News

The Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival has always been a space for cinema that pushes boundaries, disrupts worldviews, and leaves a slippery residue of viscera on the screen—during a festival otherwise dominated by predominantly highbrow, highly serious selections. As the fest turns 50 this September, the program’s disregard for good taste, social norms, and any semblance of staying inside the box shows zero signs of changing.

It’s no wonder TIFF’s Midnight Madness/Strange Cuts program was recently ranked first in Dread Central’s definitive list of the 90 Best Genre Fests on Earth (in a three-way tie with Fantasia and Sitges, respectively).

To prepare for this year’s lineup, I sat down with TIFF Midnight Madness lead programmer Peter Kuplowsky to break down the salacious selections—from the nastiest and most shocking titles to the grim, macabre, and everything in between. Kuplowsky is partly...

Oklahoma auteur Mickey Reece is back at Fantasia 2025 with his latest work of outsider art, in the neon-tinged ‘80s-infused cyber thriller, Every Heavy Thing. Joe (Josh Fadem) lives a pretty milquetoast life in Hightown City , USA. Peddling ads in the local alt weekly mag by day, waiting at home for his longtime girlfriend Lux (Tipper Newton) to finish her nurse shift at the hospital by night. When co-worker Paul (Chris Freihofer) asks if he wants to come out and see sultry chanteuse Whitney Bluewill (Barbara Crampton) at the jazz club, Joe has no excuse not to go. After putting on a great show, Joe bumps into Whitney outside having a smoke. He pays her a compliment, a shot rings out, and his life...

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

Fresh off the film’s premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival last night, the official trailer has arrived for Mickey Reece’s (Climate of the Hunter) genre-bending film Every Heavy Thing.

Horror legend Barbara Crampton is part of a cast including Vera Drew, John Ennis, Josh Fadem, Tipper Newton, and James Urbaniak.

Fantasia previews, “Mickey Reece’s distinctively absurdist humour has long left its imprint on Fantasia audiences through cult favourites like Country Gold, Agnes and Climate of the Hunter. With his latest feature, Reece returns with a pitch-black comedy set against the unsettling backdrop of a string of disappearances, with local women vanishing without a trace.

“The film follows Josh Fadem as Joe, an unassuming office worker at an online periodical who becomes entangled in a conspiracy after witnessing a murder. As a colleague begins to investigate, Joe struggles to conceal the truth, as his carefully constructed life falls apart.

Watch the Short Film Love You Mama: "After the sudden death of her father, a young woman becomes haunted by the uncertainty of the world around her."

Starring:

Madeleine Arthur

Samantha Sloyan

Matt Biedel

Written and Directed by:

Alexandra Magistro

Produced by:

Christopher Langston

Connor Tkachuk

Cole Hewlett

Edited by:

Mike Flanagan

Director of Photography:

Tyler Walzak

Production Designer:

Jessica Baese

Music by:

The Newton Brothers

---

Watch the Short Film Witchy: "A broken-hearted teenager learns an important lesson about fidelity and family from an immersive Halloween experience that may or may not be organized by an actual witch.

Written, Directed, Cast and Produced by Liz Manashil

Produced by: Robby DeVillez, Elena Weinberg

Executive Producers: Emily Hagins, Brett and Drew Pierce

Executive Producers: John Brazel, Jacob Manalan, Aaron Nemoyten

Director of Photography: Elizabeth Yarwood

Production Designer: Marcie Maute

Editor: Sam Hook

Music by: Amy Summers

Visual Effects: Lily Gareth Cunningham...

Chicago – The Midwest Film Festival (Mff), in collaboration with Cinema-Luz Collective, presents Analog Night on Monday, June 26, 2023, showcasing the beauty and craftsmanship of this distinct medium at the Gene Siskel Film Center. As a form of art that is both nostalgic and demanding, analog filmmaking is experiencing a media-wide resurgence. Click Analog for tickets and more information.

The line-up is Mousetrap (director Griffin A Sauter), Madonna (Lua Borges), The Fall Of Cannonsville (Charles Cadkin), The Dog And The Dentist (Matt Gehl), The Dangerous Type (Tipper Newton), The Great Wake (Charlie Klipp and Mario Cassem), Make A Memory, (Texas Smith) and Galinha (João Pereira-Webber). The program begins with networking at 6:30p, screening and Q&a starting at 7:30p and followed by an After-Party.

’Analog Night’ at the Midwest Film Festival

Photo credit: MidwestFilm.com

The Midwest Film Festival has been a staple in Chicago’s film community for 19 years,...

Buying your first home can be daunting to say the least. In addition to worrying about how much your new home is going to cost, you also wonder what your new neighbors will be like and if your kids will be able to make friends in the neighborhood. You might also want to make sure your new house doesn’t have a bizarre, murderous history, just to be safe.

These are some of the things Adam, played by Ryan Hansen, and Margo, played by Melissa Tang (The Kominsky Method), are faced with when they move into their first home in the horror comedy Who Invited Them. Written and directed by Duncan Birmingham in his feature film debut, Who Invited Them agilely alternates between being unnerving and hilarious, thanks to witty writing and a remarkably entertaining cast.

Adam and Margo are understandably nervous about moving into their new home and decide...

Greg Garcia, the creator of My Name Is Earl and TBS show The Guest Book, is giving new meaning to the term pay TV.

Garcia will select one of his Twitter followers to receive $10,000 to present to their favorite charity, as well as a collectible copy of Earl’s list from My Name is Earl. He also plans on giving up to $50,000 to the Red Cross for Hurricane Michael relief.

How can you get aboard this gravy train? Details below:

Win $10,000 for your favorite charity & Earl’s List! (One of the few used on the show) Retweet Now & from Oct 23-26 reply with a picture of you watching The Guest Book premiere on TBS. Winner picked Oct 27. You get the list & your charity gets the $$$. #theguestbook #karmacontest pic.twitter.com/W8yf7fKP3Z

— Greg Garcia (@whoisgreggarcia) October 21, 2018

Everyday from now until the premiere of The Guest Book on TBS...

TBS’ The Guest Book has booked three new regular residents for Season 2 along with a slew of guest stars. The Turner-owned cable net also has set an October 23 premiere date for the Greg Garcia comedy and released the first trailer; check it out above.

In the small oceanside community of Mabel Beach, vacationers who stay at the Bare Feet Retreat record their confessions, alibis and farewells in the cottage’s guest book. They are hosted by town locals Bodhi, Nikki and Tommy — played respectively by Jimmy Tatro (American Vandal), Kimiko Glenn (Orange Is the New Black), and Dan Beirne (Fargo). They are the new season’s series-regular actors; as planned with every new season of The Guest Book, Season 2 features a new town, new series regulars and new guest stars.

Carly Jibson and Eddie Steeples are returning for the sophomore season. She plays Vivian, the scheming bikini bar owner who...

Is “Uncle Kent 2” the craziest movie sequel ever? That’s what our own Eric Kohn wrote of the film when it debuted at SXSW back in 2015, and going off even the most basic of synopses, it sure sounds like the Todd Rohal feature might rank right up there with the big guys.

Wait, a Todd Rohal feature? But didn’t Joe Swanberg direct “Uncle Kent”? What sort of madness is this? It’s “Uncle Kent” madness. Swanberg does direct the first 12 minutes of the film, before passing it over to “Catechism Cataclysm” director Rohal, who takes things very much in his own direction. See? Wild.

Read More: Kent Osborne Explains the Crazy Logic Behind ‘Uncle Kent 2’ and the ‘Adventure Time’ Connection

Per the film’s official synopsis: “In a desperate search to create a follow-up to Joe Swanberg’s 2011 film ‘Uncle Kent,’ Kent Osborne travels to a comic...

Stars: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Chad Villella, Hannah Marks, Fabianne Therese, Nathalie Love, Mather Zickel, David Yow, Tipper Newton | Written and Directed by Radio Silence, Roxanne Benajmin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath

Southbound is yet another horror anthology from the people behind the V/H/S trilogy. However unlike that series of films, Southbound actually gets things right. Perfectly right.

Southbound opens and closes with Radio Silence’s The Way Out and The Way In (in that order). A book-ending tale that introduces us to two men on the run, being chased across the desert by ethereal, skeletal grim reapers from which there is no escape. Especially when the pair stop at a gas station… We return to the same tale for the closer, discovering why the pair are on the run and why they are being haunted. Radio Silence’s opener The Way Out really sets the tone for the rest of the film,...

*full disclosure: an online screener of this film was provided by Orchard TV. **there is one spoiler after the review. Directors: Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath and Radio Silence. Writers: Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Susan Burke, Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath. Cast: Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Hannah Marks, Tipper Newton, Brad Miska and Kristina Pesic. Southbound is an indie horror anthology film, from four directors. Patrick Horvath, of The Signal (2007) fame, brings one of four stories. Though, an initial viewing would make the film appear as if it is five short films; the circular ending brings the film back upon itself. Southbound also brings an inconsistent morality to the screen as one good character finds escape, while another does not. The film also keeps its characters' histories and motivations hidden. This makes an interpretation of the plot difficult. But, the writers do agree on a trapped theme.

The American Film Institute announced today the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema’s Legacy programs at AFI Fest 2015 presented by Audi.

AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.

World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...

For those of you uninspired ramblers who have been searching for a horror anthology that truly revs your engines, Southbound is an inviting attraction along a road lined with many generic places to stop. From the minds of Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, and the Radio Silence collective come five tales of open-road horror set to the soothing voice of Larry Fessenden’s DJ narration, and the ride is surly a worthy one. The segments rarely skip a beat, and showcase the same drifting intrigue that’s created by a desolate stretch of highway that connects them all. Nothing good ever happens in the middle of nowhere, but this series of gleefully unfortunate events tends to argue otherwise with the help of some gruesome tricks, brainwashed minds, and a few skeletal demons worth a fright.

The film starts with a hellish car chase dubbed “The Way Out,” which follows...

Today’s film is the 2007 short The Timebox Twins. The film is written and directed by Tipper Newton, who also stars in the short alongside Joe Swanberg. Swanberg has been steadily building a reputation for himself in the critical community, both as an actor and director, over the past 8 years, with his most visible work being in the 2012 horror anthology V/H/S, which he contributed to in both capacities. His work can be seen in front of the camera in You’re Next, as well as behind it in Drinking Buddies, both of which open in wide release in American theatres this weekend.

****

The post Sunday Shorts: ‘The Timebox Twins’, starring Joe Swanberg appeared first on Sound On Sight.

“The finacialization of the capitalist economy implies a growing abstraction of work from its useful function, and of language from its bodily dimension. Desire is diverted from physical contact and invested in the abstract field of simulated seduction, in the infinite space of the image.”

—Franco “Bifo” Berardi in The Uprising, On Poetry and Finance

For those who came of age in the nondescript 2000s, an era characterised by securitarian paranoia and lack of future prospects, Joe Swanberg’s Lol (2006) might as well read as their very own (purposeless) existential manifesto. A generational pamphlet that, in tune with its times, neither affirms nor negates, let alone criticizes, its predicament, but simply registers the vacuum within which it occurs. It is the Western vacuum of the 21st century whose first decade was marked by a tangible curb in the forward surge of pop cultural history. Cinema, but also music and literature,...

After watching the trailer for The Oregonian I can't get those bizarre sounds out of my head. The strange sounds almost put you in a trance like state, or maybe more of a psychedelic journey. The trailer is full of odd imagery and appears to be one of those artsy horror films. That's not surprising since the director Calvin Reeder played in art-punk bands the Popular Shapes and the Intelligence. Last year The Oregonian premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and if you missed it like most of us you will be able to catch the horror movie on VOD starting January 17, 2012. The Oregonian is written and directed by Calvin Reeder and stars Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs and Matt Olsen.

One freaky looking flick that caught our attention at last year's Sundance Film Festival was The Oregonian. Missed it? Still confused by the film's stills? No worries as the flick is on its way to VOD!

That's right, weirdos. The Oregonian will be arriving on various VOD platforms including iTunes (link below) on January 17th.

If you're at all familiar with the short films of filmmaker Calvin Reeder (Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada), then you already know that when it comes to being disturbing, few out there do it better.

Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen star.

Synopsis

Leaving behind a desultory and possibly abusive existence, a beautiful farm girl, known only as The Oregonian (Lindsay Pulsipher), rushes headlong into an unknown future. Her getaway is cut short when she rams her car into an embankment. Shocked and confused, The Oregonian walks away...

Here’s the official 2011 Sundance Film Festival one-sheet for Calvin Lee Reeder’s The Oregonian, which stars Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen.

There is a place. A place where the skies are wide and the forests are thick–and strange. You can lose yourself forever in these woods. You’ll meet truckers with problems and old women with strange powers. You may even make a furry friend. Just be sure to stay quiet. Spend some time with a woman from Oregon who is lost on the road and running away from her past. Now she has a chance to experience everything the grotesque Northwest has to offer, whether she likes it or not.

The films comes from director Calvin Reeder, who’s previously freaked out viewers with his films Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada. Let’s just say I’m really looking forward to this one…...

With the 2011 Sundance Film Festival literally right around the corner, the promo material for the few horror flicks playing there this year is slowly rolling out. Next up, the official festival one-sheet for Calvin Reeder's freaky looking flick, The Oregonian.

If you're at all familiar with the short films of filmmaker Calvin Reeder (Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada), then you already know that when it comes to being disturbing, few out there do it better.

Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen star.

Synopsis

There is a place. A place where the skies are wide and the forests are thick--and strange. You can lose yourself forever in these woods. You'll meet truckers with problems and old women with strange powers. You may even make a furry friend. Just be sure to stay quiet. Spend some time with a woman from Oregon who is...

Oregon looks like a beautiful place...the trees, the lakes and rivers, gorgeous coastline and open spaces. I imagine it's the kind of place you just stand, looking at your surroundings and breathing in nature. Peaceful.

Then I watched this freakyass, Lynchian trailer for Calvin Reeder's (The Rambler) first feature, The Oregonian and I'm thinking, thank Godtopus I'm not a country girl. Set to premiere at Sundance 2011, the film invites us to "spend some time with a woman from Oregon (Lindsay Pulsipher, "True Blood") who is lost on the road and running away from her past. The woman survives a bad car accident, but after seeing this thing, I'm not convinced that's a good thing.

And if that wasn't enough to mess with your mind, Bloody Disgusting has a few very strange photos - here's just one:

The Oregonian also stars Robert Longstreet (Pineapple Express), Barlow Jacobs (That Evening Sun...

No, it's not one of our Wtf Friday goofs, but it is strange enough to have you scratching your head mildly confused and totally intrigued! Get ready for some really strange new stills for Calvin Reeder's The Oregonian.

If you're at all familiar with the short films of filmmaker Calvin Reeder (Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada), then you already know that when it comes to being disturbing, few out there do it better.

Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen star.

Synopsis

There is a place. A place where the skies are wide and the forests are thick--and strange. You can lose yourself forever in these woods. You'll meet truckers with problems and old women with strange powers. You may even make a furry friend. Just be sure to stay quiet. Spend some time with a woman from Oregon who is lost on...

The 2011 Sundance Film Festival taking place January 20-30 is approaching fast so the promo materials for all the flicks showing there are coming at a nice steady pace! Next up -- the trailer for Calvin Reeder's The Oregonian.

If you're at all familiar with the short films of filmmaker Calvin Reeder (Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada), then you already know that when it comes to being disturbing, few out there do it better.

So what's it all about? We have a really simple and quick description for you - "After surviving a brutal car accident, a simple farm woman limps down the road into the nightmarish unknown."

Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen star.

Dig on the trailer below courtesy of Twitch Film!

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Throw some blood on yer...

If you're at all familiar with the short films of filmmaker Calvin Reeder (Little Farm, The Rambler, Snake Mountain Colada), then you already know that when it comes to being disturbing, few out there do it better.

That's why we're so excited for his feature film debut, The Oregonian, featuring Lindsay Pulsipher, Robert Longstreet, Tipper Newton, Barlow Jacobs, and Matt Olsen. At this point we're not even sure how much of a horror film this is going to be, but knowing Reeder, at the very least the subject matter will be horrific!

At press time there's nothing out there right now. Not even a synopsis. Just the blood-stained stills you see below. We'll be keeping an eye on things for you, and if more coverage is warranted, more coverage is what you'll be getting.

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Throw some...

Dan Brown's short film Pierre took home the grand jury prize and the Animate-It award at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival's fourth annual SXSWclick Festival Friday. Other winners in each juried category were David Serota's Ubuntu (Really Real Shorts), Andrea Giacomini's Always Near (Sound Checks) and Tipper Newton's The Timebox Twins (What the F*#!?). Will Elliott's Petersons Savings and Loan took home both the juried Old School Shorts award and the Popularity Contest award, by earning more than 1,000 online votes. All winners are viewable at www.sxswclick.com.