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The Chattanooga Film Festival returns for its 12th annual edition from June 20–28, and its recently unveiled first wave of programming proves that this killer fest is showing absolutely zero signs of slowing down. Known for championing the offbeat, the terrifying, and the downright unclassifiable, Cff 2025 promises to be one of the year’s most exciting showcases of horror and genre.

Kicking things off with a splash, Cff’s 2025 Opening Night selection is the U.S. premiere of Hot Spring Shark Attack, a bonkers horror comedy from Japan presented in partnership with Utopia. The aquatic carnage continues post-screening with a full-blown indoor beach party featuring surf rockers Big Kahuna, tropical drinks courtesy of Cathead Distillery, and a karaoke clambake that promises everyone gets lei’d.

But as with anything great in life, sharks are just the beginning…

This year’s slate features an electrifying mix of world and U.S. premieres,...

With Jaws turning 50 this year, there’s blood in the water for shark horror. That includes Hot Spring Shark Attack; the Japanese feature has been acquired for North American release by Utopia, per Deadline.

Because sharks are synonymous with summer horror fum, Utopia is planning a summer 2025 rollout. Though release dates have yet to be announced.

Hot Spring Shark Attack (aka Onsen Shâku) takes place in “a small hot spring town in Japan, a ferocious ancient shark reawakens and begins terrorizing the local hot spring facilities. As the threat escalates, the townspeople band together to protect their beloved town from the menacing predator, leading to a fierce and thrilling battle.”

The horror comedy marks the feature directorial debut of writer/director Morihito Inoue. The cast includes Takuya Fujimura (One Cut of the Dead), Daniel Aguilar (Shin Godzilla), Shôichirô Akaboshi, Masaki Naito, Koichi Makigami, Kiyobumi Kaneko, and Mio Takaki.

In Japan,...

Exclusive: It’s fifty years since Jaws was released and U.S. distributors are getting in the mood. Utopia, the domestic buyer of movies including Pet Shop Days, Shiva Baby, and Holy Spider, is plunging into new waters with the acquisition of Hot Spring Shark Attack (aka Onsen Shâku).

Utopia has acquired North American rights to the Japanese shark film and is planning a summer 2025 rollout. The deal was negotiated by Candace Tan, Director of Acquisitions, on behalf of Utopia and Akiko Uchida, Acquisitions and Sales, of King Record.

Hot Spring Shark Attack is set in a small, hot spring town in Japan, where a ferocious ancient shark reawakens and terrorizes the local hot spring facilities. As the threat escalates, the townspeople band together to protect their beloved town from the menacing predator.

The thriller-comedy marks the directorial debut of Morihito Inoue, two-time winner of the National Independent Kaiju Film Championship.

To close 2024, we’re focusing on Mutant Academy, a Richmond rap collective that had a strong calendar year and is looking to push even further after the release of Keep Holly Alive, a November project that the crew views as its first official group album. The nine-man collective features rappers Big Kahuna Og, Henny L.O., and rapper-producer Fly Anakin, as well as fellow producers Ohbliv, Graymatter, Foisey, Sycho Sid, Ewonee, and Unlucky Bastards. They’ve collaborated among one another on dozens of projects since their 2014 formation, but the 18-track...

"There's one final test - a test of your spirit." Madman Films in Australia has revealed a new 20th anniv. trailer for the beloved New Zealand classic Whale Rider. It originally premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, which is the date they're using for the anniversary, despite not opening it theaters until 2003. The indie film ended up earning an impressive 20 million at the box office in 2003 after playing for months in art house theaters. Spunky and determined 12-year-old Paikea, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, must both challenge tradition and embrace the past in order to find the strength to lead her people forward in this critically acclaimed story of bravery, perseverance, and whānau. It's a contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny that her grandfather refuses to recognize. Keisha Castle-Hughes even went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on Star 96.7 Wssr-fm reviewing the new Blu-Ray edition of “Back to the Beach,” the 1987 parody of Frankie and Annette beach movies from the 1960s, featuring of course Frankie and Annette.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello portray offbeat fictional versions of themselves, married and stuck in Ohio after Frankie (nicknamed the Big Kahuna) wiped out on a monster wave called the Cowabunga from Down Unda, and left the California Beach to raise rebellious Bobby (Demian Slide) and grown daughter Sandi. When Frankie and Annette go back in California to visit Sandi, the old wave meets the new wave.

Extras: Watch anywhere Digital Movie Code, Special Feature “Filmmaker Focus” spotlighting Director Lyndall Hobbs.

’Back to the Beach’ on Blu-Ray

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed “Back to the Beach” during the Eddie Volkman...