The Courteney Cox horror comedy series Shining Vale is returning for season 2, which is set to premiere in October

The horror comedy series Shining Vale premiered on Starz back in March of 2022 – and just when I was starting to wonder if the show was turning out to be “one season and done”, Entertainment Weekly has gone ahead and broken the news that Shining Vale season 2 is scheduled to begin airing on Friday, October 13th! Along with that confirmation comes the unveiling of some first look images from the new season, and you can check those out at the bottom of this article.

Created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan, the first season of Shining Vale followed a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place. But no one seems to notice except for Patricia “Pat” Phelps, who’s convinced she’s either depressed or possessed – turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same. Pat is a former “wild child” who rose to fame by writing a raunchy, drug-and-alcohol-soaked women’s empowerment novel (a.k.a. lady porn). Fast forward 17 years later, Pat is clean and sober but totally unfulfilled. She still hasn’t written her second novel, she can’t remember the last time she had sex with her husband, and her teenage kids are at that stage where they want you dead. She was a faithful wife until her one slip-up: she had a torrid affair with the hot, young handyman who came over to fix the sink while Terry was at work. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, she and Terry cash in all their savings and move the family from the “crazy” of the city to a large, old house in the suburbs that has a storied past of its own. Everyone has their demons, but for Pat Phelps, they may be real.

Shining Vale stars Courteney Cox as Patricia “Pat” Phelps, Greg Kinnear as Pat’s husband Terry, Merrin Dungey as Pat’s friend and book editor Kam; Gus Birney and Dylan Gage as Pat and Terry’s teenage kids Gaynor and Jake; Mira Sorvino as Rosemary, “who is either Pat’s alter ego, a split personality, her id, her muse, or a demon trying to possess her”; Sherilyn Fenn as realtor Robyn Court; and Judith Light as Joan, “Pat’s Lithium-infused mother, who has long battled mental illness, and her daughter… (who she blames for her mental illness). Joan is vain and hyper-critical, taking any opportunity to recall her prized youth, or belittle Pat. Of all the horrors that Pat faces, becoming Joan is the most frightening – and most real.”

The first season ended with Pat being committed to a psychiatric hospital. Season 2 picks up four months later, when Pat’s insurance runs out and she is released from the psychiatric hospital early. She returns home, determined to pick up the pieces of her broken family, but she quickly finds out her children don’t need her, Terry doesn’t remember her, and to make matters worse, Pat’s new neighbor Ruth looks exactly like Rosemary. As if that wasn’t enough, the house starts to reveal the shocking secrets of its dark past.

Shining Vale is produced by Lionsgate and Warner Bros. Television, in association with Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Astrof’s Other Shoe Productions, and Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman. Astrof, Horgan, Mountford, Kaplan, and Dana Honor are all executive producers, while Cox is a producer. The pilot episode was directed and executive produced by Dearbhla Walsh.

Did you watch the first season of Shining Vale, and will you be tuning in for season 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Tron: Ares has fallen victim to the dual strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, which its directors says has made things that much harder.

The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, now in its second month, has claimed yet another victim, as Tron: Ares has officially been delayed the same week it was set to begin filming. Coming hot off the news, director Joachim Rønning has expressed his frustrations on social media, urging there to be a better “safety net” as SAG-AFTRA and WGA (whose own strike has exceeded 100 days so far) continue to be in a stalemate with the AMPTP, the group at the center of both strikes.

The delay of Tron: Ares will result not just in a calendar shakeup but the loss of jobs for around 150 crew members. As such, director Rønning has not minced words on his take. As per The Hollywood Reporter, “Today was supposed to be our first day of principal photography on TRON: ARES (a movie subsequently about AI and what it means, and takes, to be human). Instead, we are shut down with over a hundred and fifty people laid off. It’s indefinite, which makes it exponentially harder for everyone…The AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA and WGA need to speed up the negotiating process and not leave the table until it’s done. This is Hollywood. We close deals for breakfast. Why do we suddenly have all the time in the world when every day is so precious? These tactics are extremely frustrating. It’s time for diplomacy so we can get back to work – under conditions that are fair to everybody #amptp #sagaftra #wga”. That Tron: Ares centers around artificial intelligence is quite interesting, considering the topic is a major point in negotiations for both unions. You can read his full statement from Instagram below:

Tron: Ares is set to be the third movie in the Tron franchise following 1982’s original and 2010’s Tron: Legacy. It had been building its cast for some time – recently adding Cameron Monaghan (Shameless, Gotham) and Sarah Desjardins (Riverdale, Yellowjackets) to the already-cast Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, and more – building as best as they could in the excitement, although fans would much rather see Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde in the cast. Most would probably want to see how Cillian Murphy could expand his Legacy cameo as well.

Do you share Joachim Rønning’s sentiments about Tron: Ares being delayed because of the strikes? Are you still looking forward to the threequel? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

It’s a bit hard to believe now, but once upon a time… a new Star Wars movie coming out was a huge deal. Nowadays, thanks to several movies and an onslaught of TV shows, the Star Wars brand is omnipresent, and not going anywhere anytime soon. But after the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi, there was a Death Star-sized void in the Star Wars galaxy, one that seemed like it would never be filled. When it became obvious in the mid-90s that George Lucas intended to bring his long rumored prequel trilogy to life, there was no doubt movie fans young and old felt like the Force was strong with us, maybe more so than ever before. 

The Phantom Menace was to be the first of the three, and in 1999 it entered our world as perhaps the most highly-anticipated movie ever released. This thing came loaded with expectations – expectations that might’ve been impossible to meet. But most people just wanted to be back in that far away galaxy, revisiting familiar characters and worlds while acquainting ourselves with brand new ones. A new Star Wars movie – could you believe it?! And though it would be telling a tale that many of us already knew – at least, thought we knew – there was no denying that the very idea we’d be seeing that iconic crawl on a big screen, accompanied by that gloriously loud boom of John Williams’ theme, was tremendously exciting, prequel or not. Hell, the word prequel itself was something of a novelty, not nearly as commonplace as it is now. 

And if we were indeed going back in time, then at least we’d be seeing the origin story of one of cinema’s most memorable villains. We’d heard the name Anakin Skywalker plenty of times, we knew he was Luke’s father and Obi-wan’s apprentice and friend before being turned into the monstrous Darth Vader by the Emperor, but what exactly would that transformation look like? The notion of witnessing Anakin’s devolution from hero to evil henchman was indeed a compelling one, as was the idea of seeing the badass Obi-wan was long before we met him. 

I’ll not bore you with the details of this writer’s first time seeing Phantom Menace other than to say I saw it at three in the morning at Manhattan’s legendary Ziegfeld theater opening day – well, opening morning. That should give you an idea of the level of anticipation coursing through these veins. Being in a sold out theater filled with fully-awake fanboys and girls at that ridiculous hour was a genuine treat… For a while… 

No friends, I did not like Phantom Menace that first fateful viewing. Nor did I like it the second, or the third time. We’re not going to dwell on the past, just consider it some added context. 

Because recently I revisited Episode One for the first time in a long while for the purposes of this “Star Wars Revisited” series, and what better reason? As was the case with the original trilogy, it’s nearly-impossible to watch the film with a set of “quote unquote” fresh eyes while shoving aside all prejudices and grievances, but it deserves as fair a shot at reevaluation as any movie out there, especially considering it’s arguably the most divisive movie in the franchise. Alright, maybe it’s tied with The Last Jedi on that front… So does “The Phantom Menace” look a little different with all those pesky expectations out of the conversation? 

Well, here’s the deal. Phantom Menace is still a tough pill to swallow. Scene after scene brings the hope that George Lucas will get the movie on track, get some juvenile humor and caricatures out of his system early, deliver a narrative that brings more to the table than boring bureaucracy and standard getting-to-know-you character introductions. But he never does. The movie is meant to a table-setter, there’s no doubt about that, with Lucas setting the stage for dire future events like the unraveling of the Republic and the extermination of the Jedis – not to mention Anakin’s tortured embrace of the dark side. 

But at almost every turn, Phantom Menace is a stiff, unexciting affair, filled with actors who look like they’re trying hard to find inspiration in situations they seem uncomfortable in. When the movie comes to life, it’s because of elaborate visual effects, not because characters we love are doing things we have a vested interest in. The original Star Wars movies are so unique in how they combine eye-popping spectacle with humor, heart, and wonderful personal moments, major and minor. The Phantom Menace never seems to have a beating heart, and when it strives for the big emotional beats that truly grab the audience, it flops, usually thanks to some dodgy acting, inane dialogue and uninspired directing. 

This was George Lucas’ first directorial effort since the original Star Wars came out in 1977. We know he was always very closely involved with most of his Lucasfilm Productions, but returning to the director’s chair after a twenty-year hiatus clearly has its challenges. Right off the bat, Lucas shows rust, opening with sequences that look like they were designed to show off CG production design as opposed to involving us in story. There’s a boring formality to the way he composes shots early and often, and you can’t help but blame his over-reliance on shooting in front of green-screen stages for that. Of course, now we know it’s very possible to rely on CGI and green-screens and still deliver a well-directed picture, but Lucas doesn’t seem to have any interest in composing an engaging image within the frame. He’s going to let the wizards at ILM do all the heavy lifting, and the movie’s small handful of stimulating sequences feel as though they were handled by the second unit.

But the director also needs to be in charge of his actors, and he has trouble in that department too… Even during his New Hope days, Lucas wasn’t known as an actor-friendly director, yet he gets marvelous performances from pretty much all involved in that film, and if you take a look at his previous flick, American Graffiti, there’s further proof of a genuine talent with a knack for getting the best out of his ensemble. Sadly, the performances in Phantom Menace are adequate at best, thoroughly unimpressive at worst.  That goes for humans and aliens alike. 

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are naturally charismatic actors, and that natural screen presence goes a long way here, but Neeson often looks like he has very little investment in what’s going on, while McGregor tries gamely to boost up an underwritten role. Natalie Portman too seems no match for Lucas’ humdrum dialogue and indifferent direction. Even Sam Jackson is slightly off, frequently looking perplexed by his assignment even though we know he genuinely coveted the opportunity to play a Jedi.

The most human performance probably comes from Ian McDiarmid, who appears pleased as punch to be back in action as Palpatine – here depicted as an amiable politician who effectively hides a very dark side. McDiarmid has some fun with the role and consistently brightens up the screen when he’s around, which isn’t often enough. Also effective is Pernilla August as Anakin’s somber mother; if Lucas is able to wring any actual drama out of the sad situation Anakin and Shmi are in, it’s thanks to August’s heartfelt performance.  

And as for Jake Lloyd… Look, we’re not here to pile on him. No one should be mad at Lloyd for his performance; playing a young Anakin Skywalker was going to be a challenge for any young actor, and it’s quite obvious early on that Lloyd isn’t up to the task. Again, the blame must be squarely on Lucas’ shoulders for casting Lloyd in lieu of someone else who might bring some spirit to the part. This is young Darth Vader we’re talking about here, and even though we meet him as an innocent child, there should at least be a little bit of an edge to him – especially considering the Jedi council’s wariness surrounding his apprenticeship. Watching him, all we can think is: “This guy is gonna be Darth Vader?” 

We’re also not going to pile on Jar Jar Binks – not too much, anyway. He’s received twenty-plus years of relentless bashing and that’s been plenty. But for the purposes of this Revisit, let’s not mince words: Jar Jar is a ridiculously ill-advised and unwelcome element in Episode One. To say this movie is often in dire need of some comic relief in it is to understate matters, but Jar Jar is not the solution. He makes the silliness of C3PO look positively dignified, although if we can give any kind of compliment to the legacy of Jar Jar, it’s that you can’t deny Ahmed Best – the actor playing him – is bringing all the energy he can muster to the forefront. Lucas was always adamant that Jar Jar and his shenanigans were aimed at a younger audience, and maybe he does indeed work for that demographic, but you can’t convince me this was the best we could do.)

And the less said about Boss Nass, the better.

These characters are thrust together in a story that takes a painfully long time to generate any kind of intrigue. The pressing issue at hand has to do with the Trade Federation, its blockade of Naboo, and its conspiracy with the dreaded Darth Sidius, who is using them as pawns in his quest to control the galaxy. As mentioned already, this movie is meant as a table-setter for the rest of the trilogy, but the Trade Federation storyline is a non-starter; even if it’s necessary in the grand scheme of things, it completely bogs the movie down whenever it’s the focus. Add to that, the Trade Federation characters, the Neimoidians, are thoroughly dismal creations – we take them no more seriously than we do Jar Jar, and they’re supposed to be the main antagonists of the piece. 

But that brings us to another looming issue for Phantom Menace. There really are no villains to root against. The Trade Federation obviously can’t fit the bill, and Darth Sidius is more of a vague threat than tangible bad guy. That leaves us with Darth Maul, who received so much hype prior to the film’s release. The promise of Darth Maul being a flashy new baddie in the Star Wars universe was very enticing, but the movie barely utilizes him at all. He’s in one fairly unexceptional dust-up with Qui-Gon in the middle of the film, and then he gets his big moment in the third act with a rousing lightsaber duel against the Jedis. The movie’s best sequence, it brings life to Phantom Menace at a critical time – though of course it’s frustratingly intercut with the bumblings of the Gungans and Anakin alike. Just when we’re getting used to Darth Maul as an intimidating foe, he leaves the premises in pieces, and we bid adieu to the most captivating character in the film. The fact that his death hits harder than Qui-Gon’s really tells you something. 

The third act has another saving grace, and that’s John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates,” a great track that still maintains immense power. Williams’ score for Phantom Menace overall is far from his best, but “Duel of the Fates” just about makes up for it. He would go on to do much more memorable work in the next two prequels, however, once again becoming one of the main MVPs for the “Star Wars” series. 

In purely visual terms, Phantom Menace brings some superficial pleasures; Naboo – above and below the surface – is a lovely place to look at, and ILM’s artists frequently give us enjoyable sights such as the frightful underwater monsters Qui-gon and Obi-wan encounter. The pod race is also an entertaining set piece, even if it does feel like it’s just filling time and giving us a sorely-needed action sequence in a movie that, until that point, hasn’t been very thrilling. 

When it’s all over, and the droid army has been temporarily defeated and Boss Nass holds up that glowing orb thing, there’s a surreal feeling that comes over those of us who’ve been disappointed by the experience. For better or worse, this is how the prequel trilogy begins: it has established the core of our main protagonists moving forward, introduced a lot of excitable cartoon characters, and made us privy to more otherworldly politicking than was expected. There’s no doubt that we can only go upward from here… Right? 

To be fair, several of our viewers will disagree with the overall tenor of this review, and that’s understandable. Through the years I’ve met plenty of Star Wars fans who enjoy – or at the very least, accept – The Phantom Menace. No one wanted it to be great some twenty-plus years ago more than this writer, just as I wish it contained a number of happy surprises and pleasures upon a revisit. It does not, not for me.

But it’s not a bad thing that the movie has its fervent supporters. A generation of geeks grew up with the prequel trilogy as their focal point in all things Star Wars, folks who couldn’t imagine a world without Phantom Menace and will absolutely go to bat for the film time and time again. Love it or hate it, Phantom Menace is an integral part of this very special corner of the galaxy. It’s a part of who we are, and you can’t take that away from it…

Now send in the clones. 

20th Century Studios has released a bunch of character posters highlighting A Haunting in Venice’s huge cast.

Has any franchise except maybe Dune had as much bad luck with release dates as Kenneth Branagh‘s Hercule Poirot movies? While Murder on the Orient Express was a solid hit back in 2017, the follow-up, Death on the Nile, found itself at the centre of COVID-19 released delays and the fact that its star, Armie Hammer, found himself cancelled after a bunch of lurid claims. A Haunting in Venice was supposed to be another star-studded blockbuster. Still, given the current SAG-AFTRA strike, it seems doomed to open to little fanfare, even if, like its predecessor, it’s actually a decent movie.

Nevertheless, 20th Century Studios is doing its best to market the latest horror-tinged Agatha Christie adaptation, released a new featurette and some stylish character posters revealing the star-studded cast, which included newly minted Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Branagh as Poirot, and two of his stars from Belfast, Jude Hill and Jamie Dornan.

A Haunting in Venice is an adaptation of Christie’s “Hallowe’en Party” and picks up a decade after Death on the Nile, moving the action to post-WW2 Venice. Here’s the official synopsis:

“A Haunting in Venice” is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

A Haunting in Venice comes out on September 15th, and if its anything like the last two Poirot movies, it’s well worth seeing on the big screen as Branagh and his DP Haris Zambarloukos shoot these movies in 70mm, so they’re always a feast for the eyes.

Will you be checking out A Haunting in Venice? Let us know in the comments! Here are those character posters:

The eighteenth edition of the genre festival Fantastic Fest is set to be held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas from September 21st – 28th (badges are available now at FantasticFest.com), and this time around the festival is going to feature 29 world premieres, 24 North American premieres, and 18 U.S. premieres! Among the films in the lineup, which you can look over below, are The Toxic Avenger remake and the Pet Sematary prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. The first two episodes of the Mike Flanagan Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher will also be screened at the festival.

Festival Director Lisa Dreyer had this to say: “The Fantastic Fest team is ready to take you on a journey you won’t ever forget. We’ve taken the best week of the year and supercharged it: more movies, more parties, more fun. If you want to see the best new movies from around the world first with the best audience, Fantastic Fest is the place to be.“

Director Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger remake will be making its world premiere as the opening night film at Fantastic Fest 2023. The film “features an all-star cast including Peter Dinklage who will pick up the infamous mop to become the toxic hero that no one knew they needed (or wanted) as well as Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige with Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon.”

Fantastic Fest will also host the world premiere of the Dan Brown-directed thriller Your Lucky Day, which features Euphoria‘s Angus Cloud in one of his final performances. Director of Programming Annick Mahnert said, “The Fantastic Fest team was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Angus Cloud. His performance in Your Lucky Day immediately won over our team, and we want to pay tribute to his talents and life at the festival.“

Director Nahnatchka Khan’s time travel slasher comedy Totally Killer makes its world premiere as the closing night film. “Starring Kiernan Shipka as a time-traveling teen out to stop the infamous Sweet Sixteen Killer, Totally Killer is equal parts comedic charm and tense thrills. Shocking kills will keep the Fantastic Fest audience on their toes, and the outrageous 1980s setting will be a fitting lead-in to the closing night festivities.“

Tim League, the founder of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Fantastic Fest, provided the following statement: “We took 24 hours off after last year and dove straight into planning this year’s gonzo adventure; it’s going to be outrageous. First-timers to the festival, I suggest setting an annual reminder for the end of September for the rest of your life. Once you’ve tasted Fantastic Fest, you are family. We’ll see you at this year’s reunion.“

Here’s the Fantastic Fest 2023 lineup:

30 COINS (Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2)

Produced in Spain for HBO Europe, 2023. World Premiere, 110 min. Director – Álex de la Iglesia. Welcome to hell.

100 YARDS

China, 2023. US Premiere, 108 min. Directors – Xu Haofeng & Xu Junfeng. Shen An wages war on the streets of Tianjin after losing control of his martial arts academy in a humiliating duel with his father’s apprentice.

ACID

France, 2023. North American Premiere, 99 min. Director – Just Philippot. In a world messed up by climate change, a girl and her divorced parents must cross a devastated France under strange clouds pouring acid rain.

THE ALL GOLDEN

Canada, 2023. World Premiere, 64 min. Director – Nate Wilson. In veteran Fantastic Fest filmmaker Nate Wilson’s kaleidoscopic and labyrinthine deconstructionist satire, a laid-up polyamorous bicycle courier discovers that her older, scholarly boyfriend has been keeping a sinister secret in his closet.

THE ALTMAN METHOD

Israel, 2022. North American Premiere, 101 min. Director – Nadav Aronowicz. A struggling actress questions her husband’s account of a brutal act of heroism that has won him national recognition and saved his failing business.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

France, 2023. North American Premiere, 130 min. Director – Thomas Cailley. Emile’s dad moves him to southern France, where his mom is held in a facility for patients afflicted with an illness that mutates them into animals.

ANIMALIA

France, Morocco, Qatar, 2023. Texas Premiere, 91 min. Director – Sofia Alaoui. Separated from her husband during a state of emergency, pregnant Itto is stranded in a village, where she starts to experience mysterious phenomena.

BABY ASSASSINS 2

Japan, 2023. US Premiere, 101 min. Director – Hugo Sakamoto. The Baby Assassins have been suspended from the Assassin Guild and it’s hard to find a new job when you’ve got a fanboy assassin duo out to kill you.

BARK

Germany, 2023. World Premiere, 90 min. Director – Marc Schölermann. A businessman tied to a tree deep in the woods struggles to convince an outdoorsman to cut him free after the hunter sets up camp to watch him die.

BLONDE DEATH (Presented by Bleeding Skull)

USA, 1984. World Premiere of Restoration, 98 min. Director – James Dillinger aka James Robert Baker. Bleeding Skull presents a tale of death, drugs, and Disneyland in James Robert Baker’s essential chapter of queer cinema history.

BLOOD DINER

USA, 1987. 90 min. Director – Jackie Kong. A brain in a jar orders his cannibal nephews to dismember call girls in their diner’s kitchen to patch together a perfect body for an ancient goddess.

THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS

France, 2023. North American Premiere, 102 min. Director – Michel Gondry. Michel Gondry returns with a tongue-in-cheek satire about an idiosyncratic filmmaker who will do anything to execute his vision.

BUGGED! (Presented by AGFA and Troma)

USA, 1996. 82 min. Director – Ronald K. Armstrong. Following a freak lab accident, a woman hires the Dead and Buried Exterminators to rid her house of some overgrown crickets but they all soon realize the bugs are radioactive beasties with a lust for blood!

CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT

USA, Italy, 1980. North American Premiere, 173 min. Art historian Thomas Negovan offers a new cut of one of the most decadent movies ever made, using outtakes to reconcile the film to its original script.

CENTIPEDE HORROR (Presented by AGFA and Error 4444)

Hong Kong, 1982. 94 min. Director – Keith Li. After his sister dies under mysterious circumstances while on vacation, Wai Lun decides to take matters into his own hands. Soon enough, he discovers a family curse, battling wizards, and centipedes.

COBWEB

South Korea, 2023. US Premiere, 135 min. Director – Kim Jee-woon. Director Kim Jee-woon’s ravishing and raucous tale of a director trying to finish his magnum opus in the censorship-prone 1970s Korean film industry.

THE COFFEE TABLE

Spain, 2022. North American Premiere, 90 min. Director – Caye Casas. Sometimes a gaudy coffee table is just a coffee table, and sometimes it’s the catalyst for a nightmarish descent into ruination.

CONANN

France, Luxembourg, Belgium, 2023. US Premiere, 105 min. Director – Bertrand Mandico. Fantastic Fest favorite Bertrand Mandico is back with his uniquely beautiful and bizarre time-traveling spin on the myth of Conan the Barbarian.

CONCRETE UTOPIA

South Korea, 2023. Texas Premiere, 130 min. Director – Um Tae-hwa. A magnetic Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-joon lead this dark, high-stakes disaster parable of Korea’s fevered obsession with real estate and class forms.

THE CREATOR

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 133 min. Director – Gareth Edwards. From director/co-writer Gareth Edwards (ROGUE ONE, GODZILLA) comes an epic sci-fi action thriller set amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence.

CRUMB CATCHER

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 103 min. Director – Chris Skotchdopole. An anxiety-inducing chamber piece that will make you fondly remember the worst high-pressure sales pitch you’ve ever delivered (or endured).

THE CULT OF AGFA TRAILER SHOW (Presented by AGFA)

USA, 2023. World Premiere of 35mm Restoration, 77 min. Director – Joseph A. Ziemba & Bret Berg. The world premiere 35mm screening of AGFA’s wildest mixtape yet.

THE DEEP DARK

France, 2023. International Premiere, 100 min. Director – Mathieu Turi. A group of coal miners unintentionally free a bloodthirsty creature after accompanying a professor down to a hidden crypt discovered deep in the mine.

DIVINITY

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 88 min. Director – Eddie Alcazar. A mad scientist’s serum grants perfect bodies and immortality, but at a cost: rampant infertility leads to an undying society based only on pleasure.

DOOR

Japan, 1988. North American Premiere, 94 min. Director – Banmei Takahashi. A lonely housewife is held hostage in her own apartment by an increasingly deranged door-to-door salesman in this forgotten home invasion masterpiece.

EILEEN

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 97 min. Director – William Oldroyd. Set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, young secretary Eileen becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret — throwing Eileen onto a sinister path.

ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 94 min. Director – David Gregory. In the wake of Bruce Lee’s sudden death, film studios rushed to capitalize on the irreplaceable icon, and a new subgenre was born — Bruceploitation.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (Episodes 1 & 2)

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 120 min. Director – Mike Flanagan. Roderick Usher, CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company, must face his past when brutal and mysterious incidents start affecting his family.

FALLING STARS

USA, 2023. North American Premiere, 80 min. Directors – Richard Karpala & Gabriel Bienczycki. Three brothers set out on the first night of Harvest to check out the desiccated remains of the witch that their friend has buried in the desert.

THE FANTASTIC GOLEM AFFAIRS

Spain, 2023. US Premiere, 97 min. Directors – Burnin’ Percebes. After his best friend falls to his death and shatters into pottery shards, Juan uncovers a secret world of living golems in this offbeat comedy.

FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL VOL. 10

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 85 min. Directors – Joe Pickett & Nick Prueher. Joe Pickett (THE ONION) and Nick Prueher (LATE SHOW) take you on a guided tour through their latest and greatest VHS finds.

FOUR’S A CROWD

Spain, 2022. Texas Premiere, 100 min. Director – Álex de la Iglesia. Two unexpected passengers complicate an Uber driver’s plan to declare his feelings for one of his regular customers during a 300 km drive to Madrid.

A GUIDE TO BECOMING AN ELM TREE

Ireland, 2023. North American Premiere, 75 min. Directors – Skye & Adam Mann. Padraig (James O Healy) is pulled into a dark world of Irish Mythology and magic as he struggles to deal with his past actions.

I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL

Spain, 2023. World Premiere, 92 min. Director – Kike Narcea. A retired boxing champion and his dog must defend his family’s country farm from wave after wave of gangsters in this bloody, bare-knuckle brawler.

IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN

Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, 2023. Texas Premiere, 97 min. Director – Kenneth Dagatan. A Filipino girl living under Japanese occupation learns the tragic consequences of making deals when a fairy’s gifts extract pounds of flesh.

THE INVISIBLE FIGHT

Estonia, Latvia, Greece, Finland, 2023. North American Premiere, 115 min. Director – Rainer Sarnet. After martial artists take out his Soviet post on the China border, a mechanic seeks kung fu mastery at a monastery in this wuxia-inspired comedy.

JACKDAW

UK, 2023. World Premiere, 97 min. Director – Jamie Childs. Former motocross champion Jack Dawson embarks on a dark odyssey through his decaying Rust Belt town after being double-crossed by the local kingpin.

THE JAR (CHARON)

USA, 1984. World Premiere of Restoration, 85 min. Director – Bruce Tuscano. After hitting an old man with his car, Paul is left with a jar holding a demonic creature that opens a portal to strange worlds and psychotic visions.

KENNEDY

India, 2023. US Premiere, 144 min. Director – Anurag Kashyap. Kennedy works as a contract killer for a corrupt police commissioner with the hope of exacting vengeance on the man who murdered his son.

KILL DOLLY KILL

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 79 min. Director – Heidi Moore. Dolly Deadly is out to win Serial Killer of the Year, and she’ll violate all sense of good taste to snatch the crown and look fabulous while doing it.

KILLING ROMANCE

South Korea, 2023. Texas Premiere, 107 min. Director – Lee Won-suk. A toxic masculinity-bashing karaoke musical phantasmagoria from the magical mind of LEE Won-suk, KILLING ROMANCE will stick in your head for months.

KIM’S VIDEO

USA, UK, France, 2023. Texas Premiere, 86 min. Directors – David Redmon & Ashley Sabin. An aspiring filmmaker with fond memories of browsing the shelves of a defunct NY video store attempts to rescue its singular collection of VHS tapes.

THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 90 min. Director – Francis Galluppi. A traveling salesman and a waitress face down two murderous bank robbers while waiting for gas at the last pump before a hundred miles of desert.

THE LAST VIDEO STORE

Canada, 2023. World Premiere, 83 min. Directors – Cody Kennedy & Tim Rutherford. Blaster Video’s only employee teams up with his best customer’s daughter to fight off an onslaught of B-movie baddies made real by a VHS necronomicon.

LETTERS TO THE POSTMAN

UK, England, 2022. US Premiere, 61 min. Director – Felix Dembinski. A naive postman finds himself corresponding with a mysterious woman in Felix Dembinski’s auspicious and bewitching folk fable.

MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW

UK, 2023. North American Premiere, 124 min. Director – Jake West. A hilarious, action-packed documentary chronicling the fascinating life of indie filmmaker Cliff Twemlow and the industry he built in Manchester, UK.

MANHOLE

Japan, 2023. Texas Premiere, 99 min. Director – Kazuyoshi Kumakiri. The premise is a simple one: After a night of hard drinking on the night before his wedding, a man falls into an open manhole. How will he escape?

MESSIAH OF EVIL (Presented by AGFA and Radiance Films)

USA, 1974. World Premiere of 35mm Restoration, 90 min. Directors – Gloria Katz & Willard Huyck. AGFA and Radiance Films present a brand new, restored 35mm print of Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz’ artful nightmare.

MUSHROOMS

Poland, 2023. World Premiere, 75 min. Director – Paweł Borowski. An old lady stumbles upon a lost couple while picking mushrooms. They beg for help getting out of the forest, but she senses that something is off.

THE NEST (Presented by AGFA and Shout! Factory)

USA, 1988. 89 min. Director – Terence H. Winkless. Roaches have never tasted flesh… Until now.

NOWHERE

USA, 1997. Texas Premiere of 4K Restoration, 83 min. Director – Gregg Araki. A bunch of LA teens realize they’re witnessing the apocalypse as they seek out a wild party in this 4K restoration of Gregg Araki’s cult classic.

ONE-PERCENTER

Japan, 2023. North American Premiere, 85 min. Director – Yûdai Yamaguchi. An aging stuntman caught in a brutal feud between yakuza gangs finally shoots the pure action thriller he’s been obsessing over his entire career.

THE ORIGIN

UK, 2023. North American Premiere, 87 min. Director – Andrew Cumming. A group fights for survival against an unknown adversary in this stone age thriller.

THE OTHER LAURENS

Belgium, France, 2023. North American Premiere, 117 min. Director – Claude Schmitz. When his niece shows up at his door looking for help, shaggy-dog P.I. Gabriel Laurens is unwittingly drawn into his twin’s shady criminal underworld.

THE PEOPLE’S JOKER

USA, 2022. Texas Premiere, 92 min. Director – Vera Drew. The Joker finds new purpose in Gotham City after transitioning and opening an illegal comedy club in Vera Drew’s handcrafted superhero genre parody.

PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES

USA, Canada, 2023. World Premiere, 87 min. Director – Lindsey Anderson Beer. In 1969, a young Jud Crandall and his childhood friends band together to confront an ancient evil that has gripped their hometown. PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES is a terrifying prequel based on chapters from Stephen King’s novel “Pet Sematary.”

PROJECT SILENCE

South Korea, 2023. North American Premiere, 101 min. Director – Tae-gon Kim. A car pileup on a foggy bridge pits survivors against a pack of vicious dogs in this satirical horror pitched between THE HOST and TRAIN TO BUSAN.

PROPERTY

Brazil, 2022. North American Premiere, 101 min. Director – Daniel Bandeire. A gang of disenfranchised farmhands traps a traumatized woman in her armored car in Daniel Bandeira’s Brazilian take on the home invasion.

RAGE

Mexico, 2023. North American Premiere, 93 min. Director – Jorge Michel Grau. The only child in a rundown gated community mourns his mother’s death as suspicious events lead him to suspect that his father may be a werewolf.

RESTORE POINT

Czech Republic, 2023. North American Premiere, 108 min. Director – Robert Hloz. A detective investigates a double homicide in a near-future world where technology allows those who die violently to be rebooted from a data backup.

RIDDLE OF FIRE

USA, 2023. US Premiere, 113 min. Director – Weston Razooli. Three children go on an epic quest to uncover the password for their TV, finding themselves in their own video game-like adventure in the real world.

RIVER

Japan, 2023. US Premiere, 86 min. Director – Junta Yamaguchi. Kikaku Theater Group, the team behind our 2021 Audience Award winner BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES, returns with more two-minute time loop hijinks.

THE SACRIFICE GAME

USA/CANADA, 2023. US Premiere, 100 min. Director – Jenn Wexler. Disillusioned demon worshipers end a string of grisly murders by interrupting a boarding school’s quiet Christmas in this ‘70s-era Satanic Panic romp.

SALEM

France, 2023. International Premiere, 115 min. Director – Jean-Bernard Marlin. A former gang member begins to believe that his daughter will be their slum’s new messiah after a rival curses the neighborhood with his dying breath.

SCALA!!!

UK, 2023. North American Premiere, 96 min. Directors – Jane Giles & Ali Catterall. The story behind London’s legendary Scala Cinema, which screened the most outrageous movies before it was sued and shuttered for showing A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

SLEEP

South Korea, 2023. US Premiere, 95 min. Director – Jason Yu. Somnambulism takes on a frightful new meaning in this clever, claustrophobic Korean chiller from former Bong Joon-ho assistant director Jason Yu.

SO UNREAL

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 95 min. Director – Amanda Kramer. Amanda Kramer’s documentary collage looks back at the subgenre of films concerned with cyberspace, hackers, and the first days of the internet.

SPOOKTACULAR!

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 105 min. Director – Quinn Monahan. A new documentary tells the warts-and-all story behind America’s first horror theme park, Spooky World.

SRI ASIH: THE WARRIOR

Indonesia, 2022. North American Premiere, 133 min. Director – Upi Avianto. An aspiring boxer discovers she’s a reincarnation of the goddess Asih in this Indonesian superhero movie focused on punching terrible men in the face.

STOPMOTION

UK, 2023. World Premiere, 93 min. Director – Robert Morgan. A stop-motion animator puts up with her overbearing, sick mother in Robert Morgan’s haunting debut.

STRANGE DARLING

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 96 min. Director – JT Mollner. One day in the life of a serial killer.

THE STRANGLER

France, 1970. US Premiere of 2K Restoration, 95 min. Director – Paul Vecchiali. A killer and a detective cross paths as they hunt for an answer to their respective feelings of loneliness in the world premiere of the restoration of this 1970 Giallo.

SUBURBAN TALE

India, 2023. World Premiere, 89 min. Director – Stephen Alexander. A young woman reluctantly returns home for her estranged sister’s wedding only to discover that her family is hiding a possessed boy in their home.

SUITABLE FLESH

USA, 2023. Texas Premiere, 100 min. Director – Joe Lynch. A casual, intimate encounter with a patient leads a psychologist into the cosmic, kinky world of Lovecraftian horror headlined by Barbara Crampton and Heather Graham.

THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE BARN

Norway, 2023. World Premiere, 96 min. Director – Magnus Martens. After inheriting an old cabin in Norway, an American family moves there with the intention of turning the adjoining barn into a bed and breakfast. They end up disturbing a barn elf who will go to deadly lengths to drive the family away.

TIGER STRIPES

Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, 2023. US Premiere, 95 min. Director – Amanda Nell Eu. A dreamy horror fairy tale about a teenage girl who notices strange, transformative changes in her body soon after getting her first period.

TOTALLY KILLER

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 106 min. Director – Nahnatchka Khan. When the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer” returns 35 years after his first murder spree to claim another victim, 17-year-old Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) accidentally travels back in time to 1987, determined to stop the killer before he can start.

THE TOXIC AVENGER

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 102 min. Director – Macon Blair. A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze into a new evolution of hero: THE TOXIC AVENGER!

TRIGGERED

Philippines, 2023. North American Premiere, 113 min. Director – Richard V. Somes. Procuring a job as a night watchman as a re-entry back into civilian life, ex-soldier Miguel finds himself caught in a gun battle between a drug cartel and a corrupt police unit.

UFO SWEDEN

Sweden, 2022. North American Premiere, 115 min. Director – Victor Danell. A rebellious teenager seeks out the help of a disgraced meteorologist’s ufology society to locate her father years after he vanished into thin air.

THE UNCLE

Croatia, Serbia, 2022. US Premiere, 104 min. Directors – David Kapac & Andrija Mardešić. A family prepares for their uncle’s Christmas visit, but the festivities are dampened by the fact that he’ll return in a few days to celebrate again.

V/H/S/85

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 110 min. Directors – David Bruckner, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, Mike Nelson, & Scott Derrickson. The iconic found footage series returns with an array of explosive, bloody scares set in a decade obsessed with serial killers and the Satanic Panic.

VERMIN

France, 2023. North American Premiere, 100 min. Director – Sébastien Vaniček. A critter collector’s purchase of a venomous spider turns his entire apartment building into a death trap after it escapes from its shoebox enclosure.

VISITORS (COMPLETE EDITION)

Japan, 2023. World Premiere, 61 min. Director – Kenichi Ugana. A rock ‘n’ roll band drop in unannounced on a friend and find themselves plummeting into a wackadoo reverie of monsters and mayhem.

THE WAIT

Spain, 2023. North American Premiere, 99 min. Director – F. Javier Gutiérrez. The gamekeeper of a wealthy man’s rural hunting grounds accepts a bribe from the local hunting guide, which spirals downward into dire consequences.

WAKE UP

France, 2023. World Premiere, 90 min. Directors – RKSS. Gen Z activists are violently picked off by a deranged night watchman after sneaking into an environmentally destructive big-box furniture store.

WE ARE ZOMBIES

France, Canada, 2023. International Premiere, 80 min. Directors – RKSS. Canadian filmmaker collective RKSS returns with a hilarious, violent take on a post-apocalyptic world where zombies are misunderstood, unalive citizens.

WHAT YOU WISH FOR

USA, 2023. US Premiere, 101 min. Director – Nicholas Tomnay. A down-and-out sous-chef gets more than he bargained for when he steps into the life of an old culinary school pal, a private chef for the über-rich.

WHEN EVIL LURKS

Argentina, Uruguay, 2023. US Premiere, 99 min. Director – Demián Rugna. Two brothers uncover a deadly secret festering in their village and are soon in a race to contain a demon threatening to extinguish their community.

WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS

USA, 2023. US Premiere, 92 min. Directors – John Adams, Zelda Adams, & Toby Poser. After a fatal trespassing incident, Eve steals a terrifying artifact from a fellow carnival performer in the hope of bringing her parents back.

YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME

Australia, 2023. Texas Premiere, 96 min. Directors – Josiah Allen & Indianna Bell. A strange woman desperate for shelter from a harrowing storm picks the wrong trailer to seek refuge… or did she choose exactly right?

YOU’RE NOT ME

Spain, 2023. World Premiere, 98 min. Directors – Marisa Crespo & Moisés Romera. Aitana shows up at her estranged parents’ home for a surprise Christmas visit and discovers they’ve replaced her with a strange live-in caretaker.

YOUR LUCKY DAY

USA, 2023. World Premiere, 89 min. Director – Dan Brown. After a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they’ll go—and how much blood they’re willing to spill—for a cut of the $156 million.

What do you think of the Fantastic Fest 2023 lineup? Will you be attending the festival this year? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Arrow in the Head reviews Joe Cornet’s horror film Night of the Caregiver, starring Natalie Denise Sperl and Eileen Dietz

PLOT: A hospice nurse accepts a high-paying one-night job taking care of an elderly woman… but as the night goes on, it becomes clear there’s a supernatural evil lurking in the woman’s home.

REVIEW: After directing four Westerns in a row (A Prayer for the Damned, Incident at Guilt Ridge, Promise, and Gunfight at Rio Bravo), Joe Cornet has switched things up and made his horror debut with Night of the Caregiver – and he brought several Rio Bravo collaborators along with him: producer Alexander Nevsky, writer Craig Hamann, and cast members Natalie Denise Sperl and Anna Oris.

Now that Cornet is working in the horror genre, he doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff. There’s no holding back from letting viewers know there’s a demonic creature in the mix. Within the first minute, the camera has roamed through a creepy house, we’ve seen the hand of a monster that’s making its way around the location, and we’ve seen that the titular caregiver is so creeped out that she’s napping with a flashlight close by. Of course, this is a flash forward and we’ll soon be jumping back in time to see how the situation progressed to this point, but the fact that Cornet was willing to show part of the monster within the opening seconds went over well with me.

The caregiver is Juliet (Sperl), a hospice nurse who has answered an ad for a high-paying one-night job to watch over an elderly woman in an isolated mansion. The woman is Lillian Gresham, played by Eileen Dietz – who has over 100 screen acting credits to her name, but the one you’ll see referenced most often is The Exorcist, where she was the face of the demon Pazuzu. Dietz makes sure we care about Lillian within moments of meeting her, as this lady is adorable and very friendly, serving up cookies and tea. But while the terminally ill Lillian rests in her bedroom, Juliet begins to suspect there’s some “paranormal weirdness going down” in her home. She starts seeing things and hearing things, including visions of her own murder at the clawed hands of a demon. Soon enough, she’s napping with a flashlight close by…

It’s an economical set-up for a horror story, as the film largely takes place in one location, and for most of the time we’re focused on just two characters: Juliet and Lillian. But they aren’t the only people in the movie. There are occasional phone conversations with Juliet’s friend Pamela (Oris), and Cornet himself plays a detective who is trying to find out what happened to his mother when she disappeared twenty-six years earlier. There’s talk of an urban legend that resurfaces every thirteen years – and to aid the detective in his investigation of this urban legend, a parapsychologist (Eric Roberts) directs him to an isolated mansion. Lillian Gresham’s place.

The cast does well in their roles, with Sperl making for a good horror heroine and engaging in some fun banter with Oris. Cornet’s character adds an interesting element to the story, and it’s always nice to see Roberts show up in something. It’s not a rare event, because Roberts may be the busiest person working in the entertainment industry today (he has racked up over 700 acting credits!), but it’s still fun to see him every single time.

Night of the Caregiver moves quickly, which is evident from the fact that it wraps up in just 77 minutes. If you’re tired of bloated running times and slow burns, watching this movie might bring you a sense of relief. This one doesn’t drag things out, it isn’t padded with filler, it just sets up an intriguing mystery, puts Juliet through some creepy scenes, then delivers an exciting climactic sequence. Sometimes a short and simple, straightforward creepy house / lurking demon movie is exactly what you want to spend your evening with.

Night of the Caregiver is receiving a theatrical and VOD release in North America on August 15th, courtesy of ITN Studios.

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