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Among Paul McCartney’s high-profile musical collaborations in the 1980s, “Ebony and Ivory” is considered by many the worst. But its three minutes and 45 seconds pale in comparison to the excruciating 86 it takes to watch Jim Hosking’s 2025 film of the same name.

From the writer-director of the cult horror film “The Greasy Strangler,” “Ebony and Ivory” parodies the events that led to the legendary 1982 team-up between McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Yet even by the loose standards of cultural satire or even looser, of outsider art, this two-hander about McCartney and Wonder butting heads in a cabin on the Mull of Kintyre ahead of recording the chart-topping song is brutally unwatchable, an Adult Swim short film stretched, either via desperation or willful obliviousness, to feature length.

Sky Elobar and Gil Gex, stars of Hosking’s previous films, play the British and American artists. After Stevie (Gex) arrives by rowboat from across the Atlantic Ocean,...

I just watched an animated movie called Boys Go to Jupiter that was so weird and eccentric, I’m not sure I was in the right headspace to truly appreciate the experience until days later. Then came Ebony and Ivory, a film that might as well have “Nothing can prepare you” as its tagline, because I walked out of the screening asking myself, “What did we just watch?”

No, Ebony and Ivory is not a Hunter S. Thompson fever dream; it is a new film from writer/director Jim Hosking that cannot be labeled or quantified. Sure, “gonzo” seems like an appropriate term. Unhinged may be another. Though I am starting to think batsh*t crazy is more like it.

Ebony & Ivory Review and Synopsis Gil Gex and Sky Elobar in Ebony & Ivory (2024) | Image via Drafthouse Films Gil Gex and Sky Elobar in Ebony & Ivory (2024) | Image via...

Theatergoers are in for a treat as a vibrant lineup of films hits screens from August 5 to August 10, 2025. With genres spanning from chilling horror to heartfelt dramas and colorful animations, this week offers something for every movie lover.

Dive into a mix of new stories, re-releases, and thought-provoking tales. Here’s a rundown of every film arriving in cinemas, complete with details to help you choose your next big-screen adventure.

1. What If… (2010) 10 West Studios

On August 5, Fathom Events brings back ‘What If…’ for its 15th anniversary in a limited release. This 1-hour-51-minute drama, starring Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, John Ratzenberger, and Debby Ryan, blends fantasy and romance. A businessman faces an alternate life guided by an angel, making it a touching pick for fans of emotional stories.

2. Sketch (2025) Morphan Time

‘Sketch’ arrives on August 6 in a limited release from Angel. This 1-hour-32-minute adventure-comedy stars Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden,...

This week, from August 5 to August 10, 2025, theaters are buzzing with a diverse lineup of films. Whether you’re into heartwarming dramas, chilling horror, or vibrant animation, there’s something for everyone hitting the big screen.

Get ready for a mix of limited and wide releases, including nostalgic re-releases and fresh stories. Here’s every movie arriving in theaters this week, packed with details to help you plan your next cinema trip.

1. What If… (2010) 10 West Studios

Originally released in 2010, ‘What If…’ returns for its 15th anniversary with a limited release on August 5 via Fathom Events. This family-friendly drama blends romance and fantasy, following a man shown an alternate life by an angel. Starring Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, John Ratzenberger, and Debby Ryan, the film runs for 1 hour and 51 minutes. It’s a reflective story about choices and second chances, perfect for those who love heartfelt narratives.

2. Sketch (2025) Morphan Time

Hitting...

What begins as a satirical jab at influencer culture soon spirals into a disorienting nightmare in director Danny Jelinke’s Word of Mouth. Blurring the lines between genuine interaction and corporate manipulation, Ana, a lonely young woman, becomes addicted to an AI-driven mobile app, trapping her in a deteriorating world where capitalism doesn’t just influence our behaviour but rewires our very means of communication. Jelinek employs a bright, saturated aesthetic reminiscent of classic teen comedies, creating a deceptive veneer of cheerfulness that makes the encroaching warped ethics and shady behaviour all the more jarring. The glossy, artificial sheen of tech advertising is replicated in every frame, emphasising how seamlessly predatory systems disguise themselves as harmless fun. Yet, as Ana’s gamified reality fractures, so too does the film’s visual language, warping reflections into a grotesque funhouse of consumerist identity and forcing her (and the audience) to confront the...

"Musical legends help each other to make music!" Yes they do. Drafthouse Films has revealed an official trailer for Ebony & Ivory, a wacky fun spoof comedy from British filmmaker Jim Hosking. This initially premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024 last year, and it played at the 2024 Night Visions Film Festival in Finland, and the 2025 Glasgow Film Festival earlier this year. It's a new surreal comedy from The Greasy Strangler director Jim Hosking. Two musical legends gather at a Scottish Cottage on The Mull Of Kintyre for a tense summit to discuss a potential collaboration that will ultimately result in a Global Number One smash hit single. Starring Sky Elobar and Gil Gex. It seems like he's riffing on Milli Vanilli or any of these wonky music duos involving famous artists. Reviews are all over, but this is a fun one: "Don't go into this expecting anything more than a film made by...

"Excuse me lady, have you seen my sock?" What strange creation is this? And where is that sock? A peculiar animated short film titled The Bleacher has arrived online. Created by filmmaking duo Nicole Daddona & Adam Wilder, who run a studio called "Magic Society Pictures" in New York City together, this short film originally premiered at the 2024 Sundance & SXSW Film Festivals last year in the Midnight Shorts section. It's now available to watch for free thanks to our friends at Short of the Week. "Where do your missing socks go?" This very weird, very dark 8-minute animated short is about a woman known as "The Bleacher" who is looking for her missing sock at a laundromat. She gets sucked into the laundry machine then ends up in her own subconscious - where she encounter a very creepy singing dolphin. But, uh, why? Starring the voices of Kate Micucci, Ben Sinclair,...

Before “Ebony and Ivory” premiered at Fantastic Fest, director Jim Hosking took the stage to offer a disclaimer about the weirdness his audience was about to see. “I feel like any time this movie screens anywhere, I have to be there to contextualize it,” he said with a laugh. “Because it’s hard enough to understand without the contextualization.”

Even at a festival that prides itself on programming unclassifiable cinema for an abnormally open-minded audience, Hosking’s comments were probably merited. His latest film is a feature-length practical joke that centers around a false origin story for a 42-year-old song whose relevance only fades with each passing year. In 1982, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder duetted on “Ebony and Ivory” a pop ditty that espoused platitudes about racial harmony by calling on humans to behave more like piano keys. To some, the chorus — “Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony...

Exclusive: Drafthouse Films has acquired worldwide rights to Ebony and Ivory, the latest surreal comedy from writer-director Jim Hosking, ahead of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest.

The move puts Drafthouse back in business with the filmmaker following their collaboration on the darkly comedic cult favorite The Greasy Strangler, which premiered at Sundance. Pic will be released in theaters in 2025.

Continuing in the uncanny, deadpan tradition of Hosking’s past films like The Greasy Strangler and An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, starring Aubrey Plaza and Jemaine Clement, Ebony and Ivory exists in a world where everything is more-than-slightly off, vision is blurred, time starts to melt, and world peace is possible. The Greasy Strangler alums Sky Elobar and Gil Gex star as two musical legends who convene at a remote Scottish cottage to discuss a potential collaboration that may unite an entire generation.

Hosking also produced alongside Denzil Monk,...

Director Eric Mathis of Grime House Films and Drake Teer of Teer/Mathis Productions have unleashed the trailer for their upcoming horror movie INfernal, said to be a “thrilling, heavy metal-infused Faustian tale.” The team promises to deliver a “unique blend of horror, metal music, and monstrous mayhem that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats.”

Having wrapped production, INfernal is now in its final stages, and the team has launched a finishing funds campaign on Indiegogo. At this time, they are 63% of the way to their goal.

INfernal follows the story of four friends – two of whom are undead and one a pig demon from hell – as they race against time to outsmart the Devil himself after a summoning ritual goes disastrously wrong. In a desperate fight to save their souls, these friends must navigate a nightmarish landscape filled with heavy metal fury and demonic terror in order to find “the metal blade,...

Bloody Disgusting has learned that the horror short The Bleacher has been accepted to Sundance 2024, the short set to World Premiere next month in the US Shorts section.

The Bleacher is directed by Adam Wilder and Nicole Daddona, and produced by Zeus Kontoyannis (“Mr. Sam”) and Zeus Pictures. Kate Micucci, Ben Sinclair, and Sky Elobar star.

In The Bleacher, “The disappearance of her sock at a local laundromat sends a fragile Rita over the edge. Hellbent on finding it, she searches deep and gets sucked into a washing machine, entering an otherworldly cycle from which she may never escape.”

The nightmare begins in the exclusive clip below, which sees Rita getting sucked into the washing machine. In the depths of washing machine hell, she encounters the dolphin man…

Here’s a longer synopsis for the bizarre upcoming horror short:

“The self-service laundromat, Frugal Wash attracts a colorful and often disgruntled clientele,...

From director and writer Josh Hasty, the new Fall season slasher flick Candy Corn makes for a fun Halloween treat. Set on the October holiday and featuring several familiar faces from popular slasher movies from the past, the movie is clearly a love letter to some of our favorites from the genre dating back to the '70s and '80s. At a time when the horror genre is filled with nonstop reboots, prequels, sequels, and re-imaginings, it's always great when an entertaining original movie enters the scene, and that certainly applies to the fun popcorn flick that is Candy Corn.

Like every truly great slasher movie, the plot for Candy Corn is fairly simplistic, focusing on a paranormal murderer seeking vengeance on a small town on Halloween night. It follows social outcast Jacob Adkins, who has been made the target of a group of bullies for some good old-fashioned hazing.

After filming the extensive behind-the-scenes documentary In Hell Everybody Loves Popcorn: The Making of 31, writer/director Josh Hasty takes viewers to a small town haunted by a vengeful soul on Halloween weekend in his next film, Candy Corn. Ahead of the movie's VOD and Blu-ray release on September 17th from Epic Pictures and Dread, we've been provided with the film's official poster and trailer to share with Daily Dead readers.

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA, August 16, 2019 – Epic Pictures and Dread are thrilled to release the brand new poster and trailer for Josh Hasty's feature film, Candy Corn, releasing on VOD and Blu-ray on September 17th!

It’s Halloween weekend and a group of bullies are planning their annual hazing on local outcast, Jacob Atkins. When they take things too far, he’s resurrected to seek revenge against those that wronged him.

Candy Corn is written & directed by Josh Hasty (In...

Check out the trailer and poster below for writer/director Josh Hasty’s Halloween-set horror Candy Corn, which is set for release, via Epic Pictures, though their “Dread Presents” banner.

When the annual hazing of a local “freak” goes too far, a traveling carnie takes matters into his own hands and seeks vengeance. He creates a monster hungry for blood. One by one the boys involved in the heinous crime are viciously murdered… and revenge never tasted so sweet.

The films, which stars genre legends Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn), Pj Soles (Halloween) and Tony Todd (Candyman), alongside Sky Elobar, Caleb Thomas, Madison Russ, Cy Creamer, Jimothy Beckholt, Nate Chaney, Patrick Ryan, Justin Mabry, Matt O’Neill, and Jaime Gallagher, is set for a Us release this Autumn.

We've received word that Candy Corn, from Josh Hasty, has been picked up by Epic Pictures and will be distributed through their Dread label. A fall theatrical release is planned for the Us, while the movie is being taken to Cannes next week to seek international distribution. Here's what Josh Hasty had to say about his project being acquired:

"For the last three years of my life Candy Corn has been a labor of love that’s consumed my every waking moment. I had the most incredible team of filmmakers that stood behind my ambitious goals through a very trying and stressful production. When you spend this much time with something you had to consistently keep alive against all odds, the thought of handing it off to a distributor can be horrifying.

I spoke with a lot of interested distributors, but the conversations ended after my first call with the...

After filming the extensive behind-the-scenes documentary In Hell Everybody Loves Popcorn: The Making of 31, writer/director Josh Hasty's next project, Candy Corn, will take horror fans to a creepy carnival on Halloween Eve, and the full cast for the new horror movie has now been revealed, including Tony Todd, Pj Soles, and Courtney Gains.

Press Release: Horror film icons, Courtney Gains, Pj Soles, Tony Todd, and newcomer Pancho Moler, join the previously announced cast: Sky Elobar, Caleb Thomas, Madison Russ, Cy Creamer, Jimothy Beckholt, Nate Chaney, Patrick Ryan, Justin Mabry, Matt O'Neill, and Jaime Gallagher to round-out the full cast announcement of “Candy Corn”

The suspense thriller, “Candy Corn,” is Written, Directed, and Produced by auteur filmmaker, Josh Hasty (Director of “In Hell Everybody Loves Popcorn” and the acclaimed feature length documentary on the making of Rob Zombie's “31”).

The film is produced by Courtney Gains alongside Matt O...

Kelly Hu is set to star in Becoming Ginger Rogers, an indie film, which is being directed by Anna Chi. The romantic comedy is based on the memoir Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO by New York publicist Patrice Tanaka. In the wake of 9/11 and faced with a personal crisis involving her beloved Afghani husband, the Hawaiian-born Tanaka turned to ballroom dancing as an escape. Against all odds she became a sensation on the competitive circuit, rediscovering her true self in the process. Beverly Kopf and Gary Goldstein optioned the novel and will pen the screenplay. Hu, who recently was seen in The Orville on Fox, is repped by Buchwald and Mainstay Entertainment. Chi is repped by Summit Talent & Literary Agency.

Courtney Gains, who...

In 2016, Jim Hosking introduced us to The Greasy Strangler, and now he’s returned with another unique and unforgettable comedy, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn. Featuring a cavalcade of comedy, the film stars Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Craig Robinson, Emile Hirsch, Matt Berry, and Sky Elobar (who also co-starred in The Greasy Stranger). Beverly Luff Linn follows an unsatisfied married woman (Plaza) who is on a journey to reunite with her enigmatic ex (Robinson), all while an awkward hitman (Clement) tags along, and her husband (Hirsch) is hot on her trail.

While at the 2018 Fantastic Fest, Daily Dead chatted with both Hosking and co-writer David Wike about An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, and they discussed their approach to the story, collaborating with the highly talented cast, making unconventional movies, and more.

Congrats on all the success with Beverly this year. It's got to feel pretty good to be...

"Although I don't know quite what's going on, I'm having a great time, Lulu." Universal + Content Group have unveiled the first official trailer for a bizarre, funky, indie comedy titled An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, then also played at the Rotterdam and Galway Film Festivals. This is the second film by Jim Hosking and the follow-up to his uber-weird The Greasy Strangler from a few years ago. Aubrey Plaza stars as Lulu Danger, whose unsatisfying marriage takes a turn for the worse when a mysterious man from her past comes to town to perform an event called "An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn; For One Magical Night Only." The eccentric cast includes Jemaine Clement, Emile Hirsch, Craig Robinson, Matt Berry, Maria Bamford, Sky Elobar, and Jacob Wysocki. This is all just way too weird for me, but I...

Jim Hosking’s 2016 debut “The Greasy Strangler” was as grotesque as it sounded, a gross-out comedy in the vein of John Waters that folded slasher tropes into an unexpectedly resonant father-son bonding tale. His sophomore effort, “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn,” tamps down his gnarlier instincts for viscerally unsettling material and ratchets up the whimsy. The result is sometimes overlong and wears out its welcome, but it clarifies Hosking’s distinctive tone — a playful and often charming blend of outré humor and genuine emotion that makes him one of the most distinctive new voices in current cinema.

See More:The 2018 IndieWire Sundance Bible: Every Review, Interview, and News Item Posted During the Festival

The evening in question provides the climax for a series of oddball circumstances that consume the bulk of the running time. It begins with a slapstick portrait of desperation: Shane Danger (Emile Hirsch), the cafe owner in a rural town,...

“This is disgusting.”

They say you can’t intentionally make a cult film, but you can certainly try. The Greasy Strangler tries very, very hard, and the result is a film that’s as unique as it is odd. We’ll have to wait a decade or so to see if the film is remembered as a cult favorite, but for now we can probably all agree that it’s a ridiculously absurd genre-bender guaranteed to have both fierce advocates and absolute detractors.

Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for…

The Greasy Strangler (2016)

Commentators: Jim Hosking (director/co-writer), Michael St. Michaels (actor), Sky Elobar (actor)

1. The house was actually every bit as disgusting and smelly as it looks. “It’s a shame we don’t have a good shot of the black mold,” says Michaels.

2. Elobar says he gained roughly fifteen pounds for the role “on that belly there.”

3. Big...

Are Australian home entertainment buyers being offered the most extensive and grease-packed blu-ray edition of Jim Hosking's cult film The Greasy Strangler? Monster Pictures have announced the details for their upcoming release of The Greasy Strangler which will arrive in stores on DVD, Blu-ray and Video on Demand March 22nd 2017. It is their two-disc Greasy Down Under Edition that draws the most attention because of how much stuff they have packed onto those two discs. You can only buy this special edition through Jb Hi-Fi and there are only 2000 copies available. Check out the full details below! • Collectable Packaging with Newly Commissioned Artwork & Reversible Sleeve • Audio Commentary with director Jim Hosking, Michael St. Michaels and Sky Elobar •...

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

The Garthim from The Dark Crystal has joined Funko's ReAction figure line and will be available at Toys"R"Us in just a few weeks! We also have details on Splathouse Podcast's discussion of Anna Ishida's I Am a Ghost, the Australian release of The Greasy Strangler, and a trailer for The Hobbyist.

Funko's The Dark Crystal ReAction Figure: From Funko: "Dark Crystal fans, we have one more ReAction surprise for you!

The Garthim is headed to Toys"R"Us in the next couple of weeks!

Available at Toys"R"Us by mid-March!"

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Splathouse Podcast Discuss I Am A Ghost: From Splathouse: "This week Team Splathouse welcomes actor Anna Ishida of 2012's I Am a Ghost into the studio!

The movie's writer/director, H.P. Mendoza, joins us for a conversation about the making of the film.

F This Film's editor-in-chief, Patrick Bromley, swings by with a thoughtful appreciation of the work.

Exclusive: Whether you like it or not, President Trump is happening. Tomorrow, in fact. If you still need a minute to let that sink in, the The Sundance Shorts Program entry American Paradise might help. From writer-director Joe Talbot, American Paradise follows a desperate man in Trump’s America who tries to shift his luck with the perfect crime. Inspired by true events, the short stars Sky Elobar. The production has released a pair of very tonally apropos and…...

Australia’s premier genre film festival Monster Fest wrapped its most successful edition to date last night in Melbourne with official closing film The Greasy Strangler (with actors Sky Elobar and Elizabeth De Razzo in person) followed by its annual awards ceremony acknowledging the best of this year’s impressive lineup.

The features jury, consisting of Fantastic Fest head programmer Evrim Ersoy, filmmaker Donna McRae and longtime screen critic Simon Foster awarded the festival’s top prize, The Golden Monster, to Julia Ducournau’s Raw, with Ducournau in person to accept her award, beautifully designed and sculpted by Rain Gidley Studios. Raw also walked away with an honour for best FX.

“Monsters Choice” audience awards also went to two of Nerdly’s current favourite Ozploitation filmmakers: Stuart Simpson (Monstro!, Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla) for his short Dragon Force; and Addison Heath (Under a Kaleidoscope) for his new feature Mondo Yakuza.

The...

Presented by Deadhouse Films, The 10th annual A Night of Horror International Film Festival, and Fantastic Planet: Sydney Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, screen simultaneously at Dendy Cinemas Newtown from November 24 to December 4, 2016. Says festival director Dean Bertram:

The 10th annual festival is going to be our biggest event yet. Featuring over 100 films, several international filmmaker guests, multiple parties and a horror filmmaking master class; Sydney’s genre fans and filmmaking community are going to be treated to eleven days of the best and freshest horror, sci-fi, and fantasy from around the globe.

The festival opens on Thursday November 24, with the Australian premiere of the international festival hit Peelers, plus a Q&A with special international guest: Canadian director Sevé Schelenz. And in keeping with the spirit of the bloody hilarious film, the screening will be followed by a “zombie and strippers” themed after party.

The closing night film,...

Stars: Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, Elizabeth De Razzo, Gil Gex, Abdoulaye NGom, Holland MacFallister, Sam Dissanayake, Joe David Walters, Sal Koussa, Jesse Keen, Carl Solomon, Dana Haas | Written by Toby Harvard, Jim Hosking | Directed by Jim Hosking

While it is fair to say that some movies are just bad, there are others that are created to Be bad. While for some people, they stay that way, for others they become a self-aware gem of a film that has its own charm… The Greasy Strangler is definitely the latter.

The Greasy Strangler is a tale that follows the lives of Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michales) and his father Big Brayden (Sky Elobar). While taking a group of people on their Disco Walking tour, they encounter Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo) who Ronnie soon falls for. With attention movie away from his father to this new woman in their lives, it soon...

James + Semaj is a column where James Franco talks to his reverse self, Semaj, about new films. Rather than a conventional review, it is place where James and Semaj can muse about ideas that the films provoke. James loves going to the movies and talking about them. But a one-sided take on a movie, in print, might be misconstrued as a review. As someone in the industry it could be detrimental to James’s career if he were to review his peers, because unlike the book industry—where writers review other writer’s books—the film industry is highly collaborative, and a bad review of a peer could create problems. So, assume that James (and Semaj) love all these films. What they’re interested in talking about is all the ways the films inspire them, and make them think. James is me, and Semaj is the other side of me.

One actor recalls reading the script, putting it down and then uttering aloud, "Hell no." Another said that he called the director and asked him, point blank: "What the fuck is this? Are you making a porno, man?" At its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this past January, both the filmmaker and his leading man hastily ran out of their in-progress screening to stress-vomit, while a fellow cast member declared that "the first time I saw, I was appalled."

So what kind of movie is capable of repulsing its cast,...

Jim Hosking’s Us-set feature debut, about a serial killer who smears his naked body in cooking fat before committing murders, is revolting and funny

Bad taste is extruded from this outrageously revolting movie like poisoned mince from a rusty meat grinder. And, despite having neglected to smoke the hundredweight of weed I really needed to appreciate it properly … I did laugh. There’s actually a touch of real inspiration in the final few minutes. It’s the Us-set feature debut from British director Jim Hosking, with Ben Wheatley serving as an executive producer: a macabre display of grossout-grotesque, with a touch of John Waters, Harmony Korine, David Walliams and Matt Lucas. (Little America could almost be an alternative title.) Brayden (Sky Elobar) is a sad, overweight, middle-aged guy who lives with his revolting father Ronnie (Michael St Michaels), a retired disco manager whom Brayden suspects – correctly – of being the notorious Greasy Strangler,...

“You’re such a gross-out, Dad. I might barf,” says Big Brayden (Sky Elobar, “Lady Dynamite”) to his aggressively disgusting father, Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels). And he’s got a point. The pair live in a grimy house, exclusively eat food dunked into sludgy grease, and tend to go about their days in flimsy bikini underwear or completely naked. (The film’s prosthetic penis department deserves recognition for its commitment to the construction of cartoonishly ugly fake genitalia.) When they do put on clothes, it usually comes down to matching pink turtleneck sweaters and knit short-shorts, their uniform for the disco walking.

October is upon us. The leaves are changing. Sweaters are becoming more abundant. Awards contenders are popping up in theaters nationwide. But those are far from the only films opening throughout the coming weeks. Below, you’ll find every planned theatrical release for the month of October, separated out into films with wide runs and limited ones. (Synopses are provided by festivals and distributors.)

Each week, we’ll give you an update with more specific information on where these films are playing. In the meantime, be sure to check our calendar page, where we’ll update releases for the rest of the year. Stay warm and happy watching!

Week of October 7 Wide

The Birth of a Nation

Director: Nate Parker

Cast: Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Gabrielle Union, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Junior, Nate Parker

Synopsis: Set against the antebellum South and based on a true story, “The Birth...

The weird and disgusting genre has always had a home in the midnight film lineup. Enter Jim Hosking and his go at taking over the throne as weirdest and most disgusting midnighter with The Greasy Strangler. Well, good work, Mr. Hosking. The Greasy Strangler is indeed one of the weirdest and absolutely most disgusting midnight movies in memory. It's also funny as fuck. Alright... So, a plot: The rough sketch is that 40-something year old Brayden (aka Big Brayden, aka Sky Elobar) still lives with his father Ronnie (aka Big Ronnie, aka Michael St. Michaels). The father and son duo spend most of their time hanging around home in their undies, cooking up greasy meals, and running their walking disco tour. This tour provides the...

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

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

Another bad weekend where nothing really popped, which is bad news for a month at the box office where only Clint Eastwood’s Sully exceeded any expectations. Tim Burton’s new film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children came out just below my predictions with $29 million, but the Mark Wahlberg-Peter Berg disaster flick Deepwater Horizon was right around where I predicted with $20.2 million. The comedy Masterminds tanked with just $6.5 million for the weekend to end up in sixth place while Disney’s The Queen of Katwe did slightly better than predicted with $2.5 million.

The first full weekend in October has a good deal of competition from the release of the video game Mafia III to the...

From the greasy gore to prosthetic penises, this comedy-horror was an unlikely Sundance hit. But, as its creators explain, there’s more to it than shock value

“To me, the film is a sexy comedy.” Writer-director Jim Hosking is musing on the appeal of his debut full-length feature. It’s an interesting point of view but, as descriptions go, it does little to prepare anyone for entering the world of The Greasy Strangler, a film whose leads, Ronnie (Michael St Michaels) and Brayden (Sky Elobar), are quite possibly the grossest and most unfathomably peculiar father-and-son team in movie history. Think Steptoe & Son as reimagined by John Waters and you’re edging towards the right ballpark. But still not that close.

Related: The Greasy Strangler review – a playful oasis of filth and depravity...

While there may be a serious lack of theatrical horror coming our way this Halloween season, fear not genre fans, as we have over 15 different horror and sci-fi titles making their way onto smaller screens this October, which should help take the sting off a bit. Several great films I happened to catch earlier on this year at various festivals – The Greasy Strangler, In A Valley of Violence and Under the Shadow – are all making their VOD debuts this month, and you also have the remastered version of Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm and the series final sequel, Phantasm: Ravager, to look forward to as well.

Other notable VOD releases for October 2016 include The Windmill, The Unspoken, ClownTown, Fear, Inc., Vampyres, Halloweed, and Goddess of Love from Jon Knautz (The Shrine, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer).

ClownTown (ITN Distribution) – October 4th

Clowntown tells the story of a group of friends who get...

Ever wanted to see a John Waters movie scored by Gene Belcher? That’s The Greasy Strangler. Chaos and perversion reign in premium fashion, almost challenging audiences to walk out on Jim Hosking’s “daring” feature debut. Non-continuity purists should throw their hands in the air and praise their new god. Life as you know it, does not relate to The Greasy Strangler, yet somehow all the dick-waving and throat-collapsing works (against all odds). Each line of ludicrous lingo and disgusting act of deprivation. All the vulgar descriptions of cum-drenched partners and atrocities against morality. No single scene is suitable for general audiences, so strap in for the weirdest cinematic watch of 2016 – or ever.

Sky Elobar plays Big Brayden, a walking disco tour guide who lives and works with his father, Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels). There’s a murderer on the loose dubbed The Greasy Strangler (because he covers...

2Nd Update (9/23, 3:23 Pdt): An earlier version of this article listed Elle Evans as the actress who plays the title role in The Love Witch. That distinction in fact goes to Samantha Robinson. We regret the error. Update (9/22, 11:37 Pm Pdt): The same day this article was published, Paramount pushed back the release date for Rings from October 28 to February 3, 2017. Original Article: Fall has traditionally been viewed as the prime time of year for the horror film, but this summer was actually a pretty good one for the genre, with movies like The Conjuring 2, Lights Out, and the surprise smash Don't Breathe doing gangbusters business in the midst of blockbuster season. But the year's not over yet! With September in full swing, there are a number of worthwhile (and, yes, questionable) titles looming on the release calendar over the next three months. Below, you can find a rundown of 12 upcoming horror films,...

Cavity Colors' new Halloween apparel is here! Also, in today's Horror Highlights, a look at The Evil Gene, Australia's Monster Fest 2016 details, and a new trailer / screening details for Jessica Cameron's Mania.

A Look at Cavity Colors' New Halloween Apparel: From Cavity Colors: "Here at Cavitycolors, we sort of live in the world of Halloween and Horror all year long. It's something that surrounds us on a daily basis, whether it's in our studio, in our home, or on our television screen. It lives in our hearts, and it's something we consider sacred and magical, and a large part of our creative process. We've always got a case of the Pumpkin Brains!

The term "Everyday Is Halloween" isn't just a term used to describe your spooky surroundings, it's a magical feeling that exists deep down inside. Like fluttering bats in your stomach instead of butterflies. That moment when you...

Set in Los Angeles, The Greasy Strangler follows Big Ronnie, a man who runs a disco walking tour along with his son, Brayden. When a sexy, alluring woman named Janet comes to take the tour, it begins a competition between father and son. It also brings about the appearance of an oily, slimy, inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent — soon dubbed “the Greasy Strangler.” The off-kilter feature film debut by writer/director Jim Hosking features performances by Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, and Elizabeth De Razzo as well as prominent genre film producers including Theo Brooks, […]...

An unconventional love triangle and a bizarre killer are teased in the latest, very Nsfw trailer for Jim Hosking’s The Greasy Strangler.

“This Los Angeles–set tale follows Big Ronnie, a man who runs a disco walking tour along with his browbeaten son, Brayden. When a sexy, alluring woman named Janet comes to take the tour, it begins a competition between father and son for her attentions. It also brings about the appearance of an oily, slimy, inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent—soon dubbed “the Greasy Strangler.”

Flush your expectations down the toilet, because you have never seen a slasher film or a father-son comedy like this before. Writer/Director Jim Hosking has made an outrageously off-kilter feature film debut that is equal parts disgusting, offensive, and manically entertaining. Featuring performances by Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, and Elizabeth De Razzo that are destined for cult status,...

For those of you who are still curious about seeing The Greasy Strangler, I've got a new Nsfw trailer for you to watch which is outrageously nauseating. I saw a portion of the film at Sundance, and it was so awful that I couldn't sit through the whole thing. I wrote up my experience with what I saw of the film here, and if you watch this trailer you'll see firsthand why I felt the way I did about this movie.

I get that there's an audience out there for films like this, but this movie was obviously not for me. If you like what you see in this trailer, though, then by all means, go out and watch the film! Maybe you'll enjoy it.

The Los Angeles-set tale follows Ronnie, a man who runs a Disco Walking tour along with his browbeaten son, Brayden. When a sexy, alluring woman comes to take the tour,...

In typical fashion, 2016’s Sundance Film Festival rolled out a diverse range of cinematic experiences – the bankable crowd-pleasers, the breakout hits and the divisive pictures that, similar to Swiss Army Man, split attendees right down the middle.

One film to emerge from the latter bracket was Jim Hosking’s The Greasy Strangler, a vivid and downright surreal feature capable of intriguing and disgusting within the space of two minutes flat. Don’t believe us? A decidedly Nsfw trailer has found its way online today, which does at least offer up an inkling of the film’s core premise. You know, once you scrape aside the lard and mucous-like goop, not to mention braving the borderline gratuitous sex and nudity.

If nothing else, The Greasy Strangler is poised to go down as perhaps the most remarkable film of 2016 thus far purely because of its balls-to-the-wall style. It features Michael St. Michaels as Big Ronnie,...

"Kiss my cheeks, cherry lips." FilmRise has released a second trailer for the wacky horror film The Greasy Strangler, which premiered at Sundance this year to quite a bit of acclaim. The first teaser trailer for this was pretty messed up, focusing more on the gore and gross side of this film. This new trailer is packed full of sex and nudity, the kind you don't want to see, but that's what this film is all about. The surreal horror stars Michael St. Michaels as Big Ronnie, along with Sky Elobar as Big Brayden, plus Elizabeth De Razzo and Gil Gex. It's about an aging disco enthusiast who turns into a creepy, grease-covered strangler at night. The other story twist revealed in this trailer is the brutal father-son rivalry for the same woman. Get greasy. Here's the new highly-nsfw official trailer for Jim Hosking's The Greasy Strangler, from YouTube: The Los Angeles-set "surreal,...

This Los Angeles-set tale follows Big Ronnie, a man who runs a disco walking tour along with his browbeaten son, Brayden. When a sexy, alluring woman named Janet comes to take the tour, it begins a competition between father and son for her attentions. It also brings about the appearance of an oily, slimy, inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent...Soon dubbed The Greasy Strangler!

Flush your expectations down the toilet, because you have never seen a slasher film or a father-son comedy like this before. Writer/Director Jim Hosking has made an outrageously off-kilter feature film debut that is equal parts disgusting, offensive, and manically entertaining. The movie features performances by Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, and Elizabeth De Razzo.

The Greasy Strangler is destined for cult status, and today we have the gruesome Red Band trailer. This sick and twisted Drafthouse release...

Following its premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, Jim Hosking’s The Greasy Strangler will be released in theaters and on VOD by FilmRise on October 7th. Ahead of its upcoming Us release, a new poster for the film has been unveiled, showing Big Ronnie and his son, Brayden, posing for an awkward family photo.

“This Los Angeles–set tale follows Big Ronnie, a man who runs a disco walking tour along with his browbeaten son, Brayden. When a sexy, alluring woman named Janet comes to take the tour, it begins a competition between father and son for her attentions. It also brings about the appearance of an oily, slimy, inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent—soon dubbed “the Greasy Strangler.”

Flush your expectations down the toilet, because you have never seen a slasher film or a father-son comedy like this before.

There are so many words that can describe The Greasy Strangler, Jim Hosking's feature directorial debut: gross, vile, disturbing, demented, cheap, disgusting, offensive, flatulent. I'm probably leaving out another hundred or so. But damned if I wasn't thoroughly entertained by this uproariously funny film that defies description. It may be difficult to grasp considering how extreme it is, but at its heart the film is a touching story about the often awkward father-son relationship.

Michael St. Michaels (with a whopping 9 acting credits since 1974 on IMDb) plays Ronnie, a disco walking tour owner whose son, Brayden (Sky Elobar), works and lives with him. Ronnie's dietary habits are not healthy, to say the least: let's just say he enjoys a little bit of food with his grease. Whe [Continued ...]...

In less than one month, Bruce Campbell’s third annual Horror Film Festival will return to Chicago for its third year of celebrating horror movies both old and new. This year’s lineup includes Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe and Darren Lynn Bousman’s Abattoir, the world premiere of Found Footage 3D, a 30th anniversary screening of Night of the Creeps, and much more:

Press Release: Rosemont, Ill., June 22, 2016— Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival, presented by Starz and their hit original series Ash vs. Evil Dead, returns for its third annual festivities on August 18-21, in conjunction with Wizard World Chicago. Today, the Festival announced highlights of the groovy lineup, sponsored by Shudder and Bloody-Disgusting.com, featuring the critically acclaimed opening night nail-biter Don’t Breathe, directed by Fede Alvarez; a salute to genre hero Fred Dekker; an epic event featuring comedian Doug Benson; and a 25th anniversary...

Rated ‘G’ for excessive greasiness, the first trailer for Jim Hosking’s (The ABC’s of Death 2) horror-thriller The Greasy Strangler has landed, and it’s definitely not safe for work – maybe not even safe for life.

Starring Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar and Elizabeth De Razzo, the surreal and nutty flick enjoyed a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, garnering more “Wtf” reviews than just about any other film on the festival slate. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is something we’ll leave to you.

Set against Los Angeles, it’s Michael St. Michaels that takes point as Big Ronnie, a man who knows a thing or two about the mythical Greasy Strangler – an “oily, slimy inhuman maniac” that stalks the shadows and quite literally beats the innocent to a pulp.

Expect wonderful weirdness in spades when The Greasy Strangler launches...

Earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, I attempted to watch a movie called The Greasy Strangler. I couldn’t sit through the whole thing because it was one of the most nauseating and vile films that I’ve tried to watch. I've only walked out of three films in my life, and this was one of them. I wrote a first impression review/rant of it and an explanation of why I walked out of it that you can read here if you want. Normally I enjoy strange, odd, and unique films, but this one just rubbed me in all the wrong way in all the wrong places.

The first very red-band teaser trailer has been released for the film, and it pretty much represents everything that I hated about what I saw in this movie. I’m sure people are going to watch the film out of curiosity.