Special effects aficionado Steven Boyle brings audiences a new twist on the possession genre with his upcoming film from Shudder and AMC.

Shudder has proven itself to be the haven of innovative horror movies. Their recent Late Night with the Devil has amassed critical and audience praise. Their partnership with AMC continues to bring in new content, like the upcoming announced thriller The Cycle, which has just tapped Daredevil’s Deborah Ann Woll to be the lead. The horror streaming service has now brought us the trailer for The Demon Disorder, which they have acquired with AMC networks. The film comes from special effects master Steven Boyle (THE MATRIX Trilogy, THE HOBBIT Trilogy, KING KONG). The streamer also released the trailer for the highly anticipated film, which marks Boyle’s feature directorial debut. Starring John Noble (THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy), Charles Cottier, Christian Willis, and Dirk Hunter, the film will make its exclusive streaming debut on Shudder in Fall 2024. 

The official plot synopsis reads,
“The Australian demonic family drama centers on Graham, a man haunted by his past since the death of his father and the estrangement from his two brothers. Jake, the middle brother, contacts Graham claiming that something is horribly wrong: their youngest brother Phillip is possessed by their deceased father. Graham reluctantly agrees to go and see for himself. With the three brothers back together, they soon realize they are unprepared for the forces against them and learn that the sins of their past will not stay hidden. But how do you defeat a presence that knows you inside and out? An anger so powerful it refuses to stay dead?”

Steven Boyle expresses his excitement in bringing this new twist on possession to life, “We are thrilled that THE DEMON DISORDER has reached its final resting place with our friends at Shudder. It’s a community and fanbase that we hold in the highest esteem and we couldn’t be happier to be on this journey with them!” Samuel Zimmerman, the Head of Programming for Shudder also adds, “After years of a creating a range of elaborate visual experiences through his work as a special effects designer on iconic films, we’re thrilled to give Steven Boyle a platform for his feature length directorial debut with THE DEMON DISORDER. Full of impressive body horror that fans have come to expect from this master of effects, Boyle’s film is an engrossing story about breaking generational curses that viewers will find both unsettling and amusing.” 

Written and directed by Boyle, along with Toby Osborne (PINDAM) as writer, THE DEMON DISORDER is produced by Boyle and Ally Muller and executive produced by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig.

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.

The latest Wicked featurette provides a magical behind-the-scenes look at Cynthia Erivo and Araian Grande’s journey to the Land of Oz.

Last Updated on May 15, 2024

Jon M. Chu is ready to cast a spell on audiences when Wicked: Part One follows a yellow brick road into theater in November, and today, he’s sharing some behind-the-scenes magic in a new featurette. In the footage, we see an exclusive look at the sets, characters, and songs of the upcoming musical adaptation Broadway fans have been impatiently waiting for.

The Wicked featurette chronicles Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s journey toward playing Elphaba Thropp (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda Upland (Glinda the Good Witch), two sisters of the heart who grow up together while at different ends of the enchanted kingdom of Oz. Oz is a magical place, though it’s not free from prejudice, and Elphaba struggles to find her way in a world that doesn’t want her.

In the new featurette, Erivo and Grande explain how it’s been a dream to play their iconic Wicked characters in Chu’s latest film. Both women understand the expectations set upon them by playing the legendary witch sisters in Maguire’s best-selling story, and neither takes the responsibility lightly.

In addition to sharing a birds-eye view of the elaborate sets, the featurette teases Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard of Oz, the cast’s gorgeous costumes, and meticulously choreographed dance numbers.

Universal has been working on a Wicked film adaptation since 2004. Stephen Daldry was initially attached to direct but left the project due to scheduling conflicts. The movie’s original release was December 22, 2021, but fate threw a bucket of water on that plan. In addition to Covid casting a production hex, Chu went back and forth about dividing the story into two captivating presentations. Wicked: Part One will cast a spell in cinemas on November 27, 2024.

The three-time Tony Award-winning stage musical was adapted from Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel by writer Winnie Holzman and composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who collaborated on the screenplay adaptation. The story explains how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Maguire’s yarn is the ultimate fairy tale origin story and could have you rooting for the villain by the time it’s all over.

While I’m not typically one for musicals, I love Maguire’s Wicked, and Chu’s upcoming film is near the top of my list for this year’s releases. I hope the film is everything hardcore fans want it to be. Are you excited about Wicked coming to theaters? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft is a tough to watch experimental feature that plays more like an elaborate prank than a movie.

PLOT: An assassin (Jordi Molla) is hired to kill a deadly adversary.

REVIEW: NOTE – THIS WAS REVIEWED AT TIFF 2023. There’s at least one thing about Harmony Korine‘s Aggro Dr1ft that’s amazing: the fact that being shot in infrared isn’t the most obnoxious thing about this 80-minute endurance test. It’s not much of a film but rather purely experimental fare that Korine could have released online rather than at a major film festival. Many have pointed out that it plays like a cutscene from Grand Theft Auto, where it is directed in infrared by a horny, none-too-bright teenager obsessed with the imagery for nineties gangster rap videos. This is a movie where the bad guy goes on for minutes swinging swords repeating “dance b*tch, dance” over and over (and over) again.

One does have to give Korine some credit for his audacity in that he’s made a film wholly unconcerned with either audience sensitivities (good!) or entertainment/ artistic value (bad). Jordi Molla stars as our hitman hero, who keeps repeating over and over, “I’m an assassin,” who goes on an odyssey to assassinate a demonic drug lord. He’s the only semi-recognizable cast member, other than rapper Travis Scott, who shows up as our hero, BO’s protege, Zion, who once asks BO if Julius Cesar wrote the bible.

It’s an experience that I doubt anyone would seriously call a film. Nothing happens in it besides BO getting hired by some generic bad guys to kill some competition. The entire script likely only runs a few pages, as what little dialogue there is gets repeated ad nauseam. The infrared lensing is experimental, but you get used to it at a certain point, even if Korine never does anything interesting with it. It likely just covers up his threadbare production, making the whole film feel like nothing more than a goof.

There’s really not much more to say about Aggro Dr1ft, as virtually nothing happens. I guess the best way to describe it is what a movie written by James Franco’s character, Alien from Spring Breakers, would have been like. The best thing about it is the sound design and music by Araabmuzik, which is so propulsive that it sometimes covers up how tedious the movie gets. The performance by Jordi Molla can’t really be evaluated, as you never really see his face, thanks to the photography, and the dialogue is intentionally awful. The character is thinly plotted, by design, with him shown to have a family (repeating “I’m a father” over and over), and he seems less bloodthirsty than others in the movie, saving some female slaves in the finale that seems straight out of the old Duke Nukem video game.

Again, this is more of an experiment than anything else, and it’s possible that Aggro Dr1ft completely vanishes or drops online following its TIFF debut. At least Korine keeps the movie short; if you watch this stoned, it might be more fun. It was a mighty (but occasionally interesting) chore for someone that’s stone-cold sober.

M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter takes up the family business of giving scares with her new film and Warners has released the new one-sheet.

The Shyamalans are joining the Cronenbergs on making horror and thrillers a family business. While the patriarch, M. Night, has his own new project with the Josh Hartnett suspense film Trap, his daughter Ishana has taken up the mantle of mystery horror in the new film The Watchers. Warner Bros. Discovery has just released the new one-sheet poster for the film, is set to receive a June 7 theatrical release, courtesy of Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema.

The press release from Warner Bros. Discovery reads,
From producer M. Night Shyamalan comes The Watchers, written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine. The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. You can’t see them, but they see everything.

The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Ocean’s Eight), Georgina Campbell (Barbarian, Suspicion), Oliver Finnegan (Creeped Out, Outlander) and Olwen Fouere (The Northman, The Tourist). The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan and Nimitt Mankad. The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer. 

Joining writer/director Shyamalan behind-the-camera are director of photography Eli Arenson (Lamb, Hospitality), production designer Ferdia Murphy (Lola, Finding You), editor Job ter Burg (Benedetta, Elle) and costume design by Frank Gallacher (Sebastian, Aftersun). The music is by Abel Korzeniowski (Till, The Nun).

Speaking about his daughter’s work on Servant last year, M. Night Shyamalan told Entertainment Weekly, “She has slightly more of a fantasy bend than I do. She speaks in bolder colors than I do. The camera is more canted or more grotesque in showing someone scarier. The disadvantage of being an accomplished artist is that your experience starts working against you. I see less options, because I’ve done so many things. She doesn’t see that; for her, everything is possible. There are advantages and disadvantages to the levels of experience that we each have.” 

Edgar Wright is getting behind the camera to direct Sydney Sweeney’s anticipated reimagining of Barbarella.

When Sydney Sweeney brandishes a curiously phallic laser gun for her reimagining of Barbarella, she could be doing so under the watchful eye of Edgar Wright (Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs the World). According to Deadline, Wright is in talks to direct Barbarella, with Jane and Honey Goldman negotiating to co-write the script.

As Deadline notes, bringing Jane Goldman aboard shows how serious Sony is about assigning strong talent to Sweeney’s dream project. Jane Goldman’s writing credits include screenplays for Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class, Stardust, the upcoming Kingsman: The Blue Blood, and more.

During the backlash for Sony’s abysmal Marvel film Madame Web, Sweeney said she joined the film to position herself to pitch Anyone But You. The rom-com was an admirable success, with $219M+ worldwide. With Sweeney being a bankable star at the studio, Sony is ready to shoot her into space for an action-packed remake of Roger Vadim’s 1968 science-fiction classic starring Jane Fonda as Barbarella.

In Vadim’s Barbarella, an astronaut in the 41st century embarks on sexy misadventures while seeking to stop a nefarious scientist who threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy. Deadline says Wright has had his eye on Barbarella for a while. He met with Sweeney after the project was announced but had yet to agree to direct it. Now, Wright is adding Barbarella to his list of upcoming endeavors.

Before rolling cameras on Barbarella, Wright is teaming up with Glen Powell, Sweeney’s Anyone But You co-star, for a remake of Stephen King’s The Running Man. Between Wright’s unique visual style, Jane and Honey Goldman’s combined talents, and Sweeney’s rise in star power, Barbarella could be the action blockbuster Sony’s been waiting for.

While talking about the character, Sweeney said, “Barbarella is just such a fun character to explore. She really just embraces her femininity and her sexuality, and I love that. She uses sex as a weapon and I think it’s such an interesting way into a sci-fi world. I’ve always wanted to do sci-fi. So we’ll see what happens.”

Are you excited about Edgar Wright getting behind the camera for Sydney Sweeney’s Barbarella? Are you a fan of the original film? Let us know in the comments below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Bring on the ’80s sleaze! Zac Efron is reportedly in talks to star in a series adaptation of Night Business from director Ti West.

With the release of MaXXXine less than two months away, Ti West is setting up his next project, which sounds like another helping of pure ’80s sleaze. According to scooper Daniel Richtman, Zac Efron is reportedly in talks to star in Night Business, a series adaptation of the cult graphic novel by Benjamin Marra, which Ti West will direct.

A24 will produce the Night Business series with Nathaniel Halpern (Legion) writing the script and serving as showrunner. Here’s the logline: “In this 1980s-trash-culture homage where a knife-wielding killer is on the loose, committing extreme acts of violence on exotic dancers. Only one man has a will powerful enough to stop this psychopath: Johnny Timothy. But can Johnny mete out his vengeance before more innocent victims have to die? A nasty brew of power, passion, vigilantes, and dangerous men raining street justice down upon their enemies.” Zac Efron would play Johnny Timothy, the man with two first names.

Night Business sounds like it could be a wild ride, and a team-up between Ti West and Zac Efron has a lot of potential. I’ve always been a fan of West, but Efron has really been stretching his acting muscles lately, particularly with his outstanding performance in The Iron Claw.

As for MaXXXine, the latest installment of the X franchise takes place in 1980s Hollywood, where adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) finally gets her big break. But as a mystery killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

There have been rumblings that the sequel is a “good old whodunit slasher,” but Goth has teased that she views MaXXXine as more of a superhero movie. “That’s how I read the script,” Goth said. “Maxine, as a character, has come a long way. She’s a survivor, she’s gone through a lot. When we meet her again, in this new world that she’s in, she’s really fought for everything that she has, and she’s not about to give that up. She’s going to fight for what she has. She’s a badass. There’s a strength to her. And she’s a really proactive, determined, focused woman. She goes after what she wants, and she’s not really going to take no for an answer.” MaXXXine will hit theaters on July 5th, and it’s possible the franchise could continue should the film prove to be a success.