Summary: A family on a tropical holiday discovers that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly reducing their entire lives into a single day.
Year: 2021
Cinema Release Dates: 22nd July 2021 (Australia), 23rd July 2021 (UK), 23rd July 2021 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: TBA
Country: USA
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Nikki Amuka-Bird (Patricia), Gael Garcia Bernal (Guy), Kathleen Chalfant (Agnes), Embeth Davidtz (Adult Maddox), Francesca Eastwood (Madrid), Emun Elliott (Adult Trent), Mikaya Fisher (Kara Aged 11), Gustaf Hammarsten (Resort Manager), Jeffrey Holsman (Mr. Brody), Daniel Ison (Greg Mitchel), Kailen Jude (Idlib), Vicky Krieps (Prisca), Abbey Lee (Chrystal), Ken Leung (Jarin), Thomasin McKenzie (Maddox Aged 16), Aaron Pierre (Mid-Sized Sedan), Nolan River (Trent Aged 6), Luca Faustino Rodriguez (Trent Aged 11), Eliza Scanlen (Kara Aged 15), Rufus Sewell (Charles),Matthew Shear (Sidney), Alexa Swinton (Maddox Aged 11), Alex Wolff (Trent Aged 15)
Running Time: 108 mins
Classification: M (Australia), .15 (UK), PG-13 (USA)
OUR OLD REVIEWS
David Griffiths’ Old Review:
I want to preface what I am about to say here by saying that I am normally the person in a conversation that will defend M. Night Shyamalan as a film-maker. Aside from The Last Airbender and After Death I have enjoyed all of his films and have even found merit films like Lady In The Water and The Happening that some seem to despise. That being said though I found Old to be his worst film to date – it is a film that has a brilliant premise but sadly is badly executed.
The premise to Old is simple. Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal – Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps – Phantom Thread) are a married couple who decide to take their children on one last holiday before they divorce.
Once arriving on the island paradise it is suggested that visit a beautiful secluded cove and they taken there by the resort staff alongside another married couple, surgeon Charles (Rufus Sewell – A Night’s Tale), his trophy wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee – Mad Max: Fury Road) and their daughter. However the trip to the cove quickly takes a turn for the worst when a body washes up which Charles instantly assumes is the work of the mysterious Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre – Krypton) who can’t stop his nose from bleeding.
Without giving anything away the premise of Old and the reveal of why it is happening is pretty amazing, and to be honest Old could have turned out to be an absolute masterpiece but for many reasons this film ends up becoming seriously flawed. From unnatural, over-written dialogue through to some really bad acting performances from some of the cast make the film feel like something has gone horribly wrong with the film-making process somewhere along the way.
Then there is the fact that even though characters are aging at an alarming rate nobodies hair, beards, body hair or fingernails ever seem to become out of control despite the fact that it is unlikely that anybody would have packed grooming products to go on what was just supposed to be a picnic. Like time travel often does in movies the premise of what is supposed to be happening here trips itself up on a number of levels throughout the film.
It also feels like the events that are happening in the film all happen too quickly. A film like this does need to have a body count but not people dropping like flies – not unless the director is better at portraying the panic that that would put the other characters in than what Shyamalan is here. Perhaps the best way to have handled the subject would have been in a real-time drama series, like 24, where one hour of television could have shown what happened to that character in that hour (ie eight years) of their life.
The worst possible crime here for me though is the badly written dialogue. While it is to understand that Trent’s dialogue is different due to the fact that his character is autistic it doesn’t makes sense to why the dialogue of characters like Prisca also speak in such a disjointed and over-explanatory way. Add that to the fact that some of the acting here, and I am not talking about the young cast members, makes The Young And The Restless seem Oscar-worthy and the result is you have a lot of characters that become hard for the audience to warm to.
The saddest part of this film is that it finally grabs the attention of the audience towards the finale. Once the big reveal happens the film becomes interesting but sadly that is all too little too late and I dare say that if the screening that I was in is anything to go by some people may have already left the cinema.
I get a strong feeling that in years to come Old will be shown at film schools as a good example of ‘great idea but poor execution.’ While the idea of the film is a stroke of genius the many flaws of the film means it is not a film that is a pleasure to watch. That seems even more of a crime when you know that when he is at the top of his game M. Night Shyamalan is one of Hollywood’s best filmmakers.
Nobody quite does twisted horror like M. Night Shyamalan and if you are a fan of his you may want to check out this new giveaway that we are doing for the release of his brand new film Old – The new edge of your seat thriller from Writer & Director M.Night Shyamalan. OLD, Only in Cinemas July 22
Thanks to our good friends at Universal Pictures we have some double passes to the film giveaway.
After OUIJA SHARK made a splash with B-movie shark fans just over a year ago, Wild Eye Releasing has announced that the official sequel is currently filming with principal photography to be completed this year.
A team up between Wild Eye Releasing and Survival Zombie Films, the Ouija Shark follow-up will see fan favorite John Migliore from the first film revive his shield-slinging shark fighter dad Anthony, as well as taking over directing duties for the film.
Also reprising their roles from the original film are Kylie Gough (as Illyana) and Simon Wheeldon (as Caldura). Deborah Jayne Reilly Smith appears as a mysterious new character named Cressida.
Mike Trebilcock and Semetary Spawn will be providing the movie’s dramatic score as well as some new songs for the film.
The film is packed with shark action special effects and promises to offer even more bizarre and inter-dimensional weirdness for fans than the first film.
Migliore also penned the sequels’ script, and previously directed Creature from Cannibal Creek (2019), Exorcism of the Dead (2017) and Poltergeist Encounters (2016).
“The world of Ouija Shark is steeped in both fantasy and the occult, making almost anything possible. I’m looking forward to providing more than a few surprises,” Migliore said.
Wild Eye Releasing has released a few screenshots from the movie to whet fans shark sized appetites. Ouija Shark Sequel (Title TBA) Starring: John Migliore as Anthony Deborah Jayne Reilly Smith as Cressida Kylie Gough as Illyana Simon Wheeldon as Caldura
London’s prestigious horror genre film festival, Arrow Video FrightFest 2021, have announced that Better Noise Films’ upcoming horror-thriller feature THE RETALIATORSwill have its world premiere at the legendary event in August.
The official synopsis of the film reads, “In THE RETALIATORS, an upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter’s brutal murder. A high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music set the tone as this horror-thriller reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules.” The film stars Michael Lombardi (FX’s “Rescue Me”), Marc Menchaca (Netflix’s “Ozark”) and Joseph Gatt (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Jacoby Shaddix, front man of iconic rock band Papa Roach, making his feature film acting debut. Bridget Smith and Samuel Gonzalez, Jr. serve as co-directors, with a screenplay by Darren Geare and Jeff Allen Geare. Variety also announced in April that Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, the Emmy-winning composers behind the acclaimed music of Netflix’s hit “Stranger Things,” wrote the film’s original score.
“Since early days of production, we’ve always thought FrightFest would be the perfect place for this film to make its premiere,” said Dan Waite, Better Noise’s President, from the company’s UK office. “The Retaliators is an unapologetic horror film at its core, and we’re thrilled that Paul McEvoy and the rest of the FrightFest team understand our vision and have extended an invite for this story to be a part of its epic legacy in the genre. We also look forward to further bridging the relationship between rock music and horror film with this project, as so many world-class musicians are directly involved and are already supporting our filmmakers so loudly.”
The film joins the company of other esteemed genre titles that have been honored with special screenings at the festival in past years, including Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro’s cinematic classicPan’s Labyrinth and projects from Rob Zombie, Simon Rumley, Christopher Smith, Eli Roth, Neil Marshall, Simon Hunt, and more. Del Toro, went on to deem the fest “The Woodstock of Gore.”
Better Noise Films recent successes include Netflix’s The Dirt, the Mötley Crüe biopic produced by Allen Kovac, which premiered to millions on the streaming service in 2019. Last year, Better Noise released its indie drama Sno Babies, a heart-wrenching story about addiction that earned rave reviews for actress Katie Kelly, who also appears in THE RETALIATORS.
In 2018, David Gordon Green’s Halloween, starring icon Jamie Lee Curtis,killed at the box office, earning more than $250 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing chapter in the four-decade franchise and setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend in history for a horror film starring a woman.
And the Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn’t over yet.
Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor.
But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster.
The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all.
Evil dies tonight.
Universal Pictures, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions and Trancas International Films present Halloween Kills, co-starring Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins, Thomas Mann (Kong: Skull Island) and Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight).
From the returning filmmaking team responsible for the 2018 global phenomenon, Halloween Kills is written by Scott Teems (SundanceTV’s Rectify) and Danny McBride and David Gordon Green based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The film is directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block. The executive producers are John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Ryan Freimann.
Summary: Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path.
Year: 2021
Cinema Release Dates: 27th May 2021 (Australia), 24th June 2021 (Thailand), 3rd June 2021 (UK), 28th May 2021 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: TBA
Country: USA
Director: John Krasinski
Screenwriter: John Krasinski
Cast: Emily Blunt (Evelyn Abbott), Chad Corbi (Jim Chimney), Wayne Duvall (Roger), Djimon Hounsou (Man On Island), Noah Jupe (Marcus Abbott), John Krasinski (Lee Abbott), Scoot McNairy (Marina Man), Cillian Murphy (Emmett), Millicent Simmonds (Regan Abbott)
Running Time: 97 mins
Classification: M (Australia), 13 (Thailand), 15 (UK), PG-13 (USA)
OUR A QUIET PLACE PART II REVIEWS
David Griffiths’ A Quiet Place Part II Review:
Cinemas are back open and the movies are back with a BANG! There has been no ‘slow-opening’ when it comes to blockbusters being released with one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year opening this week… after a delay of exactly a year (thanks Covid!!!).
Back in 2018 genre film fans were shocked when real-life husband and wife team John Krasinski (TV’S The Office) and Emily Blunt (Edge Of Tomorrow) brought their passion project, titled A Quiet Place, to the big screen. The film itself was a virtual cinematic masterpiece and fans begun asking for a sequel almost straight-away. Now that sequel has landed with A Quiet Place Part II and once again those fans are going to be enthralled.
Part II picks up exactly where the original film left off. The subsequent fire, thanks to the finale of Part 1, sees Evelyn Abbott (Blunt) and her kids, Regan (Millicent Simmonds – Wonderstruck) and Marcus (Noah Jupe – Honey Boy), seeking shelter elsewhere while the creatures still hunt them down whenever they make a noise.
They soon find shelter in an old mill alongside family friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy – Inception), but when Regan finds a radio transmission on her father’s radio she becomes insistent that the group travel to where the feed is being transmitted from. She soon makes it known that if the others don’t follow her she is willing to go it alone.
It becomes very obvious early on with Part II that as a filmmaker Krasinki wanted to makes this film bigger and better than the original but without losing that ‘indie’ feel that was so obvious in the first film – and to his credit he manages to do that. The opening sequence which is a short prequel to the event is mind-blowing – brilliantly directed and still has a small town feel to it which makes it perfect fodder for those that love shows like Stranger Things.
From there though the film returns to the almost slower pace that made the first film so special. The film focuses on characterisation whether it be the audience being frustrated at behaviour of Marcus that often puts his family at risk or the emotional growth that we see from Regan this time around. The fact that the people behind the camera also had the sense to risk a large portion of this film being carried by young Millicent Simmonds pays off as well.
Simmonds is brilliant in this film and often steals scenes from her more experienced co-stars like Emily Blunt. She uses her deafness to her advantage in her portrayal of her character on screen and some of the film’s most important and memorable moments are played out with her alongside Cillian Murphy. Both Murphy and Simmonds are also made look even better by Krasinski and his cinematographer, Polly Morgan (Lucy In The Sky), who frequently give small nods to cult classics like Alien throughout the film.
The real key to A Quiet Place Part II working so well as a film though is the fact that Krasinski never allows this film to give in to the cheesiness that Hollywood so often feels like these films need. There are no tacky, throw-away lines placed into the film to try and get a cheap life and there are certainly none of those laughable jump scares that seem to litter horror and sci-fi films these days. It is obvious that Krasinski has learnt his craft by watching the films of the masters – directors like Spielberg, Carpenter and Scott, and thankfully for fans of the genre their work is mirrored in his.The Quiet Place Part II is better suited to those that have already seen the original film. While the flashback at the start of the film does do enough to give newcomers a bit of back-story once the film comes back to the current day there are things that happen that would only be understood by those who have seen the original. The great news is that for fans of the original this is a more than worthy watch and it reveals Millicent Simmonds as a future star in a role that is now truly memorable.
Dave’s rating Out Of 5
Kyle McGrath’s A Quiet Place Part II Review:
A Quiet Place was the 2018 surprise hit film directed by John Krasinski and starring himself and real world wife Emily Blunt as Lee & Evelyn Abbott, parents to Regan and Marcus played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. Largely set a year and a half after strange brutal monsters have wiped out most of humanity by attacking anything which makes a sound. The film followed the Abbotts as they try to make a literal quiet life for themselves on their farm in this new world of terror as they expect the birth of a new child. One day a series of events lead to the family being stalked by at least one of these creatures (there are 3 in the area), during which Evelyn gives birth, Lee is killed and Regan, a deaf teenager, discovers that the hearing aid her father made for her while it doesnt help her hearing emits such a frequency that weakens the monsters impervious shell allowing for the family to finally take down the creature with aide of a shotgun. The film ends with a cliffhanger as 2 more monsters race to investigate the explosive sound.
A Quiet Place part 2 picks up directly after these events, besides a flashback, where Evelyn, her 2 children and newborn infant are forced to flee their farm in search of aide and a new place to call home. They quickly come into contact with Emmett (Cillian Murphy) a neighbour with his own tragic story and former friend of the Abbotts in the old world. Upon hearing a radio broadcast the survivors set out to see if they can reach the source and if with Regan’s earpiece they might be able to honour her father Lee by providing some sort of larger scale fight back against these, until now, seemingly unbeatable monsters.
A Quiet Place was a movie that i personally didnt enjoy nearly as much as many others did. I found it to be a film with quite an interesting premise and being set in a world where characters had to remain as silent as possible I was really interested to see how it played out. Unfortunately while the movie featured a talented cast of actors, impressive special effects and effective jump scares the writing and world building I found somewhat lacking & hurt the believability of the film.
The thing which bothered me most watching the movie was that while I found John Krasinski had done an amazing job in taking a horror story of such an odd nature with little to no spoken dialogue and making it work extremely well, the film by its very nature almost encouraged the audience to think “why dont they do this, why dont they do that”. Some of this second guessing is inevitable with a genre film such as this but here was a movie with great actors, looked amazing and incredibly was never boring despite such long and silent moments when one could argue not much was happening. However I have to assume that most of the audience would like me be thinking about what they would find themselves doing in a situation such as the Abbotts found themselves in and this is just sitting in the audience for 90 minutes, rhe Abbotts have been living in this world for a year and a half and we see the story opens with the death of one of their children. If we the audience can think “maybe they should be living near that waterfall which provides cover for sound” maybe the Abbotts should have thought of these things as well. If I would carry around an egg timer or, hell, even a rock just to throw to the side to privide some sort of distraction for these blind creatures who hunt by sound maybe Lee Abbott should be as well.
It was an interesting movie and I was impressed that it made for such a unique cinema going experience where the audience feels the need to keep as quiet as possible like say a deep sea movie would encourage us to hold our breath. Some parts of the film I quite liked such as the family having a deaf daughter and knowing sign language, rather than this being a ridiculous coincidence I saw it as a reason that the Abbotts have survived so long, they already knew how to communicate with each other silently. But as the plot contrivances and holes began to pile up I couldn’t find ways to explain them all away.
A Quiet Place 2 however I found to be a different case. A lot more is happening here with much of the film surprisingly not focusing as much on Emily Blunt’s character but on Regan and Emmett as they go on a quest of there own to reach what they hope will be a settlement and more survivors. The question is would they be people worth saving.
Despite the original film’s cliche’d “she cocks the shotgun and it cuts to credits” apparent sequel bait ending I can 100% believe that John Krasinski is being honest when saying that they never intended to make a sequel. Reason being is remember those 2 monsters that were racing to destroy whatever had made that shotgun blast? Well they both disappeared from existence which makes watching this movie as some sort of double feature quite humorous indeed as an immediate threat is set up only to be instantly forgotten about. Having the remaining Abbotts quickly dispatch 2 monsters in the film’s opening when a single creature had stalked them the entire previous movie may have nerfed the central threat of the series a little but still Kathy Bates’ character from Misery would be pissed at such inconsistency.
A lot of this movie is put on the shoulders of both Cillian Murphy and especially Millicent Simmonds. Simmonds as Regan trying to do what her father would have done and Murphy as Emmett a man who has lost everything, including possibly his mind, needing to protect his dead friend’s daughter both provided incredible performances which more than carry the film. Cillian Murphy is one of the most talented actors of his generation and fits well into his role giving us a character we’re not sure if we can trust or not.
Emily Blunt somewhat falls to the side in this film which is a pity but while the last film’s theme of protecting one’s children suited her having a much more substantial role, this film’s theme of children growing up and leaving the nest means it wouldnt have worked here. On that note in fact I was somewhat disappointed that the character of Marcus and Evelyn’s roles in the latter half of the film had been exchanced. Not to give anything away but this movie features a scene that makes the previous films stepping on a nail look preferable. The result is that Marcus is forced to stay mostly in one location taking care of a newborn while Evelyn goes in search of medical supplies. I couldnt help but think both their actions could have been swapped around with Evelyn being in the unfavorable position of having both her son and daughter out in the wild with her unable to do anything to help them. Especially considering that Marcus’ character arc in this film, not to mention the whole “leaving the nest” theme, would have fit better had he been the one forced by circumstances to be the protector rather than the one being protected.
The film has plenty more going on in it this time than in the last film. The characters moving from one location to another rather than the entire film being set in one fortified location also avoids the issues I had with world building in the previous movie. The characters act in a more believable way as they are thrust into dangerous situatuons that occur naturally rather than preventable situations they should have prepared for.
As the narratives split to 3 different focal points throughout the story it must be said that a credible job is done to seemlessly jump from one storyline to another without awkwardness or lapses in tone. As tension builds with Marcus exploring his surroundings and not knowing what he will find or what will jump out at him it also is gearing up with Regan and Emmett on their quest.
Once again the movie makes for an incredibly tense cinema going experience. It really goes to show Krasinski’s ability as a director that he can have 100s of people sitting in a room deathly silent on the edge of their seats too afraid to be the one to disturb the quiet by crinkling a bag of crisps and woe betide anyone who forgot to put their phones on silent as they’ll earn the scorn of an entire cinema moreso than usual.
Rarely do I find myself enjoying a sequel as much or more than the original and even more rarely do I find myself such a fan of a sequel to a film I didnt really care for. A Quiet Place Part 2 like Happy Death Day 2U is one of those freak occurrences. I was surprised when this movie got pushed so far forward from its initial 2020 release date with no question of an on demand release. However with its small and talented cast directed with an impressive eye for tension and jump scares this is a genre film the likes of which deserves to be seen on the big screen as much as any huge blockbuster. The interesting premise of the original film is still going strong here and I’m interested to see where the franchise could go from here.
New Era Entertainment will be releasing MEDUSA across the US and Canada on 6th July and UK July 19th 2021. The film will receive a full home entertainment release, with a day-and-date DVD and Premium TVOD, followed by a full digital release. The film is a modern take on the mythological female creature ‘Medusa’ and tells the story of a young woman, who is bitten by a lethal snake and starts experiencing unusual changes to her senses and appearance. As she sheds her old skin, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants, as she slowly morphs into a deadly weapon.
Strong female cast includes Megan Purvis (The Young Cannibals, Don’t Knock Twice, Hilda), Sarah T. Cohen (HellKat, The Witches, The Viking War) Nicola Wright (The Gardener, Perfect 10, Silent Place) and Nicole Nabi (Cannibal Troll, Hatched). Matthew B.C directed and co-wrote the film alongside Scott Jeffrey. Medusa was produced by UK production house Jagged Edge Productions. Devilworks acquired Worldwide rights and will be selling to International buyers at the Marche’s physical event in Cannes (July 6th-15th).
