Author: Alex Billington

"Breathe. Focus. Emanate." Looking for a totally bonkers horror short? Stop right here. This wacky, weird, especially disgusting short film called Sushi Noh will satiate your bonkers desires. The short comes from Australia, made by a filmmaker named Jayden Rathsam Hüa. It's 18 minutes in total but stick through it all - it gets weirder and crazier at the end. Trapped in the care of her lonely uncle, a young girl's nightmares about a bizarre kitchen appliance manifest into reality. Sushi Noh is about a magical sushi-maker machine that her uncle buys, that is also some kind of demonic force. Starring Geneva Phan as "Ellie, and Felino Dolloso as Donnie. After watching this, you'll need to take a beak from eating sushi... You never know what will happen after? 🐟 🍣 This sushi maker seems to be a riff on the Thermomix machines everyone loves these days. It seems evil as soon as it appears, and once it starts talking, shit gets really scary in here. Enjoy. Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this creation. Brief intro ...

"My pen pal is a true badass woman." An official trailer has debuted for an indie documentary film titled The Letter League, made by filmmaker Michelle Boyaner. The film is premiering this upcoming weekend at the 2023 QDoc Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. Everyone has heard of pen pals, and everyone probably had a pen pal at one point in school. But why stop? Why not keep writing to people randomly around the world? That's what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Letter League documentary tells the story of queer artist Heather Spooner and the adult pen pal program she created during the 2020 pandemic, featuring the poignant and humorous stories of connection and humanity that came from it. A heartfelt film about connection, and how much we really need to feel connected and understood when times are tough. The film features cute animation to visualize a lot of the interviews & stories being told by the participants. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Michelle Boyaner's doc The Letter League, direct from YouTube: A documentary about connection. The story of an ...

"Every animal has the right to be respected." Gravitas Ventures has posted their official trailer for an indie thriller from Belgium titled Liberty, an English-language story about an animal rights activist. Availalbe in the US on VOD this fall. Directed by Phil De Witte, the film features a "breakout performance" by Nicholas Michael McGovern as Matt. An idealistic park guide holds six strangers captive, treating them like caged animals, to deliver his chilling message of freedom to the world. As his human hostages run the gamut from confusion and disbelief to anger and hostility to grief and despair, our anti-hero compares their mental and physical breakdown to those of wild animals struggling in captivity. Liberty is a movie about animal rights, but its central theme is freedom – making it especially timely and relevant to a global audience. Liberty's unique storyline draws a powerful parallel between animal rights, respect for our fellow humans, and the freedoms we too often take for granted. Also starring Alice Barrett, Olan Montgomery, Denny Dale Bess, Samantha Smart, Jonathan Kirkland & Andrea McKinnon. This looks intense ...

"I'm condemned, but I have courage." Janus Films has revealed a new official trailer for the 4K restoration and re-release of this Brazilian "Cinema Novo" classic titled Black God, White Devil, made by Glauber Rocha. This originally opened in 1964, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival before playing in Brazil in the 60s. The film is an account of the adventures of hired gunman Antonio das Mortes (played by Maurício do Valle), set against the real life last days of rural banditism. He witnesses the descent of the rural worker Manuel (starring Geraldo Del Rey) drifting to a life of crime, joining the gang of Antonio's sworn enemy, Corisco the Blond Devil (Othon Bastos), leading to the Pedra Bonita Massacre. "Steeped in history, myth, religion, politics, and suffused with the feverish intensity of the blistering desert, Black God, White Devil is one of the Cinema Novo movement's most uncompromising statements on current social issues as well as the universal problem of mindless fanaticism." New 4K restoration from Metropoles Productions, based on the original 35mm from Cinemateca Brasileira. Restoration by CineColor ...

Time to meet Dali! Diaphana Distribution in France has revealed a teaser trailer for the acclaimed new film from France's wacky Quentin Dupieux titled Daaaaaali!. Quite simple, this brilliantly hilarious comedy is a wild and kooky take on the artist Salvador Dalí. It premiered a the 2023 Venice Film Festival this fall to uproarious laughter and great reviews - it was one of my favorite films of the festival. Dupieux's film is sort of about a young journalist who attempts to meet with the iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí on several occasions for a documentary project. But it never seems to work out. This teaser gives an early look at some of the various actors playing Dali. Starring Anaïs Demoustier, Gilles Lellouche, Edouard Baer, Pio Marmaï, Romain Duris, and Jonathan Cohen. "As Dalí himself said, his personality was probably his greatest masterpiece. My film modestly tells that story," Dupieux explains. I loooove this film, it's so wacky and ridiculously fun. Dupieux outdoing himself with one of the most eccentric characterizations ever. Enjoy. Here's the first French teaser trailer for Quentin Dupieux's ...

"It's a miracle that you made it this far. You are quite the soldier, Mr. Crawford." Sky Cinema has revealed an official trailer for a UK drama titled The Last Rifleman, from filmmaker Terry Loane. This is set for a quick opening next week streaming in the UK via Sky Cinema. Yet another super patriotic "look at what we did back then!" story about a WWII veteran – this film tells the exact same story as The Great Escaper with Michael Caine. I guess it's a story they really need to tell multiple times. A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past. The film stars Pierce Brosnan (in prosthetics) as 92 & 3/4-years-old Artie Crawford, Clemence Poesy, John Amos, Jürgen Prochnow, Claire Rafferty, and Desmond Eastwood. Brosnan looks fine, not sure about the rest of it. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Terry Loane's The Last Rifleman, direct from ...

"So I make this wish... to have something more for us than this!" Disney has unveiled another official trailer for the animated movie Wish, inspired by the classic Disney lyric "when you wish upon a star..." The movie introduces us to 17-year-old Asha, and the King Magnifico, Asha's pet goat Valentino, and Star, a celestial ball of boundless energy that Asha's wish calls down from the sky. The little star is the funniest! The all-new musical-comedy is set in Rosas, a fantastical land located off the Iberian Peninsula. This trailer winks at a few of Disney's musical classics from the past (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) to remind us another animated musical classic is opening in theaters soon. Featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, Angelique Cabral as Queen Amaya, Victor Garber as Sabino, Natasha Rothwell as Asha's mom Sakina, and Alan Tudyk as Asha's goat, Valentino. With original songs by singer / songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning musician Benjamin Rice, plus a score by Dave Metzger. This does look like it ...

"Hope I didn't wake the others..." "The others...?? There's nobody around for acres..." FilmFrontier Studios has unveiled an official festival trailer for an indie film titled The Veil, now playing on the festival circuit. Written & directed & produced by Cameron Beyl, this just premiered in his hometown of Portland at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival earlier this month. Not to be confused with the 2016 horror film The Veil with Jessica Alba, or the 2021 Korean spy thriller series The Veil, this one is something else. Redemption gives way to a reckoning when a reclusive retired priest shelters a young Amish runaway in crisis, only to uncover a mystery that ties her presence to a terrifying encounter from his youth– and the bright aurora borealis that rages overhead. The little indie film stars Sean O'Bryan and Rebekah Kennedy. A "genre bending cosmic horror" that definitely seems like a good fit for the H.P. Lovecraft Festival, with that extra beautiful glowing green adding lots of mysteriousness to the film's vibe. And – yeah this girl totally has to be an ...

"She's the only one who can stop it... If she fails, the world won't survive." Get a load of this!! Utopia and executive producer Steven Soderbergh present one final red red band trailer for the experimental sci-fi film Divinity, from writer-director-producer Eddie Alcazar (his second feature after the experimental Perfect previously). This premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year in the Next section, and will open in select theaters nationwide (!!) starting in November coming soon this fall. Two mysterious brothers abduct a mogul during his quest for immortality. Meanwhile, a seductive woman helps them launch into a journey of self-discovery. This wild film stars Stephen Dorff, Moises Arias, Jason Genao, Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne, and Scott Bakula. Alcazar "dazzles with this uncompromising vision that pushes a retro sci-fi styling forward to a stunning and grotesque future." You've never seen anything like this!! Totally gnarly!! Bold, original, innovative, wacky, dense, weird, hypnotic, horny lo-fi sci-fi filmmaking. Take a look. Here's the extra official red band trailer for Eddie Alcazar's film Divinity, direct from YouTube: You can rewatch the main ...

"So what happens when the audience grows tired of the same old stories, and starts craving something new? You can't swap the slasher, so you swap the setting." This fun little video essay created by filmmaker Will Webb is a quick 5 minute watch. Created by Little White Lies, this video is titled "What Do Jason Voorhees And Kermit Have In Common?" Watch and find out! It might not be what you're expecting? Webb's essay is actually about horror franchises, and how even the sequels all follow a familiar pattern. His main focus is on the masked killer Jason Voorhees from the the Friday the 13th series, going through all of the sequels leading up to Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), and Jason X (2001). He also references the Leprechaun and Hellraiser horror franchises. I wish there was more on The Muppets and Kermit's connection to Jason, but it's still amusing. And now I want to watch all these. For more fun, check out this art collection – Jason Beck's paintings of The Muppets ...