After the Audience Network folded in 2020, Mr. Mercedes, which somehow managed to get three full seasons, rolled over to Peacock. A good thing, too, as it’s got a cast to die for — Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Jharrel Jerome, Holland Taylor, Kelly Lynch, Breeda Wool, and Justine Lupe — delivering top-notch work.

In this deep dive into the series’ first season, Losers Randall Colburn, Justin Gerber, Ashley Casseday, and Dan Pfleegor discuss the ways in which the show improves upon the source material, how a good performance can elevate a dud character, and the cultural turmoil of the time that clearly influenced its production. Later this summer, the Losers will check in on the show’s subsequent seasons as their coverage of the trilogy continues.

Stream the discussion below and start reading Revival for June. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon), including more Lobstrosities like this episode.

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The post ‘Mr. Mercedes’ TV Series Elevates Stephen King’s Novel [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After the sudden death of her 6-year-old daughter Lila (A.J. Lister), maternity nurse Celie (Judy Reyes, Smile) is overcome with grief until she crosses paths with pathologist Rose (Marin Ireland), a cold, calculated woman who is far more interested in the corpses she examines than the living people in her life. After discovering a secret Rose keeps in her apartment, the two women join forces in an attempt to bring Celie’s daughter back to life.

birth/rebirth offers a motherly twist on the Frankenstein tale, though Moss and O’Brien are much more interested in the mad scientists themselves than they are the eponymous creature, making birth/rebirth more of a dramatic character study than an outright horror film. Yes, it delves deeper into the genre’s tropes as it moves into its third act, but its focus on the relationship between these two women is what sets it apart from other versions of this oft-old tale. Similarly, it’s Celie’s emotional connection to the creature itself that adds a new wrinkle to the formula. birth/rebirth dares to ask the question: how far will a mother go to ensure her daughter’s survival?

It cannot be understated how vital Reyes and Ireland are to the success of birth/rebirth. Any shortcomings in Moss and O’Brien’s script are overcome by these two outstanding performances. Reyes, reliable ever since her days on Scrubs, is the emotional core of the film. She grounds the more outlandish elements of the plot, her grief and desperation palpable. But as great as Reyes is (and she is great), it’s Ireland who runs away with the film. Already having proven herself in recent horror offerings like The Dark and the Wicked and The Empty Man, birth/rebirth offers yet another display of her talents.

There’s a surprising amount of humor to be found in birth/rebirth, with Ireland’s deadpan delivery juxtaposed with Reyes’ emotionality providing many of the film’s laughs. Rose seems to be coded as neurodiverse, and birth/rebirth mines a lot of humor out of her interactions with the people around her. It’s a welcome reprieve from the doom and gloom of the proceedings, but thankfully the humor never undercuts the drama.

Despite the occasional burst of humor, don’t expect birth/rebirth to pull any punches when it comes to the grisliness of the premise. After opening with a particularly gruesome overhead shot of an autopsy, it gifts us with several disturbingly gory scenes over the course of its runtime that will make any person shudder (a shot of Rose pulling a placenta out of a pregnant corpse’s belly is particularly upsetting). Mothers beware: this is a rough watch.

birth/rebirth does overstay its welcome a bit, with Moss struggling to maintain narrative momentum as the film shifts further into genre territory. This is not to say the film’s gory offerings don’t satisfy, it’s just that the relationship between Rose and Celie is so captivating that you wish the film would just stick with them, rather than barrel toward its inevitable conclusion.

Despite all of that, birth/rebirth remains a success. It’s a solid feature directorial debut for Moss, but mostly stands as a stellar showcase for these two actresses. Keep this one on your radar, folks.

birth/rebirth had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will stream on Shudder later this year.

The post ‘birth/rebirth’ Sundance Review – Two Outstanding Lead Performances Elevate “Frankenstein” Update appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

We now have a shocker of a clip from Benjamin’s XX story, “Don’t Fall”, which stars Angela Trimbur, Breeda Wool, Morgan Krantz and Casey Adams. Chris Harding (Southbound, The Devil’s Candy) also produced.

Here’s the plot of “Don’t Fall”:

A group of adventurous friends get into trouble when they venture off the beaten path and trespass on someone – or something – else’s land on a camping trip.

The clip shows an attack towards the end of the segment, revealing a fucking insane creature rockin’ some wicked practical effects work!

Benjamin is also a long time Bloody Disgusting family member who went from writing for us to producing the first two V/H/S films and most recently directing this wicked Cherry Glaser music video.

Here’s the clip from Benjamin’s “Don’t Fall”…

The film tells four deadly tales from four killer women: Roxanne Benjamin, who produced Southbound with us and also directed one of the stories; rock and roll icon Annie Clark (“St. Vincent”); Karyn Kusama, one of TV’s leading female directors and the filmmaker behind The Invitation; and up-and-comer Jovanka Vuckovic, director of the short film “The Captured Bird”. Sofia Carrillo (La Casa Triste) wraps together the four stories of terror featuring a cast including Natalie Brown, Mike Doyle, Christina Kirk, Kyle Allen, Peyton Kennedy, Peter DaCunha, Ron Lea, Jonathan Watton, Lisa Renee Pitts, and Morgan Peter Brown star.

Annie Clark (St. Vincent) rocks her directorial debut with “The Birthday Party”; Karyn Kusama exorcises “Her Only Living Son”; Roxanne Benjamin screams “Don’t Fall”; and Jovanka Vuckovic dares to open “The Box”.

The post This ‘XX’ Clip is All Kinds of WTF! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The film tells four deadly tales from four killer women: Roxanne Benjamin, who produced Southbound with us and also directed one of the stories; rock and roll icon Annie Clark (“St. Vincent”); Karyn Kusama, one of TV’s leading female directors and the filmmaker behind The Invitation; and up-and-comer Jovanka Vuckovic, director of the short film “The Captured Bird”.

Ahead of the festival premiere, Bloody Disgusting has landed the film’s official trailer to go along with some snippets of info on each short.

First, it was revealed that Sofia Carrillo (La Casa Triste) wraps together the four stories of terror featuring a cast including Natalie Brown, Mike Doyle, Christina Kirk, Kyle Allen, Peyton Kennedy, Peter DaCunha, Ron Lea, Jonathan Watton, Lisa Renee Pitts, and Morgan Peter Brown star.

Annie Clark (St. Vincent) rocks her directorial debut with “The Birthday Party”; Karyn Kusama exorcises “Her Only Living Son”; Roxanne Benjamin screams “Don’t Fall”; and Jovanka Vuckovic dares to open “The Box”.

Benjamin is also a long time Bloody Disgusting family member who went from writing for us to producing the first two V/H/S films and most recently directing this wicked Cherry Glaser music video.

The post ‘XX’ Trailer Delivers on the Bizarre and Mysterious appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As part of the official announcement, we’ve been provided with the below atmospheric and haunting shot from Benjamin’s XX story, “Don’t Fall”, which stars Angela Trimbur, Breeda Wool, Morgan Krantz and Casey Adams. Chris Harding also produced.

Here’s the plot of “Don’t Fall”:

A group of adventurous friends get into trouble when they venture off the beaten path and trespass on someone – or something – else’s land on a camping trip.

XX tells four deadly tales from four killer women that also include rock and roll icon Annie Clark (“St. Vincent”); Karyn Kusama, one of TV’s leading female directors and the filmmaker behind The Invitation; and up-and-comer Jovanka Vuckovic, director of the short film “The Captured Bird”.

Benjamin is also a long time Bloody Disgusting family member who went from writing for us to producing the first two V/H/S films and most recently directing this wicked Cherry Glaser music video.

The post Atmospheric New Shot From Roxanne Benjamin’s ‘XX’ Story, “Don’t Fall” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.