuted his 2012 feature debut Antiviral, however, the quality of the film was a secondary topic; first and foremost he was compared to his famous father, David Cronenberg.

There’s a obvious level of cynicism involved whenever a celebrity’s child enters the same field (let’s all agree to bury the term “nepo baby” and move on with our lives). But in the case of Cronenberg junior, there’s an interesting argument to be made about how his father’s work influenced Brandon’s creative approach, and where he’s established himself in his own right.

For a time, David Cronenberg was indisputably Canada’s most famous director (he and Atom Egoyan seemed to parry for public favour throughout most of the early 90s). Not only had Cronenberg senior carved out a niche for himself with his “body horror” films of the 80s, Cronenberg was one of the few Canadian filmmakers actively working in horror. There were plenty of folks involved in the Tax Shelter Era of the late 70s and 80s*, when Canada was actively courting American investment – often in low budget horror films – but few writers and directors were making a career of it.

*There’s also been plenty of debate about the quality and merit of a lot of the films made during this period, but that’s another editorial.

All of this to say that, in the 80s and into the 90s the most active, recognizable Canadian working in genre was David Cronenberg, which means he shaped the industry and public perception of horror and sci-fi.

Fast forward to 2012 when Brandon Cronenberg debuted Antiviral at Cannes, his debut feature competed in the Un Certain Regard section. Cronenberg senior’s Cosmopolis, meanwhile, was in competition for the Palme D’or. And both films share the same female lead (Sarah Gadon). So not only was the son contending with the legacy of his famous father, they were both in the public eye with the same actor at the same time.

Comparisons were inevitable.

Antiviral follows Syd (Caleb Landry Jones), a low-level employee working at the Lucas Clinic. In the film’s gently futuristic world, the public’s obsession with celebrity has been taken to extreme new lengths, including the collection of celebrity diseases for injection, and incubation in their most ardent fans. Throughout the film we see Syd peddling the fantasy of being closer to fictitious celebrities like Aria Noble (Nenna Abuwa) or Hannah Geist (Gadon) via infection with their herpes or flu.

The real money, however, comes from corporate espionage. Syd injects himself with patent-protected diseases and uses a bootleg ReadyFace machine in his closet to crack the security mechanism, leaving him free to sell the diseases to Arvid (Joe Pingue), whose legitimate business is growing celebrity cell steaks for literal cannibalistic consumption.

The plot of the film kicks in when Syd accidentally doses himself with a deadly virus that is slowly killing Geist, necessitating plenty of desperate deals with seedy underworld types in order to uncover a cure before he dies.

As a film, Brandon Cronenberg’s feature debut is a little too long, a little too repetitive, and lacking in the same critical bite that his subsequent features – Possessor and Infinity Pool – contain.

As a debut feature, Antiviral accomplishes two simultaneous tasks. On one hand it establishes the foundation of Brandon’s visual style and narrative interests that will continue throughout his subsequent films. On the other hand, it also appears to be drawing from, engaging with, and even anticipating his father’s (past and future) work.

Like many of his father’s body horror films, Brandon’s feature debut has a cool, antiseptic visual aesthetic that stands in stark contrast with the dirty real world. There are plenty of scenes set within hotels and private clinics – with an emphasis on white walls, sterile syringes and medical equipment. This contrasts with the film’s grimy, low-fi vibe – embodied in the repurposed look of the ReadyFace machine, the basement of the restaurant where Syd is brought to Levine (James Cade), as well as Arvid’s unhygienic backroom.

These visual signifiers carry over into Possessor’s assassination office space, as well as the first-class resort in Infinity Pool. Possessor also adopts Antiviral’s same narrative interest in exploring corporate espionage, as well as themes of assassination and the loss of bodily autonomy. With its defined capitalist critique and slight shift away from body horror, Infinity Pool suggests a similar, albeit new creative direction for Cronenberg junior.

So what about Antiviral’s connective tissue (heh) to David Cronenberg’s films?

Syd’s status as an individual caught in a vast corporate espionage conspiracy tracks with 1981’s Scanners and 1983’s Videodrome, though the intersection of celebrity, body horror, and capitalist spy games most closely evokes David Cronenberg’s unofficial Videodrome sequel, 1999’s eXistenZ. In that film, celebrity game designer Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh, who also stars in Possessor) goes on the run following an assassination attempt by a corporate rival while beta testing her new game.

There are brief moments of hallucination in both Antiviral and eXistenZ: the uncertainty of the changing Canadian landscape in the latter, partnered with Pikul (Jude Law)’s fear of penetration is reminiscent of Syd’s nightmare in which his mouth has been replaced by a metal grill that leaks blood. The blossoming contusion on Syd’s arm where Levine takes a skin sample is evocative of eXistenZ diseased game pod, while Syd’s physical degradation, including his reliance on a cane, brings to mind Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum)’s transformation in The Fly.

Sidebar: it’s ironic that few critics noted how funny Antiviral is, particularly in the moments when Syd eavesdrops on the inane conversation of his co-workers. Cronenberg senior has a dark humour streak through many of his films, including eXistenZ. Case in point: Willem Dafoe’s performance as Gas.

The conversation between father and son appears to go both ways. Cronenberg famously returned to body horror last year with Crimes of the Future (a spiritual sequel to Videodrome & eXistenZ). The visual signifiers of Syd’s weakening condition, his sudden ascent in popularity due to his illness, the potential to profit from individuals’ literal bodies, and even the disgusting celebrity cell meat in Antiviral all have counterparts in Cronenberg senior’s return to horror (hint: think of those toxic purple bars).

Whether Cronenberg senior was deliberately drawing connections to his son’s work, or it is further evidence that father and son’s creative sensibilities remain entwined, the parallels are fascinating. Considering David Cronenberg’s substantial contributions to the development and (eventual) recognition of the artistic merits of genre films in Canada, watching Brandon embody the same visual and narrative preoccupations while also emerging as a powerful artist in his own right has been incredibly exciting.

David Cronenberg is currently in post-production on new genre film The Shrouds, which begs the question: where will his and Brandon’s work go in the future and (how) will they continue to engage each other in cinematic conversation?

The post The Father/Son Cronenberg Conversation in ‘Antiviral’ [Maple Syrup Massacre] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Dubbed ‘Brandon Cronenberg Uncut’, the event features double bills of Infinity Pool Uncut and Possessor Uncut at three venues, all with Brandon joining for in-person Q&A between films.

– 6.20 San Francisco – Alamo Drafthouse
– 6.21 Los Angeles – Aero Theatre with Beyond Fest and American Cinematheque
– 6.23 New York – Metrograph

“What makes this special is that this is the first time Infinity Pool is playing free of MPA interference in US theaters – it only played at Sundance. Possessor Uncut played Sundance and Beyond Fest in 2020 before playing drive-ins during covid. It’s the first time these films are playing uncut together.”

Tickets will be going live today. NEON is providing a handful of Los Angeles tix to Bloody Disgusting readers who email info@beyondfest.com. Winners will be chosen at random and contacted.

The post Brandon Cronenberg Appears In-Person to Screen ‘Infinity Pool’ & ‘Possessor’ Uncut in Theaters This June! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Media criticizing the upper class is about a dime a dozen these days, truth be told. From Best Picture nominee Triangle of Sadness and the popular Netflix original Glass Onion, to HBO’s fascinating series The White Lotus, there’s no shortage of media criticizing those who have too much time and money on their hands. On that note, Brandon Cronenberg just unleashed Infinity Pool to the masses this year. Bringing his unique spin of cyberpunk dystopia to the class criticism genre, Cronenberg crafts a world that is a warped reflection of our own while looking into the mirror on himself and people that come from a place of privilege. 

Infinity Pool opens up in an unnamed country where struggling author James Foster and his wife Em (Alexander Skargard and Cleopatra Coleman) are on vacation. It’s your typical lavish resort that would not feel out of place in an Expedia ad, and very obviously a place where people with money stay. Here at brunch they learn about local customs and celebrations that are considered exotic. What’s particularly fascinating about the world Cronenberg crafts is that it all feels almost inhuman or fabricated. Obviously Infinity Pool is a work of fiction, its inspiration clearly rooted in realism but with an air of mysticism. Familiar like our real world but not wholly recognizable. James and Em’s vacation spot is also on a massive compound cut off from the rest of the country, not unlike vacation resorts in the real world that are closed off from the violence of their location countries. It represents safety at a price, one that only the privileged can afford. 

See, the spin with James is that he’s not really rich at all. His wife Em’s father is his publisher and he coasts on her money. She paid for the travel, the hotel, the entire vacation. In fact, she pays for most everything while James works on his second book. He shows active disinterest in Em’s ideas or plans for them and seems to not have a care in the world. In his world, a world that he doesn’t truly belong to, he’s grown quite comfortable. 

James and Em soon meet Gabi and her husband Alban (Mia Goth and Jalil Lespert), which is where things take a turn. Em soon begins stroking James’ ego (and other parts of him), claiming to be a fan of his work, and he soon becomes enamored. He begins to ignore the wife that essentially provides for him and soon Em convinces them to leave the compound, an act of defiance against resort rules. After a drunken evening, James hits a man walking home while driving and Em convinces them to go straight back to the resort and never mention it again. At any time James could have gone to the police and admitted fault. Instead he goes along with Em’s advice and flees the scene, his moral fiber beginning to unravel in the process. It’s only the next day when he’s collected by the police that he learns of the “infinity pool.” For a steep price, the rich can have a clone made of themselves for the purposes of legal punishment.

The only stipulation is that the guilty have to watch their own execution. 

Gabi reveals later that she knew about the “infinity pool” the entire time. She and her husband have already experienced it and felt compelled to let James know about it. The “infinity pool” is essentially a “get out of jail” card for the rich. All too often we hear of people traveling to other countries and committing heinous crimes only to get away with them by either having enough cash in their bank account or diplomatic immunity. With his new movie, Cronenberg paints the literal picture of it for the audience to see by using the most excessive techniques such as the following night when James partakes in a merciless home invasion. It is quite humorous that at any time James can stop himself from doing these things but just doesn’t and this poses the question: is he becoming a worse person, or has he always been one?

Cronenberg’s social satire presents the idea that the rich and wealthy have a façade to put on, a proper “face” if you will. The image everyone sees for keeping up proper appearances. When you unmask or are left to your own devices, the true image of you comes out. That’s most apparent in the home invasion scene when James and his group toss aside their public “faces” for more on-the-nose horrific makes that are reflective of their inner selves. The animal comes out in each of them. Em decides she has had enough and decides to leave James behind as he has lost his passport, allowing him to partake in increasingly feral activities.

After a few more debaucherous encounters, James attempts to escape from Gabi’s group and she soon reveals that her infatuation with him is false and entirely fabricated. She begins to call out James for what he really is: a fraud. Someone who doesn’t belong in this world and is faking his way through it; someone rotten to his core. Plagued by a nightmare after escaping Gabi, he begins to have visions of Em laughing in his face; eventually the camera pulls out to reveal him lying on the ground in the fetal position. Is he truly having a nightmare from remorse or did Em somehow put him in a simulation to teach James a lesson and force him to face his transgressions? In a world with a fictional language and a process that allows someone to be cloned, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the world that James is experiencing isn’t quite real. But that’s up to the individual viewer.

After a final showdown with Gabi and her crew (involving cinema’s greatest dog), James decides to finally return home. Boarding a bus to the airport, we see Gabi and the rest of her associates on the very same bus talking about a return to a mundane life. Even if the events did transpire, no one in their lives would ever know. The foreign country was their playground with no thought for anything or anyone else. Eventually, James decides to not get on the plane and return to the resort that’s now closed for the rain season. Sitting on a lounge chair, he reflects on what he experienced, eventually realizing he’s right where he belongs.

That’s the fascinating thing about Infinity Pool. Like Possessor before it, Brandon Cronenberg uses a technology-based dystopia as a warped reflection of societal aspects and issues. He never outright explains his intentions but instead leaves a trail of breadcrumbs and clues to allow the viewer to make up their own mind about what they’ve experienced.

No matter how you choose to read it, the sick, sad universe of Infinity Pool is one of the most texturally rich horror worlds we’ve been to in some time. Like any good vacation, it’s hard to leave.

Infinity Pool is available on Digital now. You can also rent the UNCUT version.

The post A Playground for the Rich – Exploring the Sick, Sad World of Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

You can now exclusively rent Infinity Pool: Uncut directly through NEON’s website for $9.99, giving you access to the version that you couldn’t see in movie theaters.

Want to watch? Click here and take the trip.

What’s different about the Uncut version of Infinity Pool, you ask? It’s mostly snippets of graphic sexual imagery that was cut to achieve an “R” rating for theatrical release.

Alexander Skarsgård explained to ComicBook.com, “There are a couple of frames in the orgy scenes and in the psychedelic… like when they’re doing the icky drug, that have been… [trimmed down]. But again, it’s a few frames here and there.”

Brandon Cronenberg said in a new statement released by NEON, “I like being put in a position where you are destabilized when you’re watching a film. I think that kind of art is more transformative, taking you to places that might be difficult but also that allow you to engage with aspects of your brain that you might not in a day-to-day way.”

Mia Goth (Pearl) stars alongside Alexander Skarsgård in Infinity Pool.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: “Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “While more accessible and linear than the filmmaker’s previous effort, it’s no less compelling, audacious, and extremely violent.”

“Cronenberg merges body horror and sexuality in increasingly bizarre, hallucinatory ways that push the boundaries of the film’s R-rating,” Meagan’s review continues.

The post You Can Now Rent ‘Infinity Pool: Uncut’ Directly from NEON for $9.99! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As a surprise Valentine’s Day treat, NEON has put Infinity Pool up for grabs at home today, the film now available for Digital purchase on outlets including Amazon for $14.99.

Mia Goth (Pearl) stars alongside Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman).

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: “Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “While more accessible and linear than the filmmaker’s previous effort, it’s no less compelling, audacious, and extremely violent.”

“Cronenberg merges body horror and sexuality in increasingly bizarre, hallucinatory ways that push the boundaries of the film’s R-rating,” Meagan’s review continues.

This Valentine’s Day, find someone who looks at you the way Mia Goth looks at Alexander Skarsgård.

Give the gift of romance with INFINITY POOL on Digital today. pic.twitter.com/9nzPmXTt3L

— NEON (@neonrated) February 14, 2023

The post Surprise, Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’ Starring Mia Goth Now Available at Home! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård; The Northman)) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero-tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

Read Meagan’s review of Infinity Pool.

The post ‘Infinity Pool’ Featurette Spotlights Mia Goth and the Fleshy Horror of Brandon Cronenberg! [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A lover of books, Brandon initially wanted to be a writer, and he claims it wasn’t until his final year of film school that he decided to pivot into film. And while his work also deals with body horror, Brandon is adding a new signature to the genre by examining identity and the complex relationship between our body to our mind. What is it that makes us ourselves? Is it the physical construction of our bodies or the intangible and singularity of our souls?

These are the questions that fuel Brandon’s body of work, a body that is quickly amassing muscle. With three horror shorts and now three features to his name, Cronenberg is beginning to find some answers for himself. His works insofar double as curious dichotomies that challenge the way we see the world, and that world is certainly one we’re heavily anticipating in returning to this Friday when Infinity Pool opens for swimming. Get tickets now!

Before we dive in, let’s wade through the waters that got us here…

Broken Tulips (2008)

Cronenberg’s first film, Broken Tulips, was completed in his final year of film school at Ryerson University. A precursor to his first feature length film Antiviral, the story follows Edward Porris (Ryan Kelly) who visits an unusual type of spa. Rather than seek treatment for an illness, Porris pays to make himself sick, purchasing an injection of a virus harvested from his favorite celebrity. Hoping to commune with her on a unique level, he opens his body up to her germs and relishes the experience of this bizarre connection. This is Cronenberg’s first foray into examining the essence of personhood as Porris believes he is purchasing a piece of a celebrity he has never met. The celebrities who offer samples of their illnesses to the clinic have no idea who will share their viruses, but they sell pieces of themselves and foster the fallacy of this intimate connection.

Cronenberg was inspired to write the script after recovering from his own bout with the flu. Not knowing who had passed him the germs, he became obsessed with the idea that he was sharing an intimate connection with a total stranger. He refined this thesis while watching an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live in which actress Sarah Michelle Gellar received wild applause when she mentioned she might accidentally pass on her cold to everyone in the audience. Experiencing the sensations of a shared illness overpowering his body, Edward imagines an interaction in which she would pass on the germs personally. But Cronenberg asks us to separate the idea of intimacy into corporeal and spiritual interactions. Does solely physical sensation allow us to truly connect with another person and can we ever truly know someone who isn’t aware that we exist?

The Camera and Christopher Merk (2010)

Cronenberg’s second film, The Camera and Christopher Merk explores another aspect of identity: the private and the public. Christopher Merk (Philip Riccio) is a young man who moves into a strange building. Rent is free, but the apartment is outfitted with cameras and every moment he is home will be broadcast live to the other tenants. Inspired by social media, Cronenberg describes the film as an exploration of the “combination of voyeurism and exhibitionism” and Christopher Merk asks us to consider where our true identity lies. Is it the version of ourselves we know or the image reflected back to us by others?

Merk is perfectly content to watch his neighbors live their lives, but they believe his agreement to live in the building comes with an obligation to entertain them as well. Cronenberg has spoken about the preconceived notions strangers have used to construct his identity based on his father’s work and perhaps this dichotomy is informing the story as well. What is it that makes us who we are? Is it the version of ourselves we feel is true or the persona we’ve cultivated for others? The story reflects a young creator entering the film industry and trying to leave behind the shadow of his father’s legacy. Can we ever escape the expectations of others? How does the trajectory of our lives change with the addition of a camera? Are we obligated to create spectacle just because others happen to be watching? And if we do, will we still be able to hold on to the essence of who we are?

Antiviral (2012)

Cronenberg’s first feature film expands the ideas presented in Broken Tulips, then takes them to their logical conclusions. Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) is a young technician who works at a clinic specializing in celebrity biology. He harvests physical samples from a roster of society’s elite then sells them to clients hoping to connect with their favorite stars. With constant access to valuable germs, Syd smuggles the viruses through his own body to sell on the black market. His obsession takes a dark turn when he injects a sample from actress Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon) shortly before she dies from a mysterious illness and must search for a cure before suffering the same fate. While Broken Tulips presents a thought provoking scenario, Antiviral explores the consequences of this unique obsession. Though he does not want to die, Syd rhapsodizes about the incredible bond of sharing a death with Hannah. He has allowed the object of his desire to have such intense control over his own body that neither of them will survive the encounter.

Antiviral further explores celebrity culture and interaction with unique offerings for the film’s obsessed clients. A virtual simulation of Hannah presents her image nude, trapped, and afraid in a coffin-shaped box. Pre-recorded footage allows her to ask for and respond to commands from the user, offering up her submissiveness in an artificial setting. Restaurants sell steaks made from the harvested cells of her body, genetically modified to continue growing and consumers may now eat theoretical pieces of her flesh. Other companies offer skin grafts created from these same cells, allowing the user to incorporate her skin into their own anatomy. The film concludes with a deceased Hannah kept in a vegetative state in a sort of biological tomb. Customers can buy a sample of her unique cells and pay to interact with a segment of skin designed to resemble an arm while gazing at her face entombed within the glass. The company sells it as her “Afterlife,” a perpetual state of being in which she has given control of her body’s sensations to paying customers.

Antiviral could be classified as body horror, but the thought-provoking film digs much further than the surface of the skin. By presenting physical touch as a sort of intimate connection, Cronenberg asks us what it is that makes us who we are. Is our identity simply a collection of cells that can be purchased and passed around to adoring fans or an intangible piece of our personalities known only to those we choose to interact with? The technology that patents the virus and keeps the proprietary germs from spreading to freeloaders also generates a facial composite of the sample itself. Though it resembles the celebrity in some way, the virus’s face is blurry and distorted, impossible to ever clearly recognize as human. It’s the essence of the body fully divorced from the mind.

The simulation of Hannah in a box will never be the real thing. It will always be based on prerecorded images and an algorithm. The skin cells may have grown from Hannah’s body, but they are not actually her. And the body of Hannah that lies in the box may be the physical makeup of the woman Syd loves, but her humanity is gone. All he actually has is a recreation, the face of the virus not of Hannah. Cronenberg has described celebrity as “a legitimate form of insanity, and it’s that point where you think you have a relationship with this person who’s never met you.” And that’s perhaps the film’s most frightening idea: is the virus Syd sells actually harvested germs or the collective insanity of celebrity?

Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You (2019)

Cronenberg continues this exploration of the mind with his third short film Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You. The 10-minute horror follows Emily (Deragh Campbell) as she undergoes a procedure that will allow her to relive and describe her dreams, accessing a consciousness most of us cannot control. Though we often remember our dreams, sleep is a time for our minds to roam freely, making impromptu connections with the synapses in our brains and spontaneously processing the events of our lives. By trying to relive this state of freedom, Cronenberg is exploring the dichotomy between the dreaming and the waking world. Who are we when we dream and does this persona match the carefully constructed idea of ourselves that we experience when we’re awake? Cronenberg notes that he conceived the short’s central idea while trying out different visual techniques with cinematographer Karim Hussain in preparation for his next film Possessor. The colorful palettes imply an altered state of consciousness and the danger in trying to exert control over the merging of our physical bodies and the intangibility of our processing mind.

Possessor (2020)

Cronenberg goes on to explore the connection between the mind and the body with his most successful film to date, Possessor. Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is a paid assassin who uses implants in the brain to transfer her consciousness into the body of a chosen target. This allows her to get close to her intended victim and carry out the hit without putting her personhood at risk. An early scene in which her son makes a robot dance using a console from across the room is a microcosm of this unique method of murder. Jumping into the bodies of others, she physically becomes them while maintaining her own intangible identity. But this complicated connection begins to wear on Tasya’s own perceptions of reality and she begins to lose the boundaries that separate her from the body she is possessing.

The film is a complex story that asks us to examine the possibility of fundamentally changing who we are. Tasya could be interpreted as an outside force demanding fundamental change and Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), the target who resists her possession, could be interpreted as our true state of identity often forced to conform to the needs of our environment. By comparing our cultivated personalities to viruses unknowingly implanted by our surroundings, Cronenberg presents a horrifying question: can we ever truly know ourselves? How much of our identity stems from our own choices or do our desires come from a virus implanted in our minds by those who surround us? A horrifying anecdote about germs living in cat litter presents the idea that our minds might have already been infiltrated with an artificial persona not aligned with our own sense of self. Where does our personality actually come from? Are we truly who we think we are or is our perception distorted by a virus living inside our heads?

Infinity Pool (2023)

Following this impressive streak, Cronenberg is poised to debut one of the year’s most exciting films. Infinity Pool includes an A-list cast who will embody the complex ideas about the mind and the body on which the young director has built his career. James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) is a writer who finds himself sentenced to death on an exclusive island resort. Fortunately, his extravagant wealth allows him to create a clone of himself to suffer the extreme punishment while he gets away with the crime completely. Like Tasya, James will outsource his own physical experiences by creating an alternative body connected to his persona. But can the body truly exist without the mind? When we replicate ourselves, are we not creating a copy of our consiousness as well?

Imagery for Infinity Pool features the attractive actors Skarsgård and Mia Goth, who plays a young socialite named Gabi, wearing skin-like masks that transform their beautiful faces into hideous monsters, a personification of the callous crimes they are committing against their clones. Like the distorted face of the virus in his first film, Cronenberg uses these masks to showcase the double nature lurking within us all. Though James and Gabi may be attractive, wealthy, and well put together, underneath their shining images lie heartless monsters who would sentence someone else to death for their crimes. At some point in our lives, each of us will make choices that contradict the upstanding identity we’ve created for the rest of the world. Infinity Pool will ask us to consider what we would look like if our faces reflected our actions and desires? What would others see if they could visualize the essence of our souls?

The word cronenbergian is now commonly used in horror analysis to describe the mind’s reaction to a deformation or mutation of the body, but it’s possible that the Cronenberg name will soon come to imply something else altogether. With his complex and thought provoking films, Brandon Cronenberg is building on the work of his father while venturing into more theoretical territory. His films may not offer easy answers, but they do ask us to question the assumptions we’ve created to understand who we are. The connection between the mind and the body is a centuries-old conundrum that has spurred entire branches of philosophical debate. In just a few short years, Brandon has honed a unique ability to capture this dichotomy on film, allowing us to access fundamental questions about our own identities and understand the complex personas we’ve created to interact with the rest of the world.

Infinity Pool opens Friday, January 27th via Neon. Get tickets now!

The post ‘Broken Tulips’ to ‘Infinity Pool’: Inside the Mind of Brandon Cronenberg appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) hopes to find inspiration for his second novel at the all-inclusive resort in Li Tolqa with his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman). Instead of jump-starting his writer’s block, the couple winds up lazing around the pool and enjoying the comforts of the resort nestled in a country dangerous for tourists. That is until he meets Gabi (Mia Goth), a massive fan of James’ sole novel. Gabi and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert) entice James and Em on a day trip beyond the barbed wire fences of the compound, resulting in a tragic accident that leaves James at the mercy of the authorities. Punishment is swift and severe, but the loophole that allows James’ freedom begins a cycle of violence and debauchery.

Straightaway, Brandon Cronenberg instills an off-kilter, satirical vibe with his fictional setting. Aside from the heavily guarded walls of the resort, its hosts regale guests with local customs while donning masks of twisted, deformed flesh. Then there’s the enigmatic Gabi, a charismatic seductress that knows just the right things to say to appeal to James’ vanity and ego.

It begins the constant push and pull of tension like an infinite loop of increasing madness. The suspenseful encounter with the locals’ harsh laws is only merely a catalyst for the trippy erosion of James’ ego, vanity, and privilege. Emphasis on trippy; whether through sci-fi means or drug-induced orgies, Cronenberg merges body horror and sexuality in increasingly bizarre, hallucinatory ways that push the boundaries of the film’s R-rating.

It’s not just the shocking escalation or Cronenberg’s approach that keeps Infinity Pool so engaging and occasionally repulsive, but the committed performances by Skarsgård and Goth. The increasingly complex layers added to James and Gabi reveal there’s far more to Infinity Pool than simply the rich eating the rich. Skarsgård toggles between extreme vulnerability and primal rage. At the same time, Goth progresses her character’s devious machinations with a scene-stealing level of unhinged glee that might give Pearl a run for her money. The scene-stealer showcases her comedic chops that make her feel all the more dangerous. Together, the pair take their characters to places that never fail to leave your jaw on the floor- again and again.

On a surface level, Infinity Pool feels like Brandon Cronenberg’s version of The Aristocrats, a long-running, taboo-defying joke told by various comedians. It’s as starkly funny as it is shocking. But it’s much more incisive than a wild depiction of the badly behaved upper class. As its title suggests, the longer James gets caught up in the madness, the more his edges and identity blur. That means the movie is almost certain to be polarizing. But Cronenberg’s sense of style, paired with an unrelenting sense of dread and tension and two utterly captivating, depraved leads ensure these provocative waters are well worth wading into.

Infinity Pool made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and releases in theaters on January 27, 2023.

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Goth shows no signs of slowing down as this impressive run continues into 2023 with the highly anticipated Infinity Pool, the latest slice of  mind-bending horror from writer-director Branden Cronenberg. Goth stars in the film as Gabi, a young socialite on a luxurious vacation at an all-inclusive island resort. Seemingly on a whim, she invites fellow travelers James (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) to venture outside the grounds for a day trip that plunges the couple into a living nightmare.

All of this sounds right in Goth’s lane. After all, the young star excels in depicting gleeful madness, and her eclectic filmography is a testament to this talent, rich with female personas who throw caution and morality to the wind. With Infinity Pool, Goth is in a prime position to expand that rogues gallery with yet another scene-stealing turn. In anticipation, let’s revisit the many faces of Goth’s past, those that have charmed us as much as they horrified us, be it victims, villains, or everything in between.

Future Unlimited – “Haunted Love” (2013)

From her first moments on screen, Goth has embodied horror. Her official debut came in the 2013 music video for “Haunted Love”, the eerie single from electro pop duo Future Unlimited. Directed by her then-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf, Goth plays a young wife and mother who takes shocking revenge after suffering years of intimate partner violence. The archetype of a woman driven to violence after extended suffering is one Goth would continue to revisit throughout her career, exploring the convergence of pain and rage with a series of nuanced characters. “Haunted Love” is filled with Goth’s fluid dancing as the remnants of her life collapse around her, a sort of microcosm for the characters she would become known for playing.

P – Nymphomaniac Vol. II (2013)

Goth made her feature film debut, however, in Nymphomaniac Vol. II, the conclusion of a shocking story about a woman undone by her insatiable desire for sex. With a unique power to disturb, writer and director Lars Von Trier infuses a film about sexuality with the horrific consequences of a life dedicated to pleasure at any cost. In the film’s segment, “The Gun”, Goth plays P, a young woman who begins a relationship with the much-older Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a sex addict in need of love and care after years of abusing her body. As an enforcer in Joe’s debt collection agency, P experiments with her capacity for violence when demanding money from male clients. What initially feels like a match made in heaven for the aging Joe becomes a nightmare when P begins an affair with Joe’s former lover. The dissolution of their relationship is both brutal and heartbreaking, showing the terror of trusting another person with your heart and justifying Joe’s desire to divorce her emotions from the sensations of her body.

Milja – The Survivalist (2015)

A small part in Stephen Fingleton’s 2014 short film Magpie turned into a starring role in his feature-length expansion The Survivalist. The film follows a solitary man who’s established an isolated farm in a post-apocalyptic hellscape where food is scarce and survival depends on extreme conservation of resources. Goth plays Milja, a young woman wandering the countryside with her mother Kathryn (Olwen Fouéré). Hoping to buy a night of safety, Kathryn offers her daughter as a sexual companion to the Survivalist (Martin McCann) in exchange for food and shelter. In a world rapidly emptying of people, Milja finds that her most valuable asset is her sexuality and she must essentially sell her own body to assure its survival. Conflicting loyalty to both her mother and her new lover are further complicated when she becomes pregnant and must plan for an uncertain future in a world where every mouthful counts. Goth is both victim and villain in this film that explores womanhood in a ruined world and asks us how much of ourselves we would be willing to give up in order to survive.

Meg Weathers – Everest (2015)

In the 2015 action blockbuster Everest, Goth plays Meg, the teenage daughter of Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin) a wealthy thrill-seeker paying for a guided excursion to the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. When a devastating storm leaves the climbing team stranded in Everest’s legendary Death Zone, Meg must wait by the phone with her terrified family to hear if her father will ever descend from the mountain. Though her role is small, Meg and her mother Peach (Robin Wright) demonstrate the terror of loving a daredevil. While Beck goes out into the world, risking his life for the thrill of accomplishment, his family is thrust into an indefinite hell wondering if each trip will be the one that finally claims his life.

Hannah – A Cure for Wellness (2016)

Goth stepped into the world of mainstream horror with a supporting role in Gore Verbinski’s highly anticipated A Cure for Wellness. This medical horror film follows a young executive named Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) sent to retrieve his boss from a mysterious spa in the Swiss Alps. When a car crash forces him to seek treatment at the facility, Lockhart meets Hannah, a fellow patient whose sinister family may have a connection with the hospital’s tragic past. The film failed to reach audiences with many critics bemoaning its exorbitant run time and lack of substance. However, A Cure for Wellness is gorgeous with meticulous and horrifying imagery filling every scene. Goth plays an entrancing damsel in distress and her intoxicating blend of childlike innocence and wicked intent is heavily featured in the film’s visual marketing. A Cure for Wellness is now mostly remembered for its haunting images of a young Goth placidly submerged in a pool of blue-green liquid or emerging from an old-fashioned bathtub filled with sinister eels. Despite its initial failings, Goth’s recent success will likely lead to the film’s reexamination as a visual gem and an oddity in the horror genre.

Jane – Marrowbone (2017)

Goth followed this performance as another daughter in distress in Marrowbone, the devastating horror film from Sergio G. Sánchez. The child of a notorious serial killer, Jane flees with her mother Rose (Nicola Harrison) and three brothers to her matrilineal estate in rural Maine. Struggling to stay together after Rose’s death, the Marrowbone siblings find themselves haunted by a sinister presence in the isolated home. Oldest child Jack (George MacKay) tries his best to leave their father’s sins behind, but a horrifying secret lurking in the attic may signal the end of the new life he’s trying to create for his family. The more we learn about the truth hiding within the Marrowbone house, the more we fear for the family’s ability to hold itself together. Jane and her brothers cover mirrors in an attempt to shield themselves from painful memories, but Sánchez’s heartbreaking film shows that you can only run from your past for so long. Eventually, the truth comes out regardless of the consequences.

Sara – Suspiria (2018)

Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria was one of the most anticipated films of 2018. Though divisive among fans of the 1977 classic, Guadagnino’s muted and moody film is an inversion of Dario Argento’s bright and bombastic story about a coven of witches hiding within a renowned ballet academy. Goth co-stars as Sara, a dancer who takes new student Susie (Dakota Johnson) under her wing while searching for missing dancer Patricia (Chloë Grace Moretz). The challenging role required Goth to complete extensive ballet training and rehearsal in order to blend in with the professional dancers who fill out the rest of the cinematic company. Though she is spared her original counterpart’s ghastly razor wire death, Goth’s Sara experiences a horrifying demise in the updated version as well. While searching the bowels of the massive academy, her leg is broken by the sinister building, shards of the bone poking through her shin. Intent on completing their ritual performance, the company’s matrons entrance Sara and force her to continue dancing. She is then held in a state of rotting zombification in preparation to become a human sacrifice in the coven’s elaborate spell.

Boyse – High Life (2018)

Goth would go on to portray another gruesome death later that year. In Claire Denis’ visceral sci-fi horror film, High Life, Goth plays a convicted criminal named Boyse, part of a manned space voyage designed to extract energy from a black hole. Sensual and stunning, High Life examines the humanity we lose when we cease to be bound by collective morality. While onboard, Boyse is attacked and experimented on by her fellow crew members and unwillingly becomes pregnant through artificial insemination. Though she suffers at the hands of the other passengers, Boyse is hardly an innocent victim. Boyse murders the ship’s pilot and replaces her on a mission around the black hole, a choice for which she pays a steep price.

As her shuttle approaches the point of no return, Boyse suffers death by spaghettification, the real scientific results of a human body entering a black hole. Due to overwhelming gravitational force, Boyse’s body is pulled apart, split into an increasing number of segments until it would theoretically resemble a string of spaghetti. Though not particularly graphic, Boyse’s death is perhaps more upsetting due to its subtlety. Entering the field, she quietly moans as her face begins to bleed. After a soft squelching noise, Boyse’s space suit is filled with blood, leaving no trace of the woman we saw seconds before. Denis consulted black hole expert Aurélien Barrau to ensure accuracy in depicting this physical terror, an appalling preview of the destruction our bodies would face should we ever encounter a black hole.

Marsha – Mayday (2021)

In 2021, Goth embraced a more empowering role in the feminist utopian film Mayday. Marsha is a hesitant bride who reclaims her autonomy on a mysterious island in which women are winning a continuous battle against an army of toxic men. The genre-bending story, written and directed by Karen Cinorre, is a unique thought experiment and an examination of what feminism actually means. As the leader of female resistance fighters, Marsha encourages newcomer Ana (Grace Van Patten) to embrace her bloodlust and fight back against men who believe they’re entitled to abuse her. When Ana hesitates to actually harm the male soldiers, she questions Marsha’s methods of leadership and accuses her of being a monster. Finding catharsis in violence, Marsha insists that being a hero and a psychopath are often the same thing, sparking a moving examination of a matriarchal power. In Mayday, Goth embodies a complicated feminist idea and asks us if it’s really possible to overcome an oppressive system without getting your hands dirty.

Pearl – X (2022) and Pearl (2022)

Despite this accomplished resume, Goth’s biggest year was yet to come. The talented actress made waves in the horror community in Ti West’s gritty slasher, X. An homage to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the film follows a group of filmmakers on their way to a rural farm where they plan to shoot an artful adult film. In an impressive dual role, Goth stars as Maxine, a young performer intent on making a name for herself in the world of porn and escaping the repression of her ultra religious past. Goth also plays the elderly Pearl who secretly watches the performers and longs for the days when she possessed the same youth and beauty. Jealousy overcomes her and she sets out on a mission to destroy anyone who reminds her of the body she used to have. X is a harrowing exploration of the horrors of aging and the ways our relationship with our own body changes as the years go by.

After receiving widespread praise for these oppositional performances, Goth set the horror world on fire with Pearl, a prequel that seeks to explain the elderly killer’s bloodlust. Goth plays a young Pearl, stuck on her parent’s farm while her husband is stationed overseas fighting in the first World War. With the Spanish Flu raging, Pearl becomes increasingly isolated and obligated to care for her ailing father while trying to please her strict mother. When an opportunity for a grander life arrives, Pearl goes to horrific lengths in pursuit of the exciting life she desires. A perfect companion piece to the original X, Pearl is a hellish version of The Wizard of Oz and a fabulous showcase for its leading lady’s talents. Goth has been praised for her fearless performance including a nearly eight minute monologue at the climax of the film and a lingering smile that grows ever more painful as the credits roll.

In just 10 years, Mia Goth has cornered the market on sympathetic villains who effortlessly ride the line between psychosis and suffering. This trend will continue in Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool with the psychopathic Gabi, a deranged beauty who hides a passion for destruction under a posh exterior. Goth has described her newest project as “a wild, wild film” and given her experience in similar roles, she is likely on the verge of debuting a new intoxicating villain. Catch it this Friday, January 27th, exclusively in theaters via Neon. Get tickets now.

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Infinity Pool will release in theaters on January 27, 2023, with Mia Goth (Pearl) starring alongside Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) in the latest film from Brandon Cronenberg.

Goth and Skarsgård get their own character posters, along with co-star Cleopatra Coleman. As for the fourth poster, well, it looks a bit like… Leatherface?! Color us interested…

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

NEON co-financed and executive produced the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios.

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Infinity Pool will release in theaters on January 27, 2023, with Mia Goth (Pearl) starring alongside Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) in the latest film from Brandon Cronenberg.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

About that whole “watch yourself die” part. In the Exclusive Clip below, Alexander Skarsgård watches on as Alexander Skarsgård is executed by a child. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie.

NEON co-financed and executive produced the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios.

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Infinity Pool will release in theaters on January 27, 2023. Check out the new art below.

Mia Goth (Pearl) and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) star.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

NEON co-financed and executive produced the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios.

Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

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Infinity Pool will release in theaters on January 27, 2023. Check out the new art below.

Mia Goth (Pearl) and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) star.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

NEON co-financed and executive produced the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios.

Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

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Additionally, we’ve learned Infinity Pool will release in theaters on January 27, 2023.

Mia Goth (Pearl) and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) star in Infinity Pool, and you can watch the trailer down below. We’ve also been provided with a brand new plot synopsis.

In the film, “While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime:

“Either you’ll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.”

NEON co-financed and executive produced the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios.

Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

The post ‘Infinity Pool’ Trailer – Mia Goth & Alexander Skarsgård Enter the Twisted World of Brandon Cronenberg appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The film’s previous “NC-17” rating has been voided and the film has been re-edited a bit to achieve the “R” rating. This edited version of Infinity Pool has been rated “R” for…

“Graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and some language.”

The good news? It sounds like the film will remain violent and boundary-pushing!

Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

Mia Goth (Pearl) and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) star in Infinity Pool.

The press release explained, “Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies”, Godzilla Vs. Kong, The Little Drummer Girl, The Hummingbird Project, Hold the Dark, and upcoming The Northman) will star in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool. Skarsgård will further serve as executive producer.”

In the film, “James and Em are young, rich, in love, and on vacation. Their all-inclusive resort boasts island tours and gleaming beaches. But outside of the hotel gates waits something much more dangerous and seductive, beyond the edge of paradise.”

NEON will co-finance and executive produce the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios. Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

NEON will release Infinity Pool in the U.S. and Elevation Pictures will release the film in Canada.

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For now, Infinity Pool has been rated “NC-17” for…

“Some graphic violence and sexual content.”

We’re hearing that NEON is intending on appealing to the C.A.R.A. Appeals Board, so we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Either way, this one is very much on our radar at the moment!

The press release explained, “Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies”, Godzilla Vs. Kong, The Little Drummer Girl, The Hummingbird Project, Hold the Dark, and upcoming The Northman) will star in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool. Skarsgård will further serve as executive producer.”

In the film, “James and Em are young, rich, in love, and on vacation. Their all-inclusive resort boasts island tours and gleaming beaches. But outside of the hotel gates waits something much more dangerous and seductive, beyond the edge of paradise.”

NEON will co-finance and executive produce the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios. Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

NEON will release Infinity Pool in the U.S. and Elevation Pictures will release the film in Canada.

The post ‘Infinity Pool’ – Brandon Cronenberg’s New Movie Starring Mia Goth Rated “NC-17” with Appeal Underway appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The press release explains, “Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies”, Godzilla Vs. Kong, The Little Drummer Girl, The Hummingbird Project, Hold the Dark, and upcoming The Northman) will star in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool. Skarsgård will further serve as executive producer.”

In the film, “James and Em are young, rich, in love, and on vacation. Their all-inclusive resort boasts island tours and gleaming beaches. But outside of the hotel gates waits something much more dangerous and seductive, beyond the edge of paradise.”

Principal photography is set to begin on September 6.

NEON will co-finance and executive produce the sci-fi thriller alongside Topic Studios. Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Film Fund will also co-finance the production. Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino of Film Forge, Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures, and Rob Cotterill are producing, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka for 4 Film. Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas will serve as executive producers for NEON, Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie for Celluloid Dreams.

NEON will release Infinity Pool in the U.S. and Elevation Pictures will release the film in Canada.

The post ‘Infinity Pool’: Alexander Skarsgård Set to Star in Next Sci-fi Thriller from Brandon Cronenberg appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Sounding similar in vein to Ballard’s “High-Rise”:

“‘Super-Cannes’, first published in 2000, is set in an ultra-modern high tech business park in the hills above Cannes, where a global elite has gathered to form a closed, uber-capitalist, and high-tech community. A place of luxury homes, private doctors, and private security, this enclave hides an underworld of crime, sexual perversion, madness and manipulation that is rapidly spiraling out of control.

“’Super-Cannes’ was an incredibly prescient novel that is more relevant now than ever — a heady blend of cutting politics and deviant psychology, built around a deeply satisfying detective story,” said Cronenberg. 

Notes the site: “Ballard, one of Britain’s most acclaimed recent writers, is known for novels including “The Drowned World”, “Crash”, “High-Rise” and “Empire of the Sun”. Jeremy Thomas and David Cronenberg famously teamed up on a feature version of Crash. The author passed away in 2009.”

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We’ve learned today that Possessor will take over Hulu on February 1, 2021.

Other genre movies coming to Hulu in February include:

• American Psycho (2000) – February 1
• American Psycho 2 (2002) – February 1
• District 9 (2009) – February 1
• From Hell (2001) – February 1
• Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013) – February 1
• Mars Attacks! (1996) – February 1
• The Omen (1976) (1976) – February 1
• Damien – Omen II (1978) – February 1
• Phase IV (1974) – February 1
• The Tenant (1976) – February 1
• 12 Hour Shift (2020) – February 4
• Antebellum (2020) – February 5
• You’re Next (2013) – February 12
• The Shape of Water (2017) – February 15
• Dredd (2012) – February 22

Head over to Market Watch for a full list of what’s coming/leaving in February.

The post Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ and Several More Horror Gems Coming to Hulu in February appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Possessor Uncut, we’ve learned today, debuts on digital November 3 and on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra Blu-ray Combo December 7 from Well Go USA.

NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor Uncut’ Coming to Digital in November and 4K/Blu-ray in December appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Antiviral director Brandon Cronenberg‘s latest mind fuck, Possessor, is now in limited theaters everywhere and NEON is hyping up the film’s astounding effects in this brand new featurette, exclusive to Bloody Disgusting.

NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Speaking of “practical gore”, Possessor fully delivers on its promise.

“There are two things I really like about practical effects,” Brandon Cronenberg begins to explain in the following featurette that’s better than most bonus features included on home video releases. “The first is that I think they have a particular weight to them on-screen – I’m not anti-CGI, but I think often if you lean too heavily on it, and it’s not rooted in something practical, it kinda feels floaty and unsatisfying in a way.”

He adds: “Also, there’s a kind of tangible process to them…working with practical effects you’re involved in a hands-on way and you discover things by accident and through process you wouldn’t get to otherwise.”

Just how much of Possessor‘s mayhem is executed with practical effects? “Basically, every effect is in-camera,” exclaims Karim Hussasin, the film’s cinematographer.

Another mega-spoiler warning before you hit “play”, but this truly is a spectacular featurette that demands a viewing whether it’s now or after you’ve seen Possessor. Bookmark this page.

The post *SPOILERS*: ‘Possessor’ Featurette Celebrates the Incredible In-Camera Practical Effects [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Neon is releasing Possessor in theaters and drive-ins starting tonight (October 2), kicking off the Halloween season with a visceral bang. It might be a mind-bending sci-fi thriller, but horror DNA is woven throughout. Not just in the insane practical-effect driven carnage, but the powerhouse cast, as well. Many of whom have strong horror roots.

In celebration of Possessor’s release, we look back at the film’s stars’ horror roots.

Andrea Riseborough – Tasya Vos

Riseborough first made waves stateside with an appearance in the popular, yet grim series Black Mirror. The fourth series episode “Crocodile” saw Riseborough playing Mia, a woman distressed about a cover-up hit-and-run. The following year, Riseborough captured horror-loving hearts everywhere as the eponymous character in Mandy. Her turn as the tortured, kind soul and love interest of Red (Nicolas Cage) grounded the fantasy-horror spectacle. This year, the actress led Nicolas Pesce’s The Grudge, a new entry in the popular J-horror franchise. Riseborough played Detective Muldoon, a single mother and weary cop determined to get to the bottom of a grisly string of murders stemming from one particular haunted house.

Christopher Abbott – Colin Tate

Abbott made his feature debut with the psychological thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, which followed a paranoid woman struggling to adjust to normality after escaping a cult. The actor’s next notable horror film came from A24, Trey Edward Shults’s divisive It Comes at Night. Abbott played Will, a desperate father that seeks shelter with another family in their isolated home amidst a deadly outbreak. Tensions boil over as the threat of infection looms large. Proving Abbot is no stranger to gore and violence, he played the lead in Nicolas Pesce’s Piercing, an adaptation of a novel by Audition author Ryū Murakami.

Jennifer Jason Leigh – Girder

Veteran actor Leigh is no stranger to just about any genre of film, especially horror. The Hitcher may have featured a twisted cat-and-mouse chase between driver and sinister hitchhiker, but Leigh’s turn as an innocent waitress caught up in the game resulted in a memorable death scene. The actress showcased her range in Single White Female as an obsessed killer. A few years later, Leigh appeared in the Stephen King adaptation of Dolores Claiborne. In 1999, Leigh played game developer Allegra in David Cronenberg’s twisty sci-fi thriller eXistenZ. The prolific actress featured in the Twin Peaks revival series in 2017 and Amityville: The Awakening. Most recently, Leigh continued to show off her sci-fi horror chops in Annihilation, as the steely Dr. Ventress.

Sean Bean – John Parse

Bean may have unwittingly developed a reputation for dying a lot on camera, but the inexhaustible actor has racked up an insane number of credits. Before his turn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as the ill-fated Boromir, but he also made several thrillers around that era, including Don’t Say a Word, Equilibrium, The Dark, and Flightplan. Horror fans likely know him best as Christopher Da Salva, a desperate father searching for his wife and adoptive daughter in Silent Hill, the cinematic adaptation of the popular video game. Two years later, Bean assumed the titular role once portrayed by Rutger Hauer in the remake of The Hitcher. The actor also starred in the period horror film Black Death, set during the bubonic plague’s peak.

Possessor can be experienced uncut in theaters and drive-ins starting TONIGHT, October 2, 2020.

The post The Powerhouse Cast of ‘Possessor’ and a Look Back at Their Horror Roots appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is an agent working for a secretive corporation that uses brain implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies and puppeteer them to commit assassinations at the company’s direction. When the deed is done, the agent signals the corporation to remove her consciousness from her host body just before she forces her host to self-terminate. Tasya is so effective at her job that she’s the corporation’s best agent, and a favorite of her boss, Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh). The more time she spends in other bodies, though, the more she seems to lose control over her mind. Repressed memories bubble to the surface, others seem to fade entirely, and identity becomes trickier to maintain. When she inhabits the body of her latest host, Colin (Christopher Abbot), his soul isn’t quite as willing to let her take over thanks to her weakened mental state, and the war over control threatens to obliterate them both.

From the opening scene that demonstrates the body-hopping assassination process, Cronenberg declares that he’s not messing around. A woman (Gabrielle Graham) sticks a metal rod electrode into her scalp, in graphic fashion. The wound squishes, and blood gushes forth. After a beat, she proceeds about her typical workday until she finds her target, and then slaughters him in a sadistically violent way. No deaths in this movie henceforth will be gentle; visceral horror is the brand of this complex and heady sci-fi thriller.

Riseborough has the unenviable task of tackling a character who, when we meet her, exists in a state of confusion. Tasya’s fight for her identity, and holding tight to it as it’s slipping away, is the root of her journey. On the one hand, that makes her inaccessible to get to know who she is, but on the other, that’s the entire intriguing point. Abbott has the most exciting role to play as a man inhabited by two very different minds in Inception-level consciousness. Once Tasya enters Colin’s mind, Abbott primarily plays both characters. At first, it’s as though Colin is grappling with a new sickness or the dawning realization that something is seriously amiss with his body. As it progresses, he’s playing a much more in control Tasya, and it’s mind-bending.

Matching the glorious gore and insanely intricate character/actor work is the slick production. Cold, slick sci-fi meets a Grand Guignol aesthetic, and it’s stunning. Gorgeous cinematography by Karim Hussain (Antiviral, We Are Still Here), fantastic practical effects by special effects designer Dan Martin (Color Out of Space), and Rupert Lazarus’s (eXistenZ) production design all contribute to an unsettling spectacle where warm flesh literally melts and sterile technology reigns supreme.

One of the toughest elements to pull off in a genre film is the grand finale, and Possessor more than delivers. Even if the internal battle for body supremacy and all the cerebral questions it raises gets confusing, it all culminates in one jaw-dropping conclusion that ensures the film gets under your skin.

Cronenberg’s sophomore effort is ambitious as hell, and it may not go quite as deep as the premise suggests. That the two leads are people we never get to know before we’re thrust into their struggles with self-identity, or that they’re not exactly great people to begin with, means that it might be tough for some to find a rooting interest. But for those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must. Possessor will leave you stoked for Cronenberg’s next effort.

Editor’s Note: This Sundance review was originally published on January 27, 2020.

Possessor opened in theaters and drive-ins on October 2.

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NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

In the following clip, watch as the cerebral aspect of this thriller is put on full display as Andrea Riseborough melts away and is reformed into someone else.

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Today we’re excited to exclusively debut composer Jim Williams‘ track “The Owned Cannot Have a Soul” from the Possessor soundtrack, a haunting cue you’ll find below.

The British composer creates unnervingly hypnotic soundscapes utilizing electronic minimalism and twisted orchestral accompaniment to create ominous backdrops to the sci-fi thriller.

Williams tells us, “I provided a subverted ‘melody with a touching, though twisted orchestral accompaniment’ that corresponded with ‘love for a child, husband or family, or simply if we’re talking loss or longing’. Brandon liked this as ‘voyeur material and twisted love variation.’ The material formed the three tracks derived from ‘The Owned Cannot have a Soul.’”

Williams previously composed the scores for Kill List and Raw.

From the visionary mind of writer/director Brandon Cronenberg, Possessor is an arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos. Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.

You can pre-order/pre-save the 27-track soundtrack today.

The post Listen to the Jim Williams Track ‘The Owned Cannot Have A Soul’ from the ‘Possessor’ Soundtrack [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Possessor will now release *only in theaters* on October 2.

Stay tuned for Digital/VOD news and check out the latest trailer below.

NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ Moved Up One Week to October 2nd appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Stay tuned for Digital/VOD news and check out the new trailer below.

NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post Uncut Version of Brandon Cronenberg’s New Film ‘Possessor’ Coming in October [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A brand new piece of poster art for Antiviral director Brandon Cronenberg‘s Possessor has arrived today, along with the promise that the full uncut trailer will be here tomorrow!

Possessor will be unleashed upon the world on October 9, 2020. It’s coming to standard movie theaters and drive-in theaters on that date, we’ve learned, in its fully uncut form.

NEON describes the film as “An arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post New Poster Art for Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ Promises Uncut Trailer Tomorrow appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Possessor will be unleashed upon the world on October 9, 2020. It’s coming to standard movie theaters and drive-in theaters on that date, we’ve learned, in its fully uncut form.

They describe the film as “an arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post NEON Sets October Release Date for Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

They describe the film as “an arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough). Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

Ready for your first taste of the heady, visionary madness? Check out the teaser below.

The post No Body is Safe in the Red Band Teaser Trailer for Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Antiviral director Brandon Cronenberg (yes, son of David) is back this year with brand new genre film Possessor, which earned rave reviews out of Sundance earlier in the year.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

NEON will be releasing Possessor here in the States, and the company has debuted some official poster art today. Additionally, they promise a teaser trailer tomorrow, July 16th.

While you wait, check out the art below.

Possessor follows corporate agent Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough), who works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies – ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ Gets Poster Art Today and Teaser Trailer Tomorrow appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her 4.5 star review for BD, “For those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must.”

Reported by Deadline today, Cronenberg’s Possessor has been acquired by NEON. The company has taken U.S. rights, with a release date to be announced in the near future.

Well Go USA will be releasing Cronenberg’s latest on home video.

Possessor follows corporate agent Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough), who works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies – ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.

Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.

The post Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ Finds a Home at NEON appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Brandon, son of legendary Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, is forging his own path in the horror world. With Possessor, he turns in a dark and creepy indie film, while honoring his roots with insane body horror and extreme ultra-violence.

In the film, Mandy and The Grudge star Andrea Riseborough plays Tasya Vos, a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of the company. When something goes wrong on a routine job, she finds herself trapped inside a man (Christopher Abbott) whose identity threatens to obliterate her own.

In the works for the past several years, Cronenberg tells Bloody Disgusting that the genesis of Possessor comes from the concept of self-reflection and wondering if you could be your own imposter.

“I think initially I wanted to make a film about a character who may or may not be an imposter in their own life,” he explained to Bloody a few days prior to his World Premiere. “I wanted to look at the ways we need to build and maintain identities to function, either consciously or unconsciously, how acting and creation of character and narrative are fundamental to how we operate.

“So the genesis of the film was really in the domestic scenes rather than the thriller elements – someone wakes up in their apartment, and maybe they are someone else, and what does that ultimately mean? My first draft had too much going on in it, because I had been accumulating ideas as I was developing Antiviral, so I split it into two scripts and one of those became Possessor.”

While many will immediately want to compare Possessor with films like Inception, Cronenberg tells us that his film is actually more in tune with body-swap comedies.

“I think Possessor is at most loosely related to Inception. It’s true they both touch on the idea that aspects of a person’s will and desires can originate outside them, but structurally my film probably has more in common with body-swap comedies,” he explained. “Possessor is also more focused on what it is to play a human character, on the conflict between internal and external identity, and how both those things are in some ways imposed on us.”

Speaking to the body-swapping aspects of the film, Possessor is actually pretty complicated as it follows star Andrea Riseborough playing an agent who is also pretending to be the character of another actor. In the same sense, actor Christopher Abbott is performing as his character and Riseborough’s at the same time.

“Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott are the leads in Possessor, and for much of the film, they essentially play the same character, who is sometimes also pretending to be another character,” Cronenberg explains more eloquently than I ever could. “I was extremely lucky to be able to work with them, as they are of course both fantastic actors, and they made this part of my job easy. I really can’t overstate how good it was to have them on the film. I understand that they checked in with each other throughout shooting and collaborated on certain details together, but from my perspective on set, it was a fairly organic process. There were some ideas I had going into production about how the different versions of the character would tie together, and we discussed those beforehand. Then Chris and Andrea brought their own ideas to that structure, and we built it out together as we went.”

The weird is only one of the great aspects of the film; Possessor is off-the-walls bloody, dabbling in body horror. Being the son of David Cronenberg, I wondered where the excess in violence radiates from.

“I tend to find it less disturbing when violence in film is explicit,” says Cronenberg, “because it plays as horrible in the way that real violence is horrible. It’s much more unsettling to watch a PG-13 action film where the hero guns down two hundred nameless characters who don’t bleed. In Possessor specifically, the violence is also very narrative. Without giving too much away, the various approaches to the way it is depicted relate directly to character psychology, while also playing with where the audience is situated in terms of how subjective or objective a particular moment is.

“Most effects scenes in Possessor were either entirely practical (all the hallucination scenes were made with in-camera effects), or mostly practical with some clean-up (some of the violence involved blood-line removal, touch-ups, blade extension, etc., but only to polish what we had done on set),” he adds in regards to capturing the blood in-camera versus using CGI. “This was possible in part because we had Dan Martin doing effects for us, who as you may know from his previous work is a truly incredible artist. You can film Dan’s fake heads from about an inch away and they completely pass! And I was fortunate enough to work with Karim Hussain [pictured below, right] as my cinematographer again, who is intensely talented and innovative, and who was one of my core collaborators from the start of development. We spent literally years leading up to the shoot working out various camera effects and tricks for those scenes. We also had Derek Liscoumb and his physical effects team make a couple of unusual items (an acoustic levitator to allow us to float particles practically, and a trick fountain that used sound waves to “freeze” water in-camera).

“I should say that we did work with an extremely good VFX company in the UK called Milk,” he adds. “Aside from the work mentioned above, they also did set enhancement in a few cases and built a VR sequence for us.”

While he couldn’t pinpoint many direct inspirations, Cronenberg did tell us that they “did pick through some Argento films while we were developing Possessor, particularly Opera.”

Next up?

“I am currently developing a space horror film called Dragon that I will hopefully have more news about soon.”

Watch for Meagan’s review of Possessor out of the Sundance Film Festival this coming weekend. Well Go USA will release the film later this year.

The post ‘Possessor’: Brandon Cronenberg on His Crazy Body-Swap Horror Film Premiering at Sundance [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Based on an original screenplay written by Cronenberg, the son of the acclaimed director David Cronenberg, Infinity Pool centers on uninspired writer and his wife who are befriended by a glamorous couple, while on an all-inclusive vacation on a picturesque island. The couples head off on a forbidden picnic in the island’s off-limits countryside that takes a sinister turn.

“Brandon’s script confronts our deepest existential fears while piquing us with wicked social satire about the entitled behaving very badly in an exotic, uncanny location,” said Celluloid Dreams founder and president Hengameh Panahi and vice president Charlotte Mickie.

Ahead of Cannes, Paris-based Celluloid Dreams has boarded the film both as a co-production partner and as its international sales agent.

The Canada-Hungary-France co-production is being produced by Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino at Toronto-based Film Forge Productions, and Rob Cotterill, Cronenberg’s longtime collaborator. Daniel Kresmery will serve as the film’s Hungarian co-producer, with Jonathan Halperyn as an executive producer.

It is due to shoot in late 2019.

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Sean Bean, best known for The Lord of the Rings and “Game of Thrones,” Jennifer Jason Leigh, Oscar-nominated for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and star of recent genre films Amityville: The Awakening and Annihilation, and Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac, All the Money in the World) will star alongside the previously announced Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott, writes Variety.

The movie follows Tasya Vos (Riseborough), an agent for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. But something goes wrong on a routine job, and she soon finds herself trapped in the mind of an unwitting suspect (Abbott), whose appetite for violence turns out to rival her own.

It’s already been sold, with Well Go USA Entertainment releasing the film in the U.S. Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.

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“Possessor centers on Tasya Vos (Riseborough), an agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. But something goes wrong on a routine job, and Tasya soon finds herself trapped in the mind of an unwitting suspect (Abbott) whose appetite for violence turns out to rival her own.”

Filming for the feature is slated to begin first quarter 2019. Pic is produced by Fraser Ash, Niv Fichman, and Kevin Krikst of Rhombus Media (Enemy) and Andy Starke of Rook Films (Free Fire). Arclight’s Gary Hamilton and Ryan Hamilton will executive produce, alongside Steven Squillante and David U. Lee of Leeding Media, Noah Segal and Adrian Love of Elevation Pictures, and Tony Roman.

It is being made with the participation of Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates. Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.

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Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, pictured in “Black Mirror”) and Christopher Abbott (It Comes At Night) are set to star in Cronenberg’s anticipated sophomore feature film Possessor, it was announced today by producers Fraser Ash, Niv Fichman, and Kevin Krikst of Rhombus Media, and Andy Starke of Rook Films.

In the film, “An agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. But something goes wrong on a routine job, and she soon finds herself trapped in the mind of an unwitting suspect (Abbott) whose appetite for violence turns out to rival her own.”

Cronenberg is directing from a script he wrote about Tasya Vos (Riseborough).

Possessor is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada and the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.

Arclight’s Gary Hamilton and Ryan Hamilton will Executive Produce, alongside Steven Squillante and David U. Lee of Leeding Media, Noah Segal and Adrian Love of Elevation Pictures, and Tony Roman.

The post Violence Implanted Into Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A recently published YouTube video from director Steven Kostanski shows just how much work went into W is for Wish.

Watch the below to see how the mythical world of Harmonia came to life, complete with cameos from The Soska Sisters & Brandon Cronenberg!

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Variety reports tonight that Brandon Cronenberg will follow-up his excellent debut feature Antiviral (above) with Dragon, an epic sci-fi thriller that the Canadian filmmaker describes as being “like an adaptation of an imagined Philip K. Dick novel.” He adds that the film will explore “the pleasures of space horror in a satirical and at times psychotic universe.”

Set in the near future, Dragon envisions a society radically changed as a result of discovering ancient organic lifeforms drifting through the cosmos, whose alien biochemistry has been processed to create a hugely profitable drug that acts as an “opiate of the masses.” The film follows a captain and her crew as they hunt these “dragons” in deep space, seeking to secure a comfortable future.

Cronenberg will co-write the project with Marvel Comics writer Dan Abnett.

Shooting is expected to begin in mid-2018, with Luc Roeg’s Independent and Martin Katz’s Prospero Pictures producing.

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The Gates of Misery is a comic-book horror anthology, comprised of a series of tales of terror by some of the most creative and imaginative minds in the horror industry. Creator Matthew Therrien, like so many horror fans who grew up with classic horror comics from the 60s and 70s, wanted to make something equally as exciting for today’s modern horror fanatic. The idea was simple: allow horror writers and filmmakers — many of whom have never written for comics before — the chance to create their own 6 page horror stories. With no budget restrictions (one of the benefits of telling stories in a graphic format like this), the writers were free to create anything they desired; whatever they chose to pull from the depths of their nightmarish minds.

The unifying factor? The Mount Misery Cemetery. Whenever anyone is buried within this particular graveyard, the cemetery itself learns their entire life story, and for those willing to listen, it will recount some of the most gruesome and grizzly deaths. But only to those who aren’t faint of heart.

Our first 32 page issue contains four unique and unsettling stories by Steven Kostanski (Manborg, ABCs of Death 2, The Void), Brandon Cronenberg (Antiviral), Jon Knautz (Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, The Shrine, Goddess of Love), and Dave Alexander (award winning filmmaker and current editor of Rue Morgue magazine)!

The first issue introduces the over arching comic book voice emanating from ‘Mount Misery’ a golden hued cemetery with guarding gargoyles and musty mausoleums.  The terror tales begin with Astron-6’s Steven Kostanski who tells a steampunk science story ‘Re-Phase Malfunction ‘.  It is enthused with his humor demonstrated in ‘Manborg’ & ‘ABCs of Death 2’ segment with body melting results.  Brandon Cronenberg puts a new wheel spin on the classic road kill redemption in ‘Death in Li Tolqa’.  Andrew Barr guest illustrates Jon Knautz’s unorthodox hell spawn buddy story, ‘Darrel And Lenny’, while Rue Morgue Magazine’s Dave Alexander ends the tome with a quick draw cowboy camp fire closer that is brilliantly simple yet effective.

Take a look at some panels from the comic and grab a copy here as well as following on social for future edition news.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1329688494/the-gates-of-misery

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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.

When you’re approaching a character like this, who could teeter on parody – how do you find the center?

I suppose if we talk about style, I’d been watching movies at the time, I forget the names – I apologize. Just too many damn things. 9 1/2 Weeks, I think. Is that the one about the abortion?

I’m not sure.

The two ladies? The two women? They have to get an abortion illegally and live through the process of doing it. It’s in a time period, but I’m not sure about the name of it. Then there’s one, Objective? I’m not sure about the name but I think that’s what it’s called. It’s realism, if that makes sense.

These films, there was a lot of time progressing – as time does in real life. If that makes sense.

When you read the script for this film, did it strike you as an accurate extrapolation of where we’re headed with celebrity culture?

Well, I’m from Texas. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 19 and I’d done two films before that. I’d also done a little bit of television. And when I came down here I wasn’t expecting anything I suppose in terms of what you’re talking about. Celebrity. I never thought about it. I only thought about the work if that makes sense.

The mentality people had towards certain situations, I had all sorts of friends. And I had to think about how to proceed and it made a big impact on me. So it was extremely close to what I encountered when I got out here.

What was it like working with Brandon Cronenberg?

It was a dream come true. As is every film and television show I’ve been a part of. They’ve all been dreams come true, I’ve been lucky to be in every single one of them. I was given an opportunity to do something I had never done before. An opportunity no one else had given me. It was fantastic.

What’s coming up next for you?

Queen and Country we’re shooting that soon. John Boorman is directing, he did Hope And Glory. I’m excited beyond belief, and yet terrified. I’m terrified of everything I’ve ever done, which I’m finding to be a necessity.

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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).“

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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.

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“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.”

Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade all star. Click here to read the review in its entirety, then check back after the film comes out to write your own.

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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.

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The trailer is certainly interesting, but it seems a like a heavy-handed extrapolation of something Cronenberg might have learned in Media Studies 101. Obviously the film could be much more nuanced and, at any rate, it seems like there’s a d*mn good amount of body horror in the thing.

“‘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. Head inside for the trailer and poster.

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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.

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Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, a bizarre celebrity thriller that stars Caleb Landry Jones (Byzantium, X-Men: First Class, The Last Exorcism) made its debut at Cannes last month and has now been picked up for U.S. distribution by IFC Midnight, which I’m guessing means we can probably expect a theatrical/VOD combo release sometime in the 3rd or 4th quarter of this year

“‘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.

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