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Savage, judging by the trailer, might be the most aptly named film to come along in quite a while. Take a look at this Irish psychological thriller and see if you don't agree!

Written and directed by Brendan Muldowney and starring Darren Healy and Nora-Jane Noone in a film that's already been compared to Taxi Driver, Savage looks to follow right in step with that Straw Dogs, man pushed too far motif. We're digging what we've seen so far.

Watch the trailer, and then check out the official Savage website and while you're at it, head over to the official Savage Facebook page and give them a like. This one looks like it has real potential to knock audiences on their asses!

Synopsis

Paul Graynor, an alienated press photographer who lives and works in an unfriendly and threatening city, becomes victim to a serious crime. Finding himself the subject, rather than the purveyor,...

Trailer to follow very shortly, and we’ll be doing something very cool closer to the release!!! Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh and starring Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Harry Potter, and The General) and Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2, Crash, and Hotel Rwanda). The Guard is a thriller-comedy set on the west coast of Ireland where Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) is a small-town cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humour, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle)to his door. The Guard also stars Liam Cunningham, Pat Shortt, Darren Healy, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan and Slovenian newcomer KatarinaCas. The Guard has already won critics and audiences over when it screened earlier this year at the renowned Sundance & Berlin film festivals. Screen Daily believes that “The Guard.

Savage

Stars: Darren Healy, Nora-Jane Noone | Written & Directed by Brendan Muldowney

The Irish. A bunch of drunks and fighters, as like to use your face as a bottle-opener as shake your hand, or so the stereotype goes. But that’s exactly the stance Savage takes toward the people, painting most of its characters as violent, unhinged thugs. The film follows freelance photographer Paul (Darren Healy)’s descent into mental instability – and ultimately, violence – after being mugged, beaten and even castrated in an alleyway.

A timid and passive character to begin with, the traumatic event reduces his manhood even further, causing him to start carrying a taser and flinch at passersby innocently asking him for the time. His father’s carer Michelle (Nora-Jane Noone) attempts to help him recover, but the wounds are too deep, and it’s only a matter of time before Paul does something drastic in order to restore his masculinity.

Savage is at times an unrepentant and unpleasant piece which uses a revenge narrative to ask difficult questions on male identity as a whole. Its Dublin setting not only allows for displays of inner city aggression; seen all over cities in Britain/Ireland, but also invokes shards of Ireland’s troubled past.

By intention or not the film raises the idea that there may reside a generation of angry young men who may turn in on themselves to try and quell their primal desires.

Timid Beta-Male photographer Paul (Healy) is viciously beaten and castrated by two violent thugs after a first date with a pretty Nurse Michelle (Noone), who is looking after his ill father. The attack leaves Paul too scared to even leave the house and he starts taking counselling to help him get over what happened.

The nature of the attack also has him taking hormone pills. Soon...

Released on DVD on March 14th, Savage is the debut feature from writer-director Brian Muldowney and stars Darren Healy (Disco Pigs; Layer Cake) and Nora-Jane Noone (The Day Of The Triffids; The Descent; The Magdalene Sisters) in a gritty and brutal “Straw Dogs”-meets-“Taxi Driver” exploration of violence, obsession and revenge that has been described as “uncompromising… utterly compelling… [and] not for the faint-hearted”.

Dubliner Paul Graynor (Darren Healy) works as a freelance press photographer, visually documenting the day-to-day events of a vibrant city that, like many others, is becoming increasingly hostile and threatening. What Paul doesn’t realise is he is about to become front-page tabloid news himself. Walking home alone at night after a date with Michelle (Nora-Jane Noone), the care worker who is responsible for looking after his ailing father, Paul is accosted and violently assaulted by two youths.

Left unconscious by his attackers, he awakes several...

Irish indie production “Savage” marks the debut of writer-director Brian Muldowney, and is basically a “Taxi Driver” style tale of urban ills and revenge, showing a distinctly non-tourist friendly side to the streets of Dublin. The film features Darren Healy (“Disco Pigs”, “Layer Cake”) in the lead, with support from Nora-Jane Noone (“The Day of the Triffids”, “The Descent”) and various nasty looking young thugs. Having enjoyed a measure of critical praise at festivals, the film now arrives on region 2 DVD via High Fliers Films, coming complete with commentary by and a Q&A session with Muldowney, plus cast auditions. Healy stars as Dubliner Paul Graynor, a press photographer whose trade often brings him into contact with the worst of humanity. One night, walking home after a date with his elderly father’s care worker Michelle (Noone), the poor man is attacked by a couple of particularly vicious youths, who...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Us and Latin American rights to the action comedy The Guard , written and directed by John Michael McDonagh and starring Brendan Gleeson as an unorthodox Irish policeman who joins forces with a straitlaced FBI agent, played by Don Cheadle, to take on an international drug-smuggling gang. Review: Read our review from the Sundance Film Festival! The deal was negotiated on behalf of the producers by Rena Ronson and David Flynn of UTA and Metropolis Film Sales with Sony Pictures Classics. The Guard also stars Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan with Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan and Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene, Slovenian newcomer Katarina Cas, Pat Shortt and Darren Healy. The Guard is produced by Reprisal's Chris...

There’s a huge amount of positive feedback for Savage starring Darren Healy and Nora-Jana Noone. The movie follows the story of Paul Graynor, a press photographer, who becomes victim to a serious crime and in turn becomes the avenger as opposed to the victim. The following cinemas in Ireland are now showing Savage (links included) Eye Galway - http://www.eyecinema.ie/cinemas/timetable.asp?SessionID=B6BFB997580145CC8AC79C4E358FA5C8&cn=1&ci=2&ln=1&fi=5993|1381|0 Gate Cork - http://www.onlinecinematickets.com/index.php?s=Gate&p=details&eventCode=5780 Gaiety Arklow - http://gaietyarklow.onlinecinematickets.com/bookingmovieDetails.tpl?showcode=5780 Gaiety Sligo - http://gaietysligo.onlinecinematickets.com/bookingmovieDetails.tpl?showcode=5780 Omniplex Limerick - http://www.omniplex.ie/cinema/movie/m3356...

'Savage' hits selected Irish cinemas with full force on Friday, September 17th. Written and directed by Brendan Muldowney (The Ten Steps) in his feature film debut, the harrowing film examines the far reaching effects of a violent attack on Paul Graynor, played by Darren Healy (Eamon). Iftn spoke with Brendan Muldowney about making the move from shorts to features and the unsettling areas of inspiration behind 'Savage'. Main protagonist Paul Graynor is an alienated press photographer who lives and works in an unfriendly and threatening Dublin. Falling victim to a random attack Paul finds himself the subject rather than the purveyor of an inner city tabloid story. He tries to come to terms with the attack but the physical and psychological scars refuse to heal.

There’s nothing like a good revenge flick to get the blood pumping. From the looks of the spiffy trailer provided below, writer/director Brendan Muldowney’s 2009 thriller “Savage” is more than willing to provide cinematic adrenaline junkies with more than their fair share of on-screen intensity. Since I’m somewhat of a revenge flick fanatic, my opinion might be more than a little biased. Don’t take my word for it — thoroughly investigate the synopsis and the trailer for yourself. It’ll be fun! Here’s a rundown of the story, courtesy of Twitch: Finding himself the victim of an attack on the wrong side of the tracks of a crime-ridden city, Paul Graynor, (Darren Healy, Once, Layercake) a press photographer who works exploiting the tabloid news, finds himself the focus of it. He tries to come to terms with his attack, though the scars – both psychological and physical — prove impossible to heal.

It's fair to say that I'm more than a little bit fond of Brendan Muldowney's Irish revenge drama Savage, a film graced by a stellar central performance by Darren Healey. And so I was very pleased to see that international sales agents Cinemavault have prepared a new trailer for the film and that it's available online. Check it below.

Finding himself the victim of an attack on the wrong side of the tracks of a crime-ridden city, Paul Graynor, (Darren Healy, Once, Layercake) a press photographer who works exploiting the tabloid news, finds himself the focus of it. He tries to come to terms with his attack, though the scars - both psychological and physical -- prove impossible to heal.

Paul tries to reach out to friends and support groups but finds that he is only a shell of the man he once was and his life begins to fall apart,...

Savage is a revenge film, the likes of which no one has seen in quite some time. In the film, character Paul Graynor (Darren Healy) is castrated in a back alleyway. Not a great way to start a weekend, but a great way to start a film, as Paul searches to find what masculinity really means. The attack is random and some viewers, lucky enough to see the film, will empathize with the character despite Paul being "an unlikeable chap" (Quiet Earth). Savage is already set for a showing at the European Film Market Wednesday February 17th. Those unable to jump on a jet to see the film in Berlin can have a look at the very gritty, and brutal trailer here.

An in-depth plot summary of Brendan Muldowney's Savage here:

"Finding himself the victim of an attack on the wrong side of the tracks of a crime-ridden city,...

London -- Writers/directors Margaret Corkery and Brendan Muldowney, actors Darren Healy and Robert Sheehan, director/producer Tomm Moore and director Ken Wardrop are all in the running for this year's Irish Rising Star Award.

Dished out during the Irish Film And Television Academy awards next month, the rising star award is picked by a special jury and is sponsored by Bord Scannan na hEireann (Irish Film Board).

Corkery's credits include "Eamon" which also stars Healy while Sheehan has appeared in productions including "Cherrybomb" and "Misfits." Moore directed and co-produced "The Secret of Kells" while Muldowney is writer/director on "Savage" and Wardrop is nominated for "His & Hers."

Previous winners include Michael Fassbender who last year waltzed to the jury prize for his star turn in "Hunger." In 2008, Saoirse Ronan secured the trophy after her breakthrough turn in "Atonement."...

London -- Neil Jordan's "Ondine" and "The Eclipse," directed by Conor McPherson lead the pack with eight nominations apiece in the race for film glory at the upcoming 7th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards.

Both Jordan and McPherson will battle it out to win the evening's top director nod while the movies themselves find themselves vying with one another in the best film category.

The pair face John and Kieran Carney ("Zonad") and Jim Sheridan ("Brothers") in the best film director section while "Eamon," "The Secret of Kells" and "Zonad" all present a challenge to "Ondine" and "The Eclipse" in the best film category.

Dished out by the Irish Film and Television Academy at a ceremony in Dublin next month, the IFTAs serve as a timely reminder of the wealth of talent from the emerald isle. Nominees this year include newcomer Darren Healy alongside Colin Farrell, Ciaran Hinds,...

Cinemavault has bolstered its American Film Market (Afm) slate with the Irish thrillers 'Savage', from director Brendan Muldowney (Final Journey), and 'The Disturbed' from Conor McMahon (Dead Meat). Conor Barry of Sp Films, the production company behind 'Savage', tells Iftn: "It is a tremendous opportunity to have a company with Cinemavault's proven ability involved with 'Savage' - a film we are so proud of." Starring Darren Healy (Once) and Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent), 'Savage' tells the story of a news photographer who, following a vicious assault, drifts into derangement as he changes from a victim to a revenge obsessed aggressor. Funded by the Irish Film Board, the film had its world premiere at the Galway Film Festival and was an official selection at the Darklight Film Festival.

Year: 2009

Directors: Brendan Muldowney

Writers: Brendan Muldowney

IMDb: link

Trailer: N/A

Review by: quietearth

Rating: 6.9 out of 10

Savage is an in depth, quiescent character study of an effeminate, male victim after a brutal attack which leaves him questioning his own manhood. Belying the true nature of the film is it's metallic blue sheen, implying the cold, tasteless world, and polished production which loudly declare something the film is not: a revenge flick. While nothing new for it's genre, it does deliver good pacing thanks to the editing, and in the end it does it's job effectively and satisfies in it's seemingly brush one hour and 20 minutes.

Our main character, Paul, is an unlikeable chap. His job makes him a borderline scumbag, and as a result, I was actually looking forward to him getting his inevitable beating. After little about his job and life we get right into the goods,...

Year: 2009

Directors: Brendan Muldowney

Writers: Brendan Muldowney

IMDb: link

Gallery: link

Trailer: N/A

Review by: Alan Maxwell

Rating: 5 out of 10

When photographer Paul Graynor (Darren Healy) is horrifically assaulted one night not far from his own home, he retreats into isolation and watches his life slowly destroyed by the fear that eats away at him. While he ponders not only the acts of his attackers but also the state of society itself his feat gradually mutates into anger and a gritty a determination to clean up the streets is born.

If you've never seen Taxi Driver, or indeed are totally unfamiliar with the concept of a revenge movie, this might just seem new to you. For the rest of us however, Brendan Muldowney's Irish thriller offers a satisfactory diversion for an hour and a half, but little more.

When Shane Meadows made Dead Man's Shoes, there was something...

'Eamon', the debut feature for writer/director Margaret Corkery, which stars Darren Healy (Frankie), Amy Kirwin (The Roaring Twenties) and seven year old Robert Donnelly who plays the title character of Eamon, has been chosen to be screened at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival in the 'Discovery' category. The film, which recently won the Independent Camera Award at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, tells the story of Eamon, a little boy with behavioural problems and the destructive relationship of his parents. Produced by Seamus Byrne of Zanita Films, 'Eamon' was made as part of the Catalyst project.

Margaret Corkery's feature film 'Eamon' wins Independent Camera Award at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 'Eamon' the debut feature for writer/director Margaret Corkery which stars Darren Healy (Frankie), Amy Kirwin (The Roaring Twenties) and seven year old Robert Donnelly who plays the title character of Eamon, has won the Independent Camera Award in the Forum of Independents section at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Margaret Corkery's feature film 'Eamon' has been selected to screen at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (3 – 11 July). 'Eamon' is the debut feature for writer/director Corkery and stars is written and directed by Corkery and stars Darren Healy (Frankie), Amy Kirwin (The Roaring Twenties) and seven year old Robert Donnelly who plays the title character of Eamon.