News

It is said that political power often grows out of the barrel of a gun. The story in this Max Isaacson movie is about the small eponymous town of Paradise, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. But the real drama unfolds between a sheriff father and his rebellious daughter, Ella. Ella got this reputation as the quickest gun in town. But her old man, being the sheriff, isn’t exactly thrilled about her carrying guns everywhere. Anyway, just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, tragedy strikes. The sheriff, Ella’s own father, gets gunned down. The question arises: who is responsible? Could it be the same gang led by Lee Page, who previously took the lives of Ella’s mother and brother? Or perhaps there is another conspiracy going around? As we delve into the heart of Paradise, we seek to uncover the truth – Is this...

“Paradise”, described as a ‘modern western’ crime thriller is directed by Max Isaacson, starring Patricia Allison, Bashir Salahuddin, Myles Evans, Tate Donovan, Arjun Gupta, Adam Lustick, C.J. Hoff, and Tia Carrere, streaming March 21, 2024 on Tubi:

“…’Ella Patchet’ is a young punk who imagines herself a modern-day gunslinger. With more bullets in her six-shooter than friends in her life, her only anchor is her father, the local sheriff of their backwater paradise. But when he is murdered, Ella’s fragile world collapses.

“As the town reels from the loss, the mayor brings in outside law enforcement to handle the investigation, where all leads point to the return of a ruthless drug runner from her father’s past. Despite her doubts, and fueled by grief and rage, Ella sets out on a path of vengeance. In her quest for justice, Ella learns that the pursuit of power knows no bounds, and...

Marked slates includes Romi, Falling Stars.

Toronto-based genre specialists Raven Banner have acquired worldwide sales rights to Max Isaacson’s genre-bending Paradise and has introduced to AFM buyers this week.

Patricia Allison (His Dark Materials), Tate Donavan (Ghosted) and Tia Carrere (True Lies) star in the comedy western as Ella Patchet, a rebellious punk and the fastest gun around in a small island town.

When corrupt officials cover up the murder of her father Dan, the town sheriff, Ella embarks on a rage-fuelled quest for justice. Paradise is in post.

Raven Banner will also introduce Robert Cuffley’s horror Romi,...

“Sex Education” star Patricia Allison has joined Tate Donovan (“Rocketman”) in anti-colonial Western “Paradise.”

Produced by Sydney-based BroSis and Blimp Worldwide, “Paradise” is set in Hilo, Hawaii, and tells the story of Ella Patchet (Allison), who has a reputation for being a rebellious punk and the fastest gun around. Her only family is her father, Dan, the local sheriff. When corrupt officials cover up his murder, Ella’s need for justice disrupts her small island town of Paradise.

Allison, who broke out in Netflix drama “Sex Education,” stars alongside Bashir Salahuddin (“Glow”), Arjun Gupta (“The Magicians”), Adam Lustick (“Corporate”), Cj Hoff (“Outcast”), Myles Evans (“Dickinson”) and Tia Carrere (“Wayne’s World”).

The film is directed by Max Isaacson and written by Tony Borden, based on a story written by the pair. The film is being produced by Ian Morland and Zach Carver for Blimp Worldwide and

BroSis, with Alvaro R. Valente as executive producer.

Is this your first year attending Fantastic Fest? Are you lost in a sea of options? Do you have no clue where to turn because all your friends and family are watching the latest Kardashian escapade instead of attending the most epic film festival in existence?

Don’t worry you’re safe here. For your ultimate guidebook, I’ve polled a seasoned group of experts known as The Fantastic Fest Fiends. Below are the top five things you need to know for Fantastic Fest.

#5 – Tip the Alamo staff and be nice to volunteers.

I hear if you even sniffle a rude comment to a member of the staff, Krampus will take a break from promoting his new self-titled, holiday film to come eat your soul.

But seriously, these people are working ridiculously long shifts, and slaving away to pull off an amazing festival that goes practically around the clock for two weeks straight.

You ever think you’d see a horror film featuring hands with faces on them? Well, the time has come. Our latest Fun Size Horror short film is here and it’s about a hand with a face named Bertrand who ate some bad eggs and now has an unusual stomachache. This one was written and directed by Max Isaacson. He only just finished directing his first short film, Whispers, but he has credits on a number of other shorts, a bunch of which I’ve actually seen and loved. He did special effects on the SXSW 2013 Midnighter, The Apocalypse, and was also the production designer on Tick Tock Time Emporium. Hit the jump to check out Isaacson’s Fun Size Horror contribution, “Bad Eggs,” and don’t forget, you can find more Fun Size Horror films on Dread Central, Bloody Disgusting, Shock Till You Drop and Badass Digest. We...

Our Fun Size Horror lineup continues with “Still Alive” directed by Jackson Lanzing. Lanzing is a screenwriter and comics creator primarily known as the co-writer of Freakshow (w/ David Server) and Hacktivist (w/ Collin Kelly and Alyssa Milano). Other comics titles include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Naa, Maze Runner, and Penguins of Madagascar. He is also the creative director at Jump! Creative, an award-winning production and marketing company in Los Angeles. Still Alive represents his first directorial work in five years. Hit the jump to check out Lanzing’s Fun Size Horror segment, “Still Alive.” It stars Mary Kate Wiles and Jocelyn Kelvin. Hurry! It's only up for 24 hours! Here's the synopsis for Still Alive: Based on the Arcana graphic novel Marlow by Aaron Nelson, Still Alive follows two survivors of a zombie apocalypse as they meet for the last time. One is a soldier, the other a relief worker.

Our Fun Size Horror lineup continues with “Ninja Masters.” I've actually known director Jackson Stewart for some time now (and was assigned this short randomly), so while I can tell you that he's one of Larchmont Village's most accomplished raconteurs, you might be more interested in his official bio. Jackson Stewart is a writer/director hailing from Tucson, Arizona. He's written for the SyFy channel, the CW and the web series Black Box TV. Recently, his short film Sex Boss premiered at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Additionally, he's beaten Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 for Nintendo without the aid of Game Genie or cheat codes. Hit the jump to check out Stewart’s Fun Size Horror segment, “Ninja Masters.” It stars Brea Grant (Rob Zombie's Halloween 2), Megan Lee Joy, Katie Stegeman (Contracted) and Erin Braswell. Hurry! It's only up for 24 hours! Here's the synopsis for Ninja Masters: A night of cult...

Our Fun Size Horror lineup continues with “Voice.” This one is about an eerie voice that torments a young woman and is actually made by the former editor-in-chief of ScreenCrave, Mali Elfman. Back in 2010 Elfman wrote, produced and acted in her first feature film, Do Not Disturb. Since, Elfman’s produced a bunch of short films and is also the executive producer on Mike Flanagan next feature, Somnia, due out in 2015. Hit the jump to check out Elfman’s Fun Size Horror segment, “Voice.” And don’t forget, “Voice” will only be available for 24 hours and then in comes the next Fun Size Horror short film. Here’s the synopsis for Voice: “Voice is a short horror film about a young woman who goes to find her voice, but instead, it finds her first... and it wants to play.” Like what you see? Here’s what we’ve got...

As we told you a couple of weeks ago, Collider is teaming up with a little something called Fun Size Horror, a collective of talented filmmakers who love the genre. It isn’t easy getting independent films off the ground, so Zeke Pinheiro figured, he knows a whole bunch of folks eager to make movies, so why not pool all their resources and make them together? That idea resulted in the completion of 31 short horror films. But even then, there’s the issue of distribution and that’s where Collider, DreadCentral, BloodyDisgusting, ShockTillYouDrop and HitFix come in. Beginning October 27th, each outlet will unveil a new Fun Size Horror short. That short will be available for 24 hours and then after that period, a new short film will take its place. Hit the jump for more on the initiative and to check out the Fun Size Horror poster as well. There...

In just one week the fourth annual Telluride Horror Show kicks off in picturesque Telluride, Co, with Ben Ketai’s anticipated trapped-in-a-mine thriller Beneath rounding out the weekend.

Other films in the line-up include All Hallow’s Eve, a Halloween-based anthology that features the return of the demonic Art the Clown, who was first seen in the terrific short film Terrifier; Jesse T. Cook’s subversive and incredibly divisiveSeptic Man; and the World Premiere of Chemical Peel, directed by Grand Junction, Colorado, native Hank Braxtan.

Joining the fest will also be Guest Director Phil Tippett, who will be on hand to present a special sneak preview of Phil Tippett’s Mad God: Part 1, a surrealistic stop-motion nightmare featuring hundreds of detailed puppets. He will also present a special screening of his short film Mutantland.

For more info visit the official Telluride Horror Show website, "like" Telluride Horror Show on...

The features that make their premiere at Fantastic Fest tend to get much of the attention, but don’t forget that you’re likely to see some great short films at the event as well. Fantastic Fest is known for their extensive short film selection and this year is no different:

“Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the short film lineup for the ninth edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 19th- 26th in Austin, Texas at Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline. Short films provide an outlet for filmmakers to showcase their genre talents in a format with fewer restraints, making them a Fantastic Fest favorite. Fantastic Fest is wildly excited that longtime festival comrade Kier-la Janisse is now our lead shorts programmer. Kier-la created the notorious CineMuerte Film Festival in Canada, and was the first full-time film programmer for the Alamo back in the “wild west” days. She has since gone on...