Author: Alex Billington

"A stylish, ghostly LA noir." Shudder has unveiled an official trailer for an indie horror thriller film called The Dead Thing, made by filmmaker Elric Kane – who you might also recognize as a voice on the "Pure Cinema" podcast. The film premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival last year, and it also played at FrightFest and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. A young woman lost in a series of meaningless connections falls in love with a charismatic & sensitive man, who hides a dark secret that turns into a dangerous obsession. Another quick synopsis: A young woman ghosted by her charming dating app suitor refuses to let go of their relationship. The horror stars Blu Hunt as the main character Alex, Katherine Hughes, John Karna, Brennan Mejia, Joey Millin, Ben Smith-Petersen, and Aerial Washington. This trailer doesn't fully reveal what's going on or what's up with this guy, which makes it all the more mysterious. Is he dead or something? Or some kind of demon she conjured to work through her loneliness? Only one way to find out... Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Elric Kane's horror film The Dead Thing, direct from YouTube: Alex (starring Blu Hunt) […]

We're days away from another edition of the Sundance Film Festival up in the snowy mountains of Utah. The 2025 festival is about to kick off in a few days, and FS is back in Utah, ready to start watching. Ready to dive into the enthralling line-up of new films this year. This is our 19th time we have covered Sundance, ever since 2007, bringing attention to unique films and the festival experience. I am always looking forward to wading through all the fresh films the fest. Packing in as many as I can catch. Out of the 88 films showing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, I've picked 10 films (well, it's 11 in total) that I'm looking forward to watching the most. To keep things well balanced, I've chosen 5 feature films and 5 documentaries from the line-up. For 2025, the fest has once again programmed an intriguing selection of unknown directors, first-time filmmakers, and potential indie hits that could become all-timer favorites. As usual with Sundance, you never can really tell what'll good or bad before watching anything, but here's my early picks from the diverse line-up anyway. I recommend adding these 11 films below to your […]

"Architecture is just a way to think about how we live." Madman Films from Australia has unveiled the first official trailer for a documentary film titled Architecton, the latest film from master documentarian Victor Kossakovsky (of Gunda, Aquarela). This first premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival last year, and will be released in the US sometime later in 2025. An extraordinary journey through the material that makes up our habitat: concrete and its ancestor, stone. Architecton is an epic, intimate, and very poetic meditation on architecture and how the design & construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward. Rocks & stone connect the disparate societies, from ghostly monoliths stuck in the earth to tragic heaps of concrete rubble waiting to be hauled off & repurposed anew. Through Kossakovsky's inquisitive lens, the grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits the urgent question: How do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late? A fascinating film, for sure, but having seen it I feel like it doesn't really dig deep enough... Take a look below. Here's the first international […]

"You have to find the mole in our embassy." Max has revealed an official trailer for a new Polish political thriller spy series called The Eastern Gate, ready for streaming (with episodes weekly) on Max later this month. This is a Polish production in the Polish language about events in Poland, but it's produced as a Max Original Series with episodes launching weekly. After losing her pregnancy while in action, Ewa, a Polish spy, wants to withdraw from the secret service to start a normal life. When her lover is exposed by Russian intelligence & disappears, she goes on a rescue mission. The suspense thriller series explores the high stakes battle between intelligence agencies on the global stage during an emerging conflict. The narrative unfolds during the spring of 2021 – in Belarus (Minsk), Poland, and Russia. The title (aka The Easterngate) refers to the Suwałki Gap, which is a critical spot just along the border between Poland and Lithuania, both NATO member states, as well as Belarus and Russia. The Suwałki Gap is widely recognized as one of Europe's top three hotspots, a critical territory for protecting NATO's eastern flank & maintaining regional stability. Starring Lena Góra as Ewa, […]

"Moretti will be playing the greatest album of modern times..." 🎤 A24 has unveiled the official trailer for Opus, an exciting new horror thriller about a mega famous musician - kinda described as The Menu but for music, though he looks more like Charles Manson. This is premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Monday next week, playing in the prestigious Midnight film section this year. An iconic pop star suddenly returns after decades missing. A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared some 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star's cult of sycophants & intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan - in a cunning, tense game of cat and mouse. Opus stars Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich as Moretti – the pop star, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Tatanka Means, Young Mazino, Tamera Tomakili, Stephanie Suganami, and Peter Diseth as Jorg. This looks crazy and intriguing! What is his plan all about? What is he doing at this compound with all of these devoted fans? What's going to happen next? Have to watch this and find out. Here's the official trailer (+ posters) […]

"Fights? And races? Any other bad boy cliches?" Meet another bad boy and his admirers. Prime Video has unveiled an official trailer for their sultry streaming movie called My Fault: London, ready for viewing in February on PV. This is actually an English language remake / London version of the Spanish series called Culpa Mía (which translates to My Fault) and also Culpa Tuya (which translates to Your Fault) from last year – based on the Culpables novel series by Mercedes Ron. Nick and Noah are about to take a trip that will change their lives forever. An 18-year-old girl moves from America to London with her mother and wealthy stepfather. She meets her stepbrother, and an attraction brews despite their efforts. Unaware, her estranged father tracks her down after release from prison. Starring Matthew Broome and Asha Banks, along with Eve Macklin, Ray Fearon, Enva Lewis, Jason Flemyng, Kerim Hassan, Sam Buchanan, Amelia Kenworthy, and Harry Gilby. I thought the Spanish series was already a big hit worldwide? Why remake it and do nothing different. It looks extra cheesy & angsty, but that's exactly what they're going for anyway. Here's the main official trailer for Fassler & Girdwood's film […]

"Come on, isn't it obvious? So who you after, sheriff?" Dark Star Pictures has unveiled the official trailer for Bone Face, an indie horror from filmmaker Michael Donovan Horn. This hasn't premiered at any festivals and will be released direct-to-VOD this month. A masked killer slasher horror mashed up with a whodunit mystery? So it seems. When a masked killer slaughters several campers, a sheriff & deputy track a murderer to a local diner where, using their investigative skills, they must discover which person in the diner is the actual killer. "An engaging cocktail of slasher, thriller, and whodunnit with a superb cast... genre audiences will find something to love here." The film stars Jeremy London and Elena Sanchez as the small-town sheriff and deputy, with Alli Hart, Miles Doleac, Jared Bankens, Ritchie Montgomery, Escalante Lundy, and Madison Wolfe. This doesn't seem that interesting - my guess is the mask takes over people. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Michael Donovan Horn's horror film Bone Face, from YouTube: "Who wears the mask?" 👹 When a masked killer slaughters several counselors at a small-town summer camp, Sheriff Vince Cronin and Deputy Jo McCully track the murderer to a local diner […]

"If you work with us, we'll let you off the hook." Prime Video in Japan has revealed a trailer for Broken Rage, a unique Takeshi Kitano film ready for release on streaming in the next few months. This initially premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival as a special selection following his 3-hour long film Kubi the year before. Broken Rage follows a hitman, Nezumi (played by Beat Talkeshi), fighting for his survival when he’s caught between the police and yakuza. But in the second half, the gritty crime-action thriller takes an unexpected turn, evolving into a self-parodying comedy that retells the same story with a very humorous touch. A two-part film. This first half is a gritty action film in a dark criminal underworld revolving around a hitman and his struggle for survival. Aside from Takeshi Kitano, this also stars Tadanobu Asano and Nao Ômori. I watched this in Venice last year and it's hilarious - I had a blast with it. The second half is full-on Three Stooges-esque slapstick comedy making fun of these yakuza thrillers and action films and how dumb it really is to portray in a film. And of course, Takeshi-san rocks this funny role […]

"Am I a bad mother?" Uh oh. Dark Star Pictures has unveiled the official trailer for Mom, an indie horror film ready for release in February. This first premiered at FrightFest Glasgow last year - and is out on VOD in February if anyone wants to give it a look. Meredith, her husband Jared, and their young son Alex face unspeakable terror in the wake of a family tragedy. The tagline: "A mother's love never dies." Struggling with postnatal depression & feeling misunderstood by her husband, Meredith begins to experience terrifying visions foreshadowing an ultimate tragedy - ending up stuck in a nightmarish loop ruled by a malevolent force. Mom stars Emily Hampshire as Meredith, the titular "Mom" in this story, with François Arnaud, Christian Convery, Tristan D. Lalla, Cat Lemieux, and Erika Rosenbaum. This looks creepy but it also looks like another seriously underlit, uninteresting, fairly boring horror film that'll be forgotten quickly. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Adam O'Brien's horror film Mom, direct from YouTube: Meredith (Emily Hampshire), a grieving mother, is left utterly alone after the devastating death of her newborn son shatters her world. Abandoned by her partner and family, she retreats into the […]

"Dad, I can't kill dragons..." Universal Pictures has debuted another new 60-second promo teaser for their live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, which will hit theaters in June this summer. The original HTTYD movie opened in theaters in 2010, and it was such a huge success for DreamWorks Animation they went on to make two more sequels. The story follows a young Viking boy as he aspires to help hunt dragons, and how he becomes unexpectedly a friend of a young dragon he decides to name Toothless. From the same director as the original three animated movies before - Dean DeBlois is handling this live-action one as well. In this HTTYD, Mason Thames (from The Black Phone) stars as Hiccup, Gerard Butler as Stoick, Nico Parker as Astrid, and also with Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, and Peter Serafinowicz, and Murray McArthur. This latest trailer is basically a recut version of the first teaser trailer with a few extra shots at the end of Toothless and Hiccup playing around. It's looking good so far, but still not sure why we need this shot-for-shot live-action remake. Here's the "Warrior" teaser for Dean DeBlois's […]