News

Indie horror master Larry Fessenden has secretly shot Trauma, a monster mashup sequel that unites three of Fessenden’s monsters in one film, Variety reports today.

Larry Fessenden’s Trauma Or, Monsters All serves as a sequel to three monster movies that he’s written and directed: 1995’s vampire movie Habit, the 2019 Frankenstein riff Depraved, and his 2023 werewolf feature Blackout.

When we previously spoke with the filmmaker about the latter, he shared his desire to see how all three monsters would fare in one monster mashup feature. “No, what I’m more interested in, I could just say this, is doing a mashup, and that would probably end my business of recreating the Universal Monsters. I want to see them all together, and what would that look like? So, that’s actually what I’m thinking about, and I don’t know who would finance that.”

With the upcoming Trauma,...

Indie film icon Larry Fessenden is planning a monster mash — and it’s gearing up to be a graveyard smash.

The horror multi-hyphenate has just wrapped filming of his upcoming film — “Larry Fessenden’s Trauma Or, Monsters All” — and is heading into post-production, Variety can report exclusively. The film serves as a sequel to three other films he has written and directed: 1995’s vampire tale “Habit,” his 2019 “Frankenstein” riff “Depraved” and 2023 werewolf film “Blackout.”

“It was a slightly absurd mission to present my existential take on these monsters in a contemporary mash-up, but I enjoyed the challenge and I hope the film will feel both familiar and provocative,” Fessenden said in a statement, which also shared that he is “a lifelong fan of Universal Monster classics and the powerful messages about us that they can convey.”

The shoot quietly took place on and off in upstate New York during a three-month stretch.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

A Normal Woman is a psychological thriller drama film directed by Lucky Kuswandi, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Andri Cung. The Netflix film follows Milla, a socialite who mysteriously develops a rash, and as it spreads, she begins fearing getting rejected by her own husband and family. A Normal Woman stars Marissa Anita, Dion Wiyoko, Giselle Anastasia, Mima Shafa, and Widyawati. So, if you loved the thrilling psychological story, intense drama, and compelling characters in Netflix’s A Normal Woman, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Safe (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Sony Pictures Classics

Safe is a psychological thriller drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes. The 1995 film follows Carol White, a suburban housewife leading an ordinary life as she inexplicably develops various allergies. Things soon get worse as her health...

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Bird In Hand

Director Melody C Roscher's debut feature, Bird In Hand, follows bi-racial bride-to-be Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright), who arrives unannounced on her mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti) and step-father Dale's (Jeffrey Nordling) doorstep to break the news about the upcoming nuptials. However, Bird has an ulterior motive for visiting her childhood home — she wants to finally meet her Black father (K Todd Freeman). As tensions between mother and daughter escalate and the wedding plans grind along slowly, Bird agrees to help white couple Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), who have bought a plantation property and plan to cleanse it of its ominous past.

Roscher has previously directed the short films Vessel and White Wedding, the latter of which Bird In Hand is based on. She has also produced Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene, Josh Mond's James White, and Antonio Campos' Simon Killer and Christine.

Exclusive: Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to The Wilderness, a thriller written and directed by Spencer King (Nickels) and produced by Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil).

The film stars Hunter Doohan (Wednesday), who also serves as a producer, with Lamar Johnson (The Last of Us), Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Aaron Holliday (Cocaine Bear). Rounding out the cast are Matt Gomez-Hidaka (Eddington), Liana Liberato (Scream), Sean Avery (Oppenheimer), Vinessa Shaw (Hocus Pocus) and James Le Gros (Drugstore Cowboy).

The film’s synopsis reads: A group of troubled teenage boys are kidnapped from their homes and taken deep into the unforgiving Utah desert, where they are forced into a brutal and secretive Wilderness Therapy program. With no contact with the outside world, their only way home is to earn the approval of the enigmatic program director, whose motives are far from therapeutic.

Norbert Leo Butz is set to lead the new thriller film Alfalfa, helmed by writer/director Jack Fessenden, Deadline reports. The indie movie features an ensemble cast that also includes Toby Huss, Virginia Kull, Marcus Scribner, Barkhad Abdi, and James Le Gros. It will shoot in Southwestern Utah this fall. Alfalfa follows Butz's character, Lance, a sprinkler contractor living in a drought-stricken desert town. After crossing paths with a criminal duo, Lance, along with his wife and son, attempts to investigate an alfalfa-growing developer who threatens the town's water supply, all the while uncovering dark secrets about its history. The movie marks Fessenden’s third feature as writer/director, following the war drama Foxhole and crime thriller Stray Bullets. Norbert Leo Butz is a two-time Tony Award winner for Best Actor in...

Exclusive: Jack Fessenden has set the cast for his new film, eco-noir Alfalfa. The list includes two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Weapons), Toby Huss (Halt and Catch Fire), Virginia Kull (Presumed Innocent), Marcus Scribner (Black-ish), Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), and James Le Gros (Good One).

Set to shoot this fall in Southwestern Utah, the film follows Lance (Butz), a sprinkler contractor in a drought-stricken desert boomtown whose life converges with a criminal duo, led by Abdi, who are hunting for a corpse that has resurfaced on the banks of a receding reservoir. Caught in a web of escalating tensions, false accusations, and buried secrets, Lance, his wife Elana (Kull), and estranged son Noah (Scribner) must navigate the pull of shady developer Whip (Huss), who partners with Saudi investors on a thirsty alfalfa growing venture, threatening the community’s dwindling water supply. Le Gros will play a...

Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” continued to lead the U.K. and Ireland box office into the second week of May, holding onto the top spot for Disney with a weekend gross of £2.3 million ($3.1 million). That brings its total to $15.6 million.

Warner Bros.’ “Sinners” continued its strong run in second place, adding $1.4 million in its fourth weekend and crossing $17.5 million overall. “A Minecraft Movie” took third with $834,597 in its sixth frame, boosting its cumulative total to $73.6 million.

A strong new entry in fourth place, “Ocean With David Attenborough” from Altitude Film Distribution earned $770,625 on debut. Warner Bros.’ “The Accountant 2” held fifth with $305,004, reaching $1.5 million overall, while Sony’s horror entry “Until Dawn” followed in sixth with $254,965, and is now at $2.1 million after three weeks.

Vertigo Releasing’s “The Surfer”, starring Nicolas Cage, opened in seventh with $177,432. In eighth, Lionsgate U.K.’s “The Penguin Lessons” added $136,680 to bring its total to $4 million.

Lily Collias is outstanding as 17-year-old Sam, who goes hiking with her dad and his best buddy in India Donaldson’s feature debut

Road movie and coming-of-age are accepted genres; maybe hiking-through-the-forest deserves equal status. It’s a distinctive US indie type, coloured by the sun-dappled green foliage, flavoured by the unemphatic presence of both beauty and danger. And heading for … what? An escalating series of scary moments, or just a low-key crescendo of epiphanies or emotional confrontations? Middle-class New Yorkers can journey through the wilderness in the movies but, unlike in John Boorman’s 1972 film Deliverance, they may encounter only the inner hillbillies of their own anxiety and discontent.

This excellent film from first-time director India Donaldson is a smart, sympathetic and terrifically acted drama about 17-year-old Sam – an outstanding performance from Lily Collias – who agrees to go on a hiking trip in the Catskill mountains with her gloomy...

Depending on the company, sometimes working for a big company may feel like being in a cult, with workers having to cater to their bosses' egos and perform work that isn't all that meaningful or that they don't even understand. Severance draws a lot from this idea, and Lumon Industries is the ultimate corporate leviathan in that sense. In Season 2's eighth episode, "Sweet Vitriol," we learn just how deeply Lumon has affected the town of Salt's Neck, with people still living by their rules even after losing everything and everyone, like Harmony Cobel's (Patricia Arquette) aunt Sissy (Jane Alexander). As Harmony's friend Hampton (James Le Gros) notes, Sissy "still lives by the Nine," meaning she still religiously follows the rules she learned when working at the local Lumon ether mill. But what exactly are "the Nine"?...

The latest episode of Severance season two, titled "Sweet Vitriol," has been met with mixed reactions from fans. Some have criticized its slower pace compared to previous episodes and wondered why we needed an entire episode following Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette). Especially after the incredible episode before it, "Chikhai Bardo," which gave us a detailed backstory on Mark and Gemma's relationship, what's happening to Gemma now, and ended with Mark waking up from "journeying" after flooding his severance chip. So much is happening in the world of Severance right now between Mark's integration, Gemma's testing, and Helena spying on the innies. Many fans are confused as to why the showrunners decided to air a Harmony-centered episode now.

It's true that "Sweet Vitriol" lacked the same fast-paced, dialogue-heavy, visually arresting tone and environment we are used to. It's also shorter than the other episodes at only 37 minutes. However, this episode...

Don't swing by the coastal — and fictional — town of Salt's Neck if you're not current on season 2 of "Severance," because this article contains spoilers!

In the eighth episode of its second season, Dan Erickson's critically adored series "Severance" took audiences far, far away from the severed floor at Lumon Industries — where we usually spend time with Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), and, until his recent "firing," Irving B. (John Turturro) — so that viewers could finally reunite with Harmony Cobel, the pivotal yet mysterious character played by Oscar winner Patricia Arquette. In the episode, titled "Sweet Vitriol," Harmony goes back to what we learn is her hometown, a chilly and run-down coastal hamlet called Salt's Neck. So where is Salt's Neck in real life, considering that no such town exists in the United States?

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company, or CBC, the...

The latest episode of Severance introduced ether, a drug that appears highly addictive but may also be integral to the future plot.

Severance Season 2, Episode 8, "Sweet Vitriol," was owned by Patricia Arquette's Ms. Harmony Cobel, who has had a significantly reduced role since Season 1. Episode 8 features many first-time cast members of Severance, including Jane Alexander and James LeGros.

While many viewers may have found the episode boring or used it to fill time while putting the main plot on pause, it provided some important revelations about Cobel.

Read full article on The Direct.

Do not drive over to the factory to meet an old chum if you haven't seen "Sweet Vitriol," the eighth episode of season 2 of "Severance." This is your final spoiler warning!

This article also contains discussions of addiction and child abuse.

After living without Patricia Arquette's steely Harmony Cobel for a few episodes of "Severance," we finally catch up with the former head of Lumon's severed floor while she's driving around in her Volkswagen White Rabbit to parts unknown. At the beginning of her standalone episode "Sweet Vitriol," we see Harmony arrive in the run-down town of Salt's Neck, and when she meets up with an old friend, who we eventually learn is named Hampton (played by James Le Gros). Hampton runs a small dining spot called The Drippy Pot, and while he serves coffee to an elderly patron, he also slips him a bottle; shortly before that, we...

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 8 of “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), the former manager of the Severed Floor, has been acting like she’s more important to Lumon than she gets credit for since the beginning of “Severance” — and in Episode 8 of Season 2, she justifies it.

In this installment, titled “Sweet Vitriol,” Harmony appears for the first time on screen since she drove off at the end of Episode 2, leaving Mark (Adam Scott) to wonder what she knows about him, Gemma/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) and Lumon’s overall mission. When she shows up again, she’s returned to the impoverished, tiny hometown where she grew up to ask for help from her childhood friend Hampton (James Le Gros) in getting back into the home where her mother died, since she’s on bad terms with her aunt Sissy Cobel (played...

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Severance” Season 2, Episode 8.

There are endless questions around nearly everyone and everything in “Severance.” But if there was an award for Most Mysterious, that would indisputably go to Harmony Cobel, Patricia Arquette’s cold, intense, gray-haired boss. From her icy glares to her unsettling fascination with Mark S. (Adam Scott), Cobel felt like she was framed to be the villain throughout most of Season 1. But her actual backstory and path to Lumon Industries is far more complicated than that.

Written by Adam Countee and K. C. Perry and directed by Ben Stiller, “Sweet Vitriol” exclusively focuses on Cobel for 38 minutes as she hunts for an invaluable artifact in her hometown. Here are some of the most fascinating nuggets from that deep dive.

Harmony Cobel is from a mining town that was ruined by Lumon

The beginning of “Sweet Vitriol” sees Cobel (Patricia Arquette) returning...

After last week’s Gemma showcase, Severance is turning the spotlight on Harmony Cobel this week — and throwing a big twist at us, too.

Last we saw Ms. Cobel, she was driving away from the Lumon offices to parts unknown, and in Friday’s episode, we learn she’s headed to the bleak rural outpost of Salt’s Neck. She parks next to a seaside shack to brush her teeth, watching as a person in a rusted-out Rv huffs something and then passes out. She stops at a local diner, where she encounters a man from her past played by Justified alum James Le Gros.

Severance Season 2, Episode 8 explores Harmony Cobel's history with Lumon as Jane Alexander and James Le Gros join the cast. 

After Gemma's backstory is unpacked in Severance Season 2, Episode 7, Apple TV+'s much-talked-about thriller series is back with a new episode that pushes Harmony Cobel to the forefront as she goes back to her hometown and reunites with old friends and enemies. 

Severance Season 2, Episode 8 premiered on Apple TV+ on March 7.

Read full article on The Direct.

Harmony visits her home town in this week’s episode of Severance, which is getting more and more mysterious. Here’s our review of the episode.

Last week’s episode of Severance might have been the AppleTV+’s most ambitious episode yet. We finally found out where Gemma is; she’s being held at Lumon and experimented on. My best guess is that Lumon is planning to make the severance procedure more commonly available and Gemma is forced to go through generally unpleasant experiences, such as a dentist visit or a plane crash, to see if severance could help with these common fears.

This week’s episode, titled Sweet Vitriol, is just as bold in its storytelling. If you were hoping to check in with Mark and the rest of the Mdr team, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer, I’m afraid. Episode 8 is all about...

After spending a week with Ms. Casey/Gemma struggling to survive, Severance takes a decidedly different approach to “Sweet Vitriol.” Rather than spending time seeing how Mark and Gemma’s life continues to overlap, “Sweet Vitriol” takes a step into the unknown. It’s an interesting experiment, not altogether successful.

Severance – “Sweet Vitriol” Recap

The camera lingers over a seaside town, slowly dropping us into the mood for a Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) focused episode. She drives into the town of Salt’s Neck, and eventually pulls up to a delapitsted building. As she brushes her teeth, she notices a man sitting in the doorway of a blown up bus. He coughs and appears ill, before huffing liquid off of a rag. Cobel turns away and ignores a phone call from Devon Scout.

In a small diner, the people do the town talk about a snow plow flipping and a woman’s new hairdo.

Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy is a road movie on opioids. Its characters are nomadic drug addicts who roam the Pacific Northwest in search of pharmacies and hospitals to raid, but the thrill they get from thieving is as fleeting and mocking as the highs they get from speed and other drugs.

The leader of this pack is Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon), who’s developed a kind of gambler’s intuition about their robberies. When he feels “hot,” he’ll hit a location at the drop of a hat, no matter the time of day. But when he senses the group’s luck turning south, he’ll hole up in their dilapidated house and face withdrawal rather than risk capture. Compared to Bob, the others in the group—his wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch), his best friend Rick (James Le Gros), and Rick’s teenage girlfriend Nadine (Heather Graham)—see...

A new episode of our What Happened to This Horror Movie? video series has just been released, and with this one we’re looking into the 2007 true crime mystery thriller Zodiac (watch it Here). Check out the video embedded above to hear all about it!

Directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and based on the books Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith, the film has the following synopsis: In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators and reporters become obsessed with learning the killer’s identity and bringing him to justice. Meanwhile, Zodiac claims victim after victim and taunts the authorities with cryptic messages, cyphers and menacing phone calls.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Charles Fleischer, Zach Grenier, Philip Baker Hall, Elias Koteas, James LeGros,...

by Nick Taylor

Good One is maybe my favorite film of the seven "Firsts" nominated at the Indie Spirits. India Donaldson's story of high school senior Sam (Lily Collias) going on an annual weekend camping trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James LeGros), and his friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) could not be simpler to summarize. Yet, the wrinkles and intrigue she's put into this premise - both men are in their 50's, Chris is on his second marriage with a new baby at home while Matt is currently working through divorce proceedings - are thoughtfully integrated. We briefly meet friends and family of the soon-to-be-departed, and off we go…...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2024, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

When reflecting on any year in movies, the theatrical experience rings most memorable. From driving across the border to Ohio with friends to watch No Country for Old Men in 2007, to a 35mm screening of Stalker at the Wexner Center for the Arts in 2011, with so rapt an audience I was terrified to swallow for fear it would disrupt their experience—each year holds it own special memories and 2024 was no different. There was a lively afternoon matinee of Between the Temples in which I was the youngest present by about 25 years, and a sold-out Wednesday screening of Showgirls at the Academy Museum with Elizabeth Berkley in person. But judging from reactions on X.com, I’m not alone in my favorite 2024 theatrical screening being witnessing Interstellar in 70mm IMAX.

There were reasons to worry about a “Severance” sophomore slump.

Foremost, the Ben Stiller-backed, 2022 Apple TV+ series was such a brilliantly realized paranoid thriller/sci-fi satire of the work-life balance illusion — recreating its first season magic would be a herculean task under the best circumstances.

Then there were reports that creator Dan Erickson and more experienced co-showrunner Mark Friedman weren’t getting along to such an extent that “House of Cards” veteran Beau Willimon was brought in to smooth out the follow-up’s trajectory. Hollywood strikes notwithstanding, production delays also seemed ominous.

Whatever went down, Season 2 finally premieres Jan. 17. And while there’s more than a bit of wheel-spinning in its first few episodes, saying “Aha, I knew it!” will make you sound like a clueless Outie guessing what goes down on a Lumon Industries severed floor. The new season explores profound ideas about what having one’s consciousness...

Every state has its own histories, landscapes, and stories worth telling, but some lend themselves to more visually stimulating tales than others. There are bland-looking states that shall remain unnamed, and then there are ones that feel intriguing and inviting no matter which way the camera's pointed. Hawaii is an obvious pick on that count, but Alaska gives it a real run for the top spot. It is an endlessly stunning place to be with natural beauty staring you down from every direction. That beauty can come at a cost, though, as nature can be both unrelenting and unforgiving.

That reality, when coupled with the vast size of the state and a sparse population, leaves it ripe for drama, danger, and stories about isolation both intentional and otherwise. It's a place where a detective can be driven mad by the lack of night ("Insomnia"), a humorously inappropriate romance can take...

Over the last decade or two, one particular trend in Hollywood has left moviegoers divided. This specific trend involves major studios electing to remake their fan-favorite films from years before. Some enjoy seeing their favorite stories be brought back to life, while others would prefer to see studios dedicating their resources to more original ideas. Regardless of where you stand on this debate, it is impossible to deny that the movie world has recently been flooded with remakes of popular films.

A major reason why so many of these remakes are happening is because they often feel like a surefire way to make a massive profit by capitalizing on a pre-existing audience. However, several recent attempts have demonstrated that success is not a guarantee. Some remakes unfortunately end up thoroughly underwhelming their audiences, failing to offer all the exciting elements that made the original films so popular, particularly when it...

As we await the new year, it’s time for a rewind and look back at all the great movies that we might have overlooked.

2024 has been an extraordinary year for cinema. From blockbuster hits like Deadpool & Wolverine and Wicked that became pop culture conversations to critically acclaimed dramas like Dune Part: Two, Challengers, and others – we saw a lineup of great movies.

A snippet from Deadpool & Wolverine | Credits: Marvel Entertainment

However, at the same time, some movies barely received any attention from either the audience or the critics.

Now, before we step into the new year and new anticipation of upcoming films, we have ranked the top 20 most underrated projects of 2024 as they also deserve to be watched and praised. Take a look at them.

20. The Order A snippet from The Order | Credits: Vertical

One of the most underrated movies of 2024 has been The Order featuring Jude Law. The...

Exclusive: American actor Dylan Arnold, best known for starring in David Gordon Green’s Halloween remake and Netflix’s popular series You, will lead the indie feature Born To Lose.

From director Joseph Zentil, who is making his feature debut, the film follows Andy Logan (Arnold), a young biker grappling with his father’s troubled legacy along with his escalating debts to a local gangster. As he races to restore a vintage motorcycle to save himself, he must confront family secrets and forge his own identity.

Born to Lose also stars James Le Gros (Drugstore Cowboy) as Jed Duncan, Andy’s reluctant mentor, Ambyr Childers (The Master) as Julie Logan, Andy’s troubled sister, Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things) as Tabitha, a country singer and Andy’s on-off girlfriend and Shane Callahan (Dopesick) as Roddy, the local gangster.

The film was written by Pierce Csurgo, Zentil, and Eric J. Kinsey who serves as a co-producer.

Attention all fans of '90's cinema and off-the-wall action, please take note: Point Break is leaving Netflix on December 1st of this year. The film — which stars Keanu Reeves as FBI agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as surfer and criminal Bodhi — is essential viewing for anyone who likes action that leaves you at the edge of your seat, and incredibly compelling character dynamics that pull you into a world of thievery done just for the thrill of it.

Rather than simply being a conventional game of cat-and-mouse between cop and robber — such as venerated classics like Michael Mann's Heat — Point Break is groundbreaking in its commitment to entangling Reeves' character Johnny with the mastermind Bodhi. The criminal has an alluring philosophy, one of constantly chasing the ultimate thrill, and it draws the undercover cop into their dangerous lifestyle. The unconventional nature of the two leads' relationship, paired with the stunning action,...

Kathryn Bigelow’s action movie Point Break has received a brand-new streaming update for next month. The 1991 cult classic was led by Keanu Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze as they portrayed the respective roles of FBI Agent Johnny Utah, and surfer Bodhi.

Beginning on Dec. 1, 20th Century Fox’s Point Break movie will officially be available to stream on Paramount+. The story centers around an FBI Agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a group of surfers, who are suspected to be involved in a recent string of bank robberies. Leading the surfers is the charismatic Bodhi, who likes living on the edge. However, while doing the mission, Johnny develops a complex friendship with Bodhi, leading him to get drawn into their lifestyle and philosophies. To make matters difficult, Johnny also unexpectedly falls in love with a female surfer, who’s close to the gang.

Related 'That's What Makes It...

India Donaldson’s Good One delivers such a power punch at a pivotal, earth-shattering moment that it proves to be a masterclass in low-key filmmaking made for impact for the debut feature writer-director.

Its impressive cinéma vérité style requires an investment in the subtle actions and reactions of the lead characters, rather than the dialogue which feels almost improvised up to the point of disruption that any viewer could be forgiven for blinking and missing the delivery of the key line. The outdoor setting is as deceitfully tranquil and stunning as it is menacing, as characters interact with nature and each other.

It is 17-year-old Sam’s story, played by gifted lead newcomer Lily Collias (Palm Trees and Power Lines), as she joins her father Chris (James Le Gros) and his friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) on a camping trip in in the Catskills, a mountainous range in southeastern New York State.

2024 has given us many impressive independent projects with distinct voices. Be it “Didi,” “Thelma,” or “A Real Pain,” they have proven to be more captivating than the buzzier titles. India Donaldson’s “Good One” is another glowing addition to this list that revolves around three characters: 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias), her middle-aged father Chris (James Le Gros), and his close friend Matt (Danny McCarthy), who decide to go on a hike together. At the last moment, Matt’s son bails out on this plan, leaving Sam alone with the two men.

As they start traveling, we learn bits about their lives – their worldviews, behaviors, and preferences. Chris and Matt are products of an era where men were often conditioned to be unfeeling, insensitive, and stamina-flaunting. So, you are either a winner or a loser. There’s no in-between. In case you’re a mediocre man or not as strong in judgemental eyes,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Put yourself into a 1987 state of mind, and imagine you're using the computer from "Weird Science" to create the perfect young actor. You want it all: A hunk with legitimate performing chops who can do finely composed drama as easily as he does zany comedy. He can be the world's sexiest man and its biggest blithering idiot. He's also got an athletic frame onto which you can pack layers of muscle. Can he sing and dance? Probably, but we're not trying to take roles away from our underserved musical theater stars, so let's not get greedy. All the other stuff you want a star to do, however, he does it.

So feed your snipped-from-magazine clippings of Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and the like into the computer, and who do you come up with? Lorenzo Lamas?? You've got yourself a virus,...

Horror movies are closely associated with rapid succession sequels than they are legacy sequels. (How many years did we have a new “Saw” and/or “Paranormal Activity” sequel to look forward to?) But there are still a fair amount of legacy horror sequels – follow-ups that take much longer to marinate than the traditional sequel – and these are the ones that were definitely worth the wait.

Universal “Psycho II” (1983)

The first true legacy horror sequel was a follow-up to perhaps the most celebrated horror movie ever, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 shocker “Psycho.” “Psycho II” was directed by Australian filmmaker Richard Franklin, whose previous movie “Road Games” is one of the greatest Australian thrillers ever, and was written by Tom Holland, who would go on to direct future classics “Fright Night” and “Child’s Play.”

The sequel sees Norman Bates (once again played by Anthony Perkins) finally released from prison and attempting to enjoy a normal life,...

Apartment 7A Trailer: "Paramount+ today released the official trailer for the all-new psychological thriller Apartment 7A, available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ Friday, September 27 in the U.S. and Canada, Latin America and Brazil and on September 28 in the U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Australia. Availability in additional international Paramount+ markets to come at a later date. In addition to exclusively streaming on Paramount+, the film will be available for purchase on digital beginning Friday, September 27.

Set in 1965 New York City, the film tells the story prior to the legendary horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, exploring what happened in the infamous Bramford building before Rosemary moved in.

The highly anticipated film will debut at this year’s Fantastic Fest, the world’s largest genre and horror festival based in Austin, Texas, and will be featured in Paramount+ Peak Screaming, a curated collection of fan-favorite horror movies and Halloween episodes from beloved series.

Usually, hikes are all about silences and sound swaps — insects buzz instead of phones, streams murmur instead of people on the street. But one of the sneakily great filmmaking choices in “Good One” is how it doesn’t shy away from dialogue during its long stretches of meditative walks through the woods; it just shows us how easy it is to tune people out when they aren’t saying anything of substance.

That’s one aspect of the relationship management with which teenage Sam (Lily Collias) engages on a three-day backpacking trip with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros), and his longtime friend Matt (Danny McCarthy): They both talk a lot at her and around each other. But director India Donaldson knows the difference between depicting boring conversations and actually having conversations be boring for the viewer. The way she shot the trio over the course of the film...

Quick Links A Teen Becomes the Sad Third Wheel on a Weird Hiking Trip An Exercise in Subtlety and a Study of Disappointment A Superb Lily Collias Acts Out the Themes Good One Is Slowcore Cinema

Good One marks the feature debut of writer/director India Donaldson. The minimalist drama took the festival circuit by storm with glowing reviews from Sundance and Cannes, and won accolades for Best Independent Feature in Boston and the Champs-lyses Film Festival earlier this year. Shot in a cinma vrit style, Good One follows a queer teenage girl on a weekend camping trip with her father and his struggling best friend. Star Lily Collias is a revelation here, mastering the character's sad disappointment in this very quiet narrative that will test the patience of any viewers who aren't already well-acquainted with arthouse or slow cinema.

A Teen Becomes the Sad Third Wheel on a Weird...

There may not be a movie that has more Bde (Brooklyn Dad Energy) than Good One — you’d have to go to closing time at a Park Slope bar with nothing but The National on the jukebox to find a more concentrated dose of paternal moodiness than writer-director India Donaldson’s debut. The fact that this modest, quiet drama isn’t filtered through a male perspective but that of 17-year-old young woman, who both bears witness to two middle-aged men navigating mid-life crises and sees right through their bullshit, doesn...

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers for “Good One,” in theaters now.

From first-time feature director India Donaldson, “Good One” is a breezy dramedy about three people on a backpacking trip. Until, suddenly, it isn’t.

Lily Collias, in her second feature role, plays the 17-year-old Sam, who goes camping with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros), and his bumbling friend Matt (Danny McCarthy). After her dad goes to bed, Sam has a heart-to-heart with Matt, who is going through a divorce, in a 13-minute campfire scene that culminates with Matt suggesting that Sam come into his tent to keep him warm.

It’s a disturbing and crafty twist an hour into the film, a moment of profound betrayal that paints a quietly world-shattering revelation all over Collias’ face. What follows is an exploration of familial trust, flawed parents and the bounds of forgiveness.

After premiering at Sundance, “Good One...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on August 8th, reviewing “Good One” a significant feature film debut from writer/director India Donaldson. In select theaters beginning August 9th. See local listings.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with father Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long held grievances, the wise-beyond-her-years Sam attempts to mediate. But when Sam’s trust is betrayed, she is confronted with her dad’s emotional limitations and experiences the moment when the parental bond is challenged.

”Good One” is in select theaters (see local listings) beginning August 9th. Featuring Lily Collias, James Le Gros Danny McCarthy and Sumaya Bouhbal. Written and directed by India Donaldson. Rated “R”

Click Here for Patrick...

Director India Donaldson’s first feature film, “Good One,” is, on the surface, a pretty simple story: A family camping trip in upstate New York gets considerably more awkward when it ends up being only father-daughter pair Chris (James Le Gros) and Sam (Lily Collias) and Chris’s longtime friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) spending three days in the woods. Sam’s about to head off to college, while Chris and Matt can’t seem to escape the emotional trail loops, as it were, that they’ve already blazed for themselves. What happens on the trip sets down some of Sam’s path as an adult in ways that feel both heartbreaking and necessary.

But just because something is simple doesn’t mean it was easy. Donaldson only had 12 days to shoot the film, most of it spent outside in the Catskills — on 300 privately owned acres near the Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska State Park,...

Iain Glen, Ser Jorah Mormont in Game Of Thrones, is feisty as ever as a family man facing down the tumultuous start of World War I in The Last Front by Belgian filmmaker Julien Hayet-Kerknawi, the first release by his new indie label Enigma. It opens on 250 screens.

Metrograph Pictures is out with Good One, its first title since expanding into theatrical releasing under the leadership of former A24 executive David Laub. The debut feature by India Donaldson has great reviews at 96% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and starts in limited release on three screens in New York and LA.

The theatrical market is pretty complicated right now and original independent films have fewer champions. These new indie distributors — and there are others — see a necessity and a business proposition in nurturing them.

“There is still very much an audience for these movies when they are really good,” Laub tells Deadline.

Good One is a movie that should be seen in a theater. Not because of its grand scale; it’s actually very modest in that way. The reason writer/director India Donaldson’s debut feature needs to be absorbed in the most immersive environment possible is that it hinges on...