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There’s nary a drop of blood, but a squirm factor of 10 to much of “The Clovehitch Killer.” This first theatrical feature for director Duncan Skiles, working from a strong screenplay by his past collaborator Christopher Ford, treads familiar ground in eking suspense from the viewpoint of a child who realizes a parent may have a sinister secret life. But this atypical serial-killer thriller distinguishes itself in resisting thrills — let alone any actual violence — till well past its halfway point, instead maximizing the quiet discomfort in a son’s rising suspicion that his outwardly Dagwood-type dad could be a notorious murderer. IFC Midnight plans simultaneous limited-theatrical and digital-formats release of the La Film Festival-premiered film on Nov. 18.

Skiles, Dp Luke McCoubrey, and the visual design contributors lend a vaguely ’70s aura to the goings-on, though the time appears to be “now.” This underlines a sense that the community in question,...

Spanish horror film Para Elisa (For Elisa) will arrive on DVD and VOD on September 1st. But, the DVD-palooza doesn't stop there. Also in this round-up: Honeyspider and Cop Car DVD release details and Howl-o-Scream 2015 details.

Para Elisa: Press Release: "A job at a magnificent house owned by a famous musician seems too good to be true – and it is – in the tension-filled horror film Para Elisa. The acclaimed new Spanish film comes to DVD and VOD on September 1, 2015, from Dark Sky Films.

Desperate for some post-graduation cash, party girl Ana (Ona Casamiquela, Eva) answers a babysitting ad. She arrives for an interview at the elegant home of Diamantina (Luisa Gavasa, Flesh Memories), a former child prodigy pianist who is now an eccentric old woman who collects antique toys and dolls. Ana is disturbed by Diamantina’s odd behavior and horrified to discover that her child, Elisa (Ana Turpin,...

The amount of information a director gives an audience about a film's characters is tricky. You don't want to over explain, resulting in a film that feels clunky and too reliant on exposition. But you also don't want to hold back too much, leaving the audience without an entry point to then empathize with the characters' conflicts. Sparseness can be admirable, giving us only the barest essentials of "need to know" information, but simply giving us a character and a basic personality trait is not enough. Cop Car steps over the line of getting to know the characters one too many times, often feeling like the people in the story are pieces to a puzzle, not real people. However, the patient, assured pacing and delicate tension-building almost makes up for that misstep. Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) are a couple of ten-year olds running away from home. Though,...

A corrupt small-town sheriff is on the hunt for two runaway kids who took his car on a joy ride in Cop Car, an unnervingly funny thriller now available on Digital HD and On Demand, and debuting on Blu-ray and DVD on September 29, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Starring Golden Globe-winner Kevin Bacon (Footloose, Mystic River) and directed by Jon Watts (the upcoming Untitled Spiderman Reboot), Cop Car is “A midnight movie blast!” according to Russ Fischer of Slashfilm.

When a pair of 10-year-olds find an abandoned cop car in a field and take it for a joyride, it seems like they could kill themselves at any moment. But things only get worse when the small-town sheriff goes looking for his missing car—and the illicit cargo he left in the trunk—and the kids find themselves at the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse they don’t understand.

"Cop Car" (August 7)(Film Page) Director: Jon Watts Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, Shea Whigham Criticwire Average: B- Why is it a "Must See"? Ever since it was announced that Jon Watts would be tackling Marvel and Sony's "Spider-Man" reboot, all eyes have turned to the writer-director's debut indie, "Cop Car," which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The road thriller finds Kevin Bacon in predator mode after two young boys stumble across his abandoned cop car in a secluded glade and take it for a joy ride. The deadly cat-and-mouse game that follows moves at a tightly wound pace, thanks to editing by Megan Brooks and Andrew Hasse, and it's especially involving anytime the focus shifts on the two boys. The story manages to create a formidable sense of threat from its very first scenes, and what the kids find in the...