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The first teaser trailer for Spartacus: House of Ashur has entered the arena! Starz‘s sequel series welcomes a new era of gladiatorial combat drama to the stage, along with an autumn release window.

Here’s the official synopsis for Spartacus: House of Ashur courtesy of Starz:

“What if Ashur (Nick Tarabay), hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of ‘Spartacus: Vengeance?’ And what if he had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and putting an end to the slave rebellion?”

Created, written, and executive-produced by Steve DeKnight, Spartacus raised its sword and shield on Starz in 2010 with its first season, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. A prequel series followed called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena in 2011, with Spartacus: Vengeance dropping in 2012 and Spartacus: War of the Damned in 2013. The original series, Blood and Sand, revolved around the life of Spartacus,...

The cast for Spartacus: House of Ashur has been filled out. Starz has announced several guest-starring roles for the upcoming spin-off series, which is currently being filmed in New Zealand.

Dan Hamill, Andrew McFarlane, Jackson Gallagher, Jaime Slater, Simon Arblaster, Arlo Gibson, Cameron Rhodes, Evander Brown, Graham Vincent, Louis Hunter, and Donald Ross are joining the previously announced Graham McTavish, Tenika Davis, Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Jordi Webber, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith, Leigh Gill, and returning Nick Tarabay. The Starz series is an alternative take on history seen in the original series. In this version, the villainous Ashur (Tarabay) does not die.

Read More…...

Dan Hamill joins ‘Spartacus: House of Ashur’ (Photo Courtesy of Starz)

Starz’s Spartacus: House of Ashur starring Nick Tarabay has added 12 guest stars to its cast. The much-anticipated new addition to the Spartacus franchise is in production in New Zealand, with Spartacus creator, writer, and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight guiding the series as showrunner.

“Spartacus: House of Ashur will be a history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit,” reads Starz’s synopsis. “The series poses the question: what if Ashur, played by fan favorite Nick Tarabay, hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance? And what if he had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and putting an end to the slave rebellion?”

In addition to Tarabay, the previously announced cast includes Lucy Lawless as Lucretia,...

Before booting up M3GAN for producers James Wan and Jason Blum, Gerard Johnstone made his feature directorial debut on Housebound, an awesome horror comedy that’s brimming with bloody fun.

In the film, a young woman is forced to return to her childhood home after being placed under house arrest, where she suspects that something evil may be lurking.

If you’ve never seen this horror classic, it’s now streaming on the Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox!

Megan previously wrote about Housebound a few years ago. Here’s her breakdown:

“Written and directed by Gerard Johnstone, Housebound is a brilliant feature debut that makes you wonder when his sophomore feature might be on its way. A horror-comedy can be a tricky enough thing to pull off- rarely are the scales of humor and horror in balance- but Johnstone infuses dark comedy with genuine suspense. There’s even some touching family drama to ground it all.

We’ve come a long way in terms of fairy tales centered on a handsome prince from a far-off land rescuing a beautiful, distressed damsel from a life of destitution. It’s widely welcomed that women can rescue themselves and concurrently complement the male arc. With Netflix delivering progressive modernizations of these fantasies in their stable of holiday-themed titles, they’ve ever-so-slightly refashioned the traditional model of empty-calorie cinematic confections. Yet their off-season offerings have been scarce — until now, with Rick Jacobson’s “The Royal Treatment,” which takes expected genre trappings and infuses them with unexpected delights, creating an enlightened, enchanting and entertaining feature.

Indomitable beauty salon owner Izzy (Laura Marano) has never met a head of hair or a troubled soul she hasn’t been able to touch. A fixture in her Bronx neighborhood, delivering donuts and smiles in equal measure to friends and family, her Italian heart of gold keeps her world turning.

"We're in Hair Camp, and you're out flirting with hot royalty." Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for another sappy romantic comedy called The Royal Treatment. Which just copies so many other romcom stories with "what if she could be a princess by marrying this guy?!" Been there, done that, this isn't new, yet they keep making these. New York hairdresser Izzy, played by Laura Marano, seizes the chance to work at the wedding of a charming prince, but when sparks between them fly, will love — or duty — prevail? She and Prince Thomas learn that taking control of their own destiny requires following their hearts. The full cast includes Mena Massoud (from Aladdin!), Chelsie Preston Crayford, Grace Bentley-Tsibuah, and Cameron Rhodes. Looks like yet another extra cheesy Hallmark holiday special that Netflix scooped up. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Rick Jacobson's The Royal Treatment, from Netflix's YouTube:...

Out on VOD today is Dead, a new horror comedy where a deceased cop returns from the dead to help hunt down a serial killer, and we've been provided with an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers!

"Marbles, a hapless stoner, can see ghosts. Tagg, a recently dead wannabe super-cop, needs to find a serial killer. Can a critical ghost cop and a directionless stoner get over their prejudices and work together to save lives… and deaths?"

Directed by Hayden J. Weal, Dead stars Thomas Sainsbury, Hayden J. Weal, Tomairangi I'haia, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Michael Hurst and Cameron Rhodes. To learn more visit: https://deadthemovie.com/

In Virtual Cinemas on 9/25 and on VOD 10/6

The post Watch an Exclusive Clip from Dead appeared first on Daily Dead.

Stars: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird | Written and Directed by Gerard Johnstone

Permanently pissed-off Kylie Bucknell is, after a bungled robbery, forced by the courts to return to her family home when she’s given an eight-month home detention sentence. Her punishment for a botched Atm raid is made all the more intolerable by the fact she has to live with her over-bearing motor-mouth mother Miriam who’s convinced the house is haunted. But after dismissing Miriam’s superstitions, rebellious Kylie too starts hearing unsettling whispers in the dark, creaking floorboards and strange bumps in the night. Has she inherited her mother’s overactive imagination or is there indeed evil afoot between the windows and doors?

New Zealand has one hell of a track record when it comes to horror. From the early work of Peter Jackson and his film Bad Taste and...

Stage stalwart Chloe Dallimore has been elected federal president of the Meaa.s Equity branch.

The actress whose credits include Pippin, Annie, The Addams Family and Thoroughly Modern Millie, succeeds Geoff Morrell.

Morrell had been acting president since Simon Burke stepped down last October after 10 years in that role. Nadine Garner and Lorna Lesly were elected. federal vice presidents.

Members of the new National Performers Committee are:

Federal President (Equity) Chloe Dallimore Federal Vice-Presidents (Equity) Nadine Garner Lorna Lesly Victoria Branch Board Member Genevieve Picot Queensland Branch Board Member Jason Klarwein Nsw Branch President (Equity): Tina Bursill Vice-President (Equity): Jonathan Mill Victoria Branch President (Equity): Abbe Holmes Vice-President (Equity): Francis Greenslade Queensland Branch President (Equity): Carol Burns Federal Council Delegates (Equity) Robyn Arthur Kerith Atkinson Michala Banas Amanda Bishop Mitchell Butel Helen Dallimore Marta Dusseldorp Alan Fletcher Samuel Gaskin Elizabeth Hay Glenn Hazeldine Robert Jago...

Title: Housebound XLrator Media Director: Gerard Johnstone Writer: Gerard Johnstone Cast: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Ross Harper, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Ryan Lampp Running time: 112 min, Not Rated (Language and violence) Special features: Deleted Scenes and Filmmaker Commentary Available November 24 on DVD Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is forced to go on house arrest after she and her accomplice tries to rip off an Atm. She has to go home and live with her mother and stepfather. She and her mother Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) do not get along, because Kylie is a rebellious child and her mother is an overly cheerful busybody, but she does have her [ Read More ]

The post Housebound DVD Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

If looks could kill, Kylie would be on death row. In Gerard Johnstone's deadpan, diabolical, and haunted thriller Housebound, Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) is an angry, insolent young woman, full of piss and vinegar, so when she's convicted of a crime and sentenced to eight months of detention in the home of her mother, Miriam (Rima Te Wiata), it feels like life imprisonment to her. Kylie resists any impulse to act in a civil manner toward Miriam or her stepfather Graeme (Ross Harper), and is hostile in her court-ordered sessions with psychiatrist Dennis (Cameron Rhodes). Kylie's attitude hardens when she learns that Miriam has long felt that the family home is haunted, an idea that the young woman dismisses out of hand. Miriam, after all, chatters...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Home is Where the Horror Is: Johnson’s Ozzie Horror Tickles Rather Than Chills

Fans of Peter Jackson’s early works of zany, comedy horror will most likely revel in Gerard Johnstone’s debut, Housebound, as this sometimes feels like a distant cousin to 1992’s Dead Alive. Never very horrific in its haunted house cum hider in the house scenario that recalls Wes Craven’s most enjoyably camp film, The People Under the Stairs (1991), Johnstone gets a lot of mileage out of a pair of entertaining characterizations that tend to override its rather glum and inexpressive visual palette. Those that tend to shirk away from high doses of goofiness in their genre films will certainly find this a bit too saccharine, especially as it never registers any strength as either a horror film or effective comedy in its hybrid scenario.

After running into the law a few too many times,...

Stars: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird | Written and Directed by Gerard Johnstone

Permanently pissed-off Kylie Bucknell is, after a bungled robbery, forced by the courts to return to her family home when she’s given an eight-month home detention sentence. Her punishment for a botched Atm raid is made all the more intolerable by the fact she has to live with her over-bearing motor-mouth mother Miriam who’s convinced the house is haunted. But after dismissing Miriam’s superstitions, rebellious Kylie too starts hearing unsettling whispers in the dark, creaking floorboards and strange bumps in the night. Has she inherited her mother’s overactive imagination or is there indeed evil afoot between the windows and doors?

New Zealand has one hell of a track record when it comes to horror. From the early work of Peter Jackson and his film Bad Taste and...

On tap right now is an image gallery for the upcoming horror flick Housebound, which is playing as part of the Fantasia 2014 Film Festival. Get comfy and sit back because you're gonna be here awhile. Check 'em out!

Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

Housebound Release Details

XLrator Media is handling Us distribution of the horror-comedy Housebound and will release the film October 17, 2014, on its acclaimed “MacAbre” genre label in theatres and on VOD and iTunes.

Housebound is Gerard Johnstone's feature film debut. It was produced by Luke Sharpe for Semi-Professional Pictures; executive produced by Ant Timpson, Daniel Story, and Chris Lambert; and funded by the New Zealand Film Commission.

Synopsis

Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when...

We've been talking about Housebound since its premiere at SXSW, and now that it's playing as part of the Fantasia 2014 Film Festival, Entertainment Weekly scored a new and official trailer. Check it out!

Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

Housebound Release Details

XLrator Media is handling Us distribution of the horror-comedy Housebound, which premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March. XLrator Media will release the film in fall 2014 on its acclaimed “MacAbre” genre label.

Housebound is Gerard Johnstone's feature film debut. It was produced by Luke Sharpe for Semi-Professional Pictures; executive produced by Ant Timpson, Daniel Story, and Chris Lambert; and funded by the New Zealand Film Commission.

Synopsis

Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the...

We've been talking about Housebound since its premiere at SXSW, and now in honor of the film playing as part of the Fantasia 2014 Film Festival, we have a handful of new images for ya! Dig 'em!

Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

Housebound Release Details

XLrator Media is handling Us distribution of the horror-comedy Housebound, which premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March. XLrator Media will release the film in fall 2014 on its acclaimed “MacAbre” genre label.

Housebound stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, and Glen-Paul Waru and is directed by Gerard Johnstone in his feature film debut. It was produced by Luke Sharpe for Semi-Professional Pictures; executive produced by Ant Timpson, Daniel Story, and Chris Lambert; and funded by the New Zealand Film Commission.

The line-up for this year's Film4 FrightFest in London has just been announced – and boy, is it a doozy! Sporting a record-breaking 38 UK/European premieres and 11 world premieres, this August is going to be an exciting time in the genre calendar.

Check it all out right here, including lots of new images!

This year Film4 FrightFest will be moving from its previous home at Leicester Square's Empire Cinema to the nearby Vue Cinema (also on Leicester Square), prompting an ingenious reshuffle of the screening arrangements.

All main screen films will be presented at different times across three different screens, with two extra screens reserved for single-slot screenings of the various films hitting this year's Discovery Screens.

Here's the full list of goodies:

Main Screens (5, 6, 7)

Thursday Aug 21

Opening Night Film - The Guest (UK Premiere)

Director: Adam Wingard. Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser. USA 2014. 99 mins.

Film4 FrightFest 2014, returning for its 15th year, unveils its biggest line-up ever. From Thurs 21 August to Monday 25 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Vue West End, Leicester Square, to present sixty-four films plus twenty shorts across five screens. There are sixteen countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-eight UK or European premieres and eleven world premieres.

Are you ready for a monstrous and memorable mayhem of killer claws, cannibalism, cult classics, murderous musicals, chiller thrillers, graphic novel action and sick celluloid masterpieces? Then prepare yourself for the biggest, strongest and most eclectic must-see programme in Film4 FrightFest’s history.

From the opening night turbo-driven thrill-ride The Guest to the UK premiere of the closing night mesmeric sci-fi fantasy The Signal, FrightFest has netted the latest works from genre big-hitters such as Eli Roth (The Green Inferno), Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins (Show...

We've been talking about Housebound since its premiere at SXSW and now finally we have the news you've been waiting for... the flick has found itself some distribution! Read on for details.

Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

From the Press Release

XLrator Media has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the horror-comedy Housebound which recently had its U.S. premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March. XLrator Media will release the film in Fall 2014 on its acclaimed “MacAbre” genre label. The deal was announced today by XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

Housebound stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata and Glen-Paul Waru and is directed by Gerard Johnstone in his feature film debut. It was produced by Luke Sharpe for Semi-Professional Pictures, executive produced by Ant Timpson,...

If looks could kill, Kylie would be on death row. In Gerard Johnstone's deadpan, diabolical, and haunted thriller Housebound, Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) is an angry, insolent young woman, full of piss and vinegar, so when she's convicted of a crime and sentenced to eight months of detention in the home of her mother, Miriam (Rima Te Wiata), it feels like life imprisonment to her. Kylie resists any impulse to act in a civil manner toward Miriam or her stepfather Graeme (Ross Harper), and is hostile in her court-ordered sessions with psychiatrist Dennis (Cameron Rhodes). Kylie's attitude hardens when she learns that Miriam has long felt that the family home is haunted, an idea that the young woman dismisses out of hand. Miriam, after all, chatters...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Fresh off its Monday night premiere at SXSW and last week's reveal of an awesome piece of poster art, Housebound continues the fun with a pretty hilarious new clip, which gives new meaning to the term "pee break." Enjoy!

Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

Synopsis

Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother, Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam’s superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables and small town gossip. However, when she, too, becomes privy...

Gerard Johnstone's directorial debut "Housebound" has its world premiere at SXSW tonight in the "Visions" section, a New Zealand comedy thriller starring Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune and Wallace Chapman. Indiewire's pleased to premiere an exclusive clip and stills from the film, below. Here's the SXSW description: Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam -- a well-intentioned blabbermouth who's convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam's superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins...

Playing as part of the SXSW Film Festival is the new flick Housebound, and if you haven't heard of it, we can promise you this... the following poster does exactly what promo art should do... it makes you wanna see the movie! Seriously, I'd hang this on my wall in a heartbeat!

Badass Digest scored the exclusive on the Housebound one-sheet, which is already one of our favorites of the year.

Housebound is directed by Gerard Johnstone and stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune, and Wallace Chapman.

Synopsis

Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother, Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted.

Sundance just ended, and we are already preparing for the next big film festival, South By Southwest. Not too long ago, the festival announced a few of the films premiering this year, but now they’ve announced the main slate. The midnight selections and some inevitable late-breaking additions are still to be announced, but this should be more than enough to get you excited. Along with many World Premieres, and Sundance favorites like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2, the line up also includes an anniversary screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and an extended Q&A screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel with Wes Anderson. SXSW 2014 runs March 7 through 15 in Austin, Texas. Check out the line up after the jump.

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Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,324 films submitted to SXSW 2014. Films screening in Narrative...

The 2014 SXSW "Film Features Program" includes 115 titles, and along with the previously announced zombie culture documentary Doc of the Dead, there's a lot for the horror crowd...

...including special screenings of the original Godzilla and Texas Chain Saw Massacre, early looks at upcoming TV shows "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" and "Penny Dreadful," the U.S. premiere of Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Dance of Reality, and new films from the Spierig brothers, Nacho Vigalondo, and Jim Jarmusch.

The genre-heavy "Midnighter" lineup will be announced next week along with the list of short films, but in the meantime here are the horror highlights (or what we assume will be of interest given their descriptions) to be on the lookout for during the fest.

Note that new for 2014, they've introduced the "Episodic" category, created to highlight innovative new work hitting the small screen.

The 2014 SXSW Film Festival runs March 7-15 in awesome Austin,...

Today the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced a diverse features lineup for this year’s Festival, the 21st edition and running March 7 – 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas. The 2014 program expands on SXSW tradition of embracing a range of genres and span of budgets, featuring a wealth of vision from experienced and developing filmmakers alike.

For more information visit http://sxsw.com/film.

Listed in the announcement are 115 of the features that will screen over the course of nine days at SXSW 2014. The lineup below includes 68 films from first-time filmmakers, and consists of 76 World Premieres, 10 North American Premieres and 7 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 2,215 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,540 U.S. and 675 international feature-length films. With a record number of 6,482 submissions total, the overall increase was 14% over 2013. The Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 5, with the complete...

After announcing earlier this month that Jon Favreau’s Chef and the Veronica Mars movie will be making their world debuts at SXSW this year, the festival has revealed its full line-up, including further very promising world premieres, alongside appearances from some of the year’s most high-profile films.

The Midnight programme will be announced early next month, along with the Shorts line-up, and the complete Conference slate a little later as well.

Led by Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, Nicholas Stoller’s anticipated R-rated comedy, Neighbors, will be making its world debut at the festival, notably marked out as a ‘work-in-progress’ ahead of its theatrical release in May.

David Gordon Green’s acclaimed Joe will make its Us premiere, having bowed at Venice and then Toronto last year. Early reviews have Nicolas Cage giving one of the finest performances of his career, with Tye Sheridan (Mud) excellent alongside him.

Not sure if there is a Short Term 12 equivalent in this year’s Narrative Feature Comp, but on paper SXSW programmers are serving up a mean (and the usual lean group of 8 out of a whopping 1,324 film entries) for the upcoming competitiuon of eight which includes notable entries (that we’ve been tracking for a good time now) such as Zachary Wigon’s The Heart Machine, John Magary’s The Mend, Leah Meyerhoff’s I Believe in Unicorns and Lawrence Michael Levine’s Wild Canaries. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated docs of the year, on the non-fiction side we find Margaret Brown’s The Great Invisible. Below you’ll find a breakdown of the other sections (notable world preems in We’ll Never Have Paris and Faults (see Mary Elizabeth Winstead above), some Sundance items with Texan connections and other nuggets.

Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight...

Auckland Theatre Company in association with the Court Theatre presents The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, adapted by Ross Gumbley. 12 February - 07 March 2009 They say there are no more heroes. They haven't met Richard Hannay yet. Director: Ross Gumbley Starring: Lisa Chappell, Stephen Papps, Cameron Rhodes Design: Tony Geddes, Elizabeth Whiting, Brad Gledhill Four fearless actors play 139 roles in 100 madcap minutes in this inventive adaptation of John Buchan's classic British spy thriller.