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It’s a brand new year, and Deep Cuts Rising is back to spotlight less talked about horror movies. The first installment of 2024 features selections reflecting the month of January.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings feature zombies, a killer New Year’s party and more.

Knife of Ice (1972)

Image: All but too late, Ida Galli (as Evelyn Stewart) spots the knife-wielding killer behind her in Knife of Ice.

Directed by Umberto Lenzi.

Giallo fans have designated both January and July as months for celebrating the genre. So it’s a great time to get acquainted with these stylish mysteries. Novices will naturally be drawn to the more popular and acclaimed filmmakers that gialli have to offer — Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci — but others like Umberto Lenzi shouldn’t be disregarded.

The acclaimed German shocker Sleep (2020) will be available on Blu-ray January 25th from Arrow Video

Nightmare and trauma. Fear and repression. Guilt and atonement. Weaving together the emotional violence of horror with the cryptic motifs of German folk and fairy tales, Arrow Video is proud to present Sleep, the debut feature from a major new talent in world cinema.

Tormented by recurring nightmares of a place she has never been, Marlene cannot help but investigate when she discovers the place is real. Once there, she suffers a breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric ward. Determined to discover what happened to her, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), her daughter, follows and finds herself in Stainbach, an idyllic village with a dark history. What is it that so tormented her mother, and the people of Stainbach? What is the source of the nightmares she suffers? And who is the mysterious Trude that lives in the forest?...

While there are many streaming services fighting for your attention, Arrow has the most eclectic collection of horror, sci-fi, exploitation, and cult films, and they're bolstering their collection with new titles every month.  Michael Venus' Sleep is a brand new release on Arrow and we have the exclusive trailer reveal that you can watch right now!

"Tormented by recurring nightmares of a place she has never been, Marlene cannot help but investigate when she discovers the place is real. Once there, she suffers a breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric ward. Determined to discover what happened to her, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) her daughter, follows and finds herself in Stainbach, an idyllic village with a dark history/secret. What is it that so tormented her mother, and the people of Stainbach? What is the source of the nightmares she suffered? Who is the mysterious Trude that lives in the forest?...

Hello, everyone! While I’m sure you’re a little bummed out that Halloween is officially over if you’re anything like me, we do have a bunch of great new genre movies headed to Digital, VOD, and various streaming platforms throughout the month of November that should hopefully get you through these dark, Halloween-less times. As usual, Shudder has several great exclusive titles headed to their platform in the coming week (this writer is personally thrilled to see The Strings finally getting a release after falling in love with it during the 2020 festival season), and there are also a few films that you can finally catch up on if you missed them in theaters earlier this year. Plus, there are tons of previously unreleased genre goodness to enjoy, too.

Be sure to check out our list of all the new horror and sci-fi headed to various digital platforms and...

What would you do if you learned that the place you keep seeing in your nightmares is real? If your answer is that you would stay far away from it and try to avoid ever seeing or hearing its name again, you're probably not cut out for this film, nor for anything else on the Fantasia 2020 slate. Michael Venus has described his creation in opposition to the Heimatfilm yet it retains some quaint Germanic qualities, folkloric in style and, like many a Grimm tale, full of characters whose salvation or downfall is rooted in their curiosity.

It also follows in the tradition of Psycho and Lost Highway, switching heroines partway through. When Marlene (Sandra Hüller) is left severely traumatised by her visit to the mysterious Stainbach, her daughter, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), decides to investigate in turn, staying in the same Sonnenhugel Hotel, where she promptly experiences some...

Stars: Sandra Hüller, Gro Swantje Kohlhof, Max Hubacher, August Schmölzer, Marion Kracht, Agata Buzek, Martina Schöne-Radunski, Katharina Behrens, Andreas Anke | Written by Michael Venus, Thomas Friedrich | Directed by Michael Venus

Tormented by vivid nightmares she believes are real, Marlene (Sandra Hüller) starts piecing together her oneiric visions. Assembling nightmarish sketches, maddening notes, and recollections gathered throughout the year, she makes her way to a remote hotel in the peaceful village of Stainbach. There, the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place, and she suffers a nervous breakdown. Worried about her mother’s condition, her 19-year-old daughter Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) heads to the psychiatric ward to find her. Coming from the city, the small town’s atmosphere is immediately uncanny. At the hotel – around which everything seems to gravitate – the staff is friendly and helpful. But soon, a well-kept secret and an old curse are uncovered, which, if awakened,...

Psychological drama marks the feature debut of Michael Venus.

Global Screen is to handle international sales on Michael Venus’ feature debut Sleep (Schlaf), a psychological drama starring Sandra Hüller and Gro Swantje Kohlhof.

The film, co-written with Thomas Friedrich, has a cast led by Hüller, known to international audiences for her starring performance in Oscar-nominated Toni Erdmann, and Kohlhof, a co-lead in Carolina Hellsgård’s zombie horror Ever After (Endzeit).

The duo play a mother and daughter in the drama, which centres on three generations of women fatefully connected and is set in a village community in northern Germany’s...

What if humanity’s apocalypse wasn’t the world’s end? We’ve become so used to treating ourselves as rulers of this planet despite knowing so little about it and the surrounding universe while also doing our best to destroy everything we touch. So what are we truly besides another in a long line of species with no greater hold on Mother Nature than the last? Our demise doesn’t therefore have to be by our own hand and hubris. Perhaps those two things merely place our heads on the chopping block for fate to enter. Instead of hoping to survive a viral zombie outbreak, maybe we should welcome it as an earned necessity. Instead of fighting tooth and nail to stop our demise, maybe our death ensures Earth’s continued life.

In this way the last line of young Renata’s (Amy Schuk) prayer as remembered by her...

Title: Nothing Bad Can Happen ( “Tore tanzt”) Drafthouse Films Director: Katrin Gebbe Writer: Katrin Gebbe Cast: Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, Swantje Kohlhof Running Time: 110 minutes, Special Features: “Tore Tanzt: A Conversation With Julius, Katrin and Verena”; interview with director Katrin Gebbe; 12-page booklet; theatrical trailer; digital download of the film. Available: 10.14.14 Disclaimer: Thar be spoilers. Inspired by true events. Tore (Julius Feldmeier) has recently joined a religious organization of punks called The Jesus Freaks. After getting baptized, he and his friend Owl stop by a broken down van and a helpless family inside. Tore walks up to them and offers his help, by laying [ Read More ]

The post Nothing Bad Can Happen Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

After scooping up the New Auteur Award at AFI Fest 2013, Nothing Bad Can Happen continued to garner a decidedly divisive response upon a limited theatrical release (which began after the Cannes premiere in 2013 Un Certain Regard Sidebar, where the jeers were as resounding as the guffaws, with director, cast, and Ucr President Thomas Vinterberg in attendance). At best a lurid conversation piece about despicable tendencies in human nature and at worst a hopelessly exploitative examination of based-on-a-true event terror, Gebbe’s film is a slippery slope of degradation with a heavy dose and conjecture and assumption.

Gebbe’s debut doesn’t quite reach the same levels of finesse as uncomfortably similar fare and often tries too hard to be shockingly provocative, sometimes at the expense of some narrative and character development. Nevertheless, Gebbe’s film never loses its choke-hold and will have you squirming uncomfortably until its final frames.

Tore...

How far does your faith stretch? If you’ve never considered your answer to that question, I highly recommend watching Katrin Gebbe’s Nothing Bad Can Happen. The writer and director’s feature-film debut is a powerfully poignant meditation on that very question. This recommendation, however, comes with a warning of great caution. You are likely to be offended, but this is perfectly fine.

This German film’s original title is “Tore tanzt,” which translates in English to “Tore dances.” Tore, being the film’s central character, is played by Julius Feldmeier. Tore is a pale, lanky teenager who somewhat resembles Napoleon Dynamite. In an effort to find meaning and purpose in his life, Tore joins a religious group in Hamburg, Germany who refer to themselves as The Jesus Freaks. Tore is perfectly at home amidst the group, but it is apparent he is truly a lone sheep existing within a pack of wolves.

Having faith is easy, but maintaining that bond with and belief in a higher being is where the real test lies. And it's a cinematic theme that's almost as old as the medium itself, but writer/director Katrine Gebbe finds a fresh spin on it with "Nothing Bad Can Happen." Debuting at the Cannes Film Festival last in year in the Un Certain Regard category, it marked a promising start for the director's first feature, and now it's coming stateside for those intrigued by thrillers underscored by big ideas. Based on a true story, and starring Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, Swantje Kohlhof, Til Theinert, Daniel Michel, and Nadine Boske, "Nothing Bad Can Happen" tells the tale of young Christian punk Tore, who falls into living with a dysfunctional family. And it's here where the trouble begins, when the man of the house initiates a series of games,...

Book of Job 2: Gebbe’s Divisive Debut High Brow Torture Porn

The only German entry in 2013’s Cannes film festival also happened to be one of the most grueling with Katrin Gebbe’s debut, Tore Tanzt (Nothing Bad Can Happen), which is bound to inspire as much derision as it does praise. Unfortunately, Gebbe’s debut doesn’t quite reach the same levels of finesse as uncomfortably similar fare and often tries too hard to be shockingly provocative, sometimes at the expense at some narrative and character development. Nevertheless, Gebbe’s film never loses its choke-hold and will have you squirming uncomfortably until its final frames.

Tore (Julius Feldmeier) is a kindly drifter who we assume has been abandoned by his family like many of the ragtag misfits in the group he is now affiliated with known as The Jesus Freaks. Living (or maybe even squatting) in what looks...

A fresh batch of images from the highly acclaimed horror drama Nothing Bad Can Happen, directed by German filmmaker Katrin Gebbe, ended up in our inbox; and we decided to share before anything bad could happen. The flick will be getting a June 27th release in Los Angeles and New York with an expanded national roll-out to follow.

Nothing Bad Can Happen stars Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, and Swantje Kohlhof.

After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Nothing Bad Can Happen was met with praise and awards such as:

AFI Fest 2013 (Won – New Auteur Award)

Fantastic Fest 2013 (Won- “Next Wave” Spotlight Competition,” Best Actress)

German Film Critics Association 2014 (Won – Best Feature Film Debut, Best Actor)

Bavarian Film Festival 2014 (Won – Best Young Direction)

Tallinn Black Night Film Festival 2013 (Won – Best Youth Film)

Zurich Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

São Paulo International Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

Synopsis:

Inspired by horrifying true events,...

The official theatrical artwork and trailer have arrived for the highly acclaimed horror drama Nothing Bad Can Happen, directed by German filmmaker Katrin Gebbe. The flick will be getting a June 27th release in Los Angeles and New York with an expanded national rollout to follow, so be sure to check your local listings when the time comes.

Nothing Bad Can Happen stars Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, and Swantje Kohlhof.

After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Nothing Bad Can Happen was met with praise and awards such as:

AFI Fest 2013 (Won – New Auteur Award)

Fantastic Fest 2013 (Won- “Next Wave” Spotlight Competition,” Best Actress)

German Film Critics Association 2014 (Won – Best Feature Film Debut, Best Actor)

Bavarian Film Festival 2014 (Won – Best Young Direction)

Tallinn Black Night Film Festival 2013 (Won – Best Youth Film)

Zurich Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

São Paulo International Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

Synopsis:

Inspired by horrifying true events,...

Highly acclaimed horror drama Nothing Bad Can Happen, directed by German filmmaker Katrin Gebbe, is getting a June 27th release in Los Angeles and New York with an expanded national rollout to follow, and right now we have several stills and the first clip from the film to share.

Nothing Bad Can Happen stars Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, and Swantje Kohlhof.

After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Nothing Bad Can Happen was met with praise and awards such as:

AFI Fest 2013 (Won – New Auteur Award)

Fantastic Fest 2013 (Won- “Next Wave” Spotlight Competition,” Best Actress)

German Film Critics Association 2014 (Won – Best Feature Film Debut, Best Actor)

Bavarian Film Festival 2014 (Won – Best Young Direction)

Tallinn Black Night Film Festival 2013 (Won – Best Youth Film)

Zurich Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

São Paulo International Film Festival 2013 (Official Selection)

Synopsis:

Inspired by horrifying true events, Nothing Bad Can Happen follows Tore,...

Shine on, kids! The full schedule for the Stanley Film Festival, which runs at the iconic and historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Co, April 24-27, has been announced; and we have all the details you need right here. Dig it!

From the Press Release

The Stanley Film Festival (Sff), produced by the Denver Film Society and presented by NBC Universal's Chiller, announced today its Opening Night film and several special event highlights and experiences taking place at the four-day event (April 24-27, 2014).

The Stanley Film Festival celebrates the best in independent horror cinema at the hotel that inspired The Shining. The Festival will host a full slate of films, panels, competitions, and special events - all at the beautiful and historically haunted Stanley Hotel.

The Stanley Film Festival will open Thursday, April 24, with a Gala Presentation of an original documentary from EPiX, Doc of the Dead. Directed by Colorado...

The Stanley Hotel launched its first annual Stanley Film Festival last year and put together an impressive group of horror films and guests. After initially announcing Doc of the Dead as their opening film, we now have the full programming list, which includes screenings of The Sacrament, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, and much more:

“The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today its full line-up and schedule. As previously announced, Doc of the Dead will open Sff. The festival, taking place April 24-27, will close with the mockumentary from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), What We Do In The Shadows, about a house of vampires trying to get back in touch with modern society. Throughout the four-day celebration of the best in horror cinema, Sff will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels,...

I’ve returned from Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, but the festival keeps on running until the end of the day tomorrow, September 26. And, like any self-respecting festival, there have been awards announced for various films and the people involved in their creation. The only award I can say I had even a slight hand in was the Audience Award–ballots were handed out after each public screening over the first four days of the festival. Sadly, though, I can’t even say that my votes mattered, as the Audience Award winner was a film I sadly didn’t get a chance to see. It’s Jodorowsky’s Dune, a documentary about a film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Of course, as we all know, that version never came to fruition, as the actual film was directed by David Lynch. But the story...

Austin's Fantastic Fest announced their winners yesterday with Frank Pavich's documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" taking the audience award. Ari Folman's "The Congress" won the best picture in the Fantastic Features category along with best screenplay and best actress for Robin Wright, while "Afflicted" scored best picture, best screenplay and best director in the Horror Features section. Read More: Why Fantastic Fest 2013 Is a Goodie Bag of Fun For Genre Fans The "Next Wave" award which spotlights emerging filmmakers recognized "The Dirties" for best picture, best director for Oren Carmi ("Goldberg and Eisenberg" ), best screenplay for James Byrkit ("Coherence"), best actor for Yorick van Wageningen ("The Resurrection Of A Bastard"), and best actress for Swantje Kohlhof ("Nothing Bad Can Happen"). Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the U.S. and specializes in horror, fantasy, and sci-fi features. The full list of winners follows. Audience Award (Presented by.

Fantastic Fest 2013 announced this year's award winners.  Jodorowky's Dune won the audience award as well as Best Documentary.  In the "Fantastic Features" category, Ari Folman's The Congress won Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress (Robin Wright).  Afflicted owned the horror category, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.  Why Don't You Play In Hell picked up Best Picture and Best Director in the comedy category. Hit the jump for the full list of winners. Audience Award (Presented by Maxwell Locke & Ritter) Jodorowsky's Dune (director Frank Pavich) "Next Wave" Spotlight Competition Presented By Dell Precision Best Picture: The Dirties (director Matt Johnson) Best Director: Oren Carmi (Goldberg and Eisenberg) Best Screenplay: James Byrkit (Coherence) Best Actor: Yorick van Wageningen (The Resurrection Of A Bastard) Best Actress: Swantje Kohlhof (Nothing Bad Can Happen) Fantastic Features Best Picture: The Congress (director Ari Folman) Best Director: David Perrault (Our Heroes Died...

Frank Pavich’s Jodorowsky’s Dune won the Fantastic Fest audience award and claimed best picture prize in the Documentary Features section.Scroll down for full list of winners

Ari Folman’s The Congress was named best picture and that film’s Robin Wright won the best actress prize in the Fantastic Features strand.

Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s Afflicted dominated the Horror Features section, winning best picture, screenplay and directors.

In the Next Wave Spotlight competition, Matt Johnson’s The Dirties was named best picture, while Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play In Hell? prevailed in the Gutbuster Comedy Features’ best picture contest.

In Fantastic Fest’s inaugural genre co-production market, Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastic, Cuban filmmaker Alejandro BruguésThe Wrong Place won Gold Prize.

The Wrong Placebeat 15 other submissions at the market, which ran from September 19-21, and will receive a production support package comprising products and services provided by Panavision, Chemistry, Assimilate...

Editor’s note: Our review of Nothing Bad Can Happen originally ran during this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but we’re re-running it here as it plays Fantastic Fest. One of the most loudly-jeered though curiously little-discussed films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was first-time director Katrin Gebbe‘s Nothing Bad Can Happen, the single German film playing at 2013′s fest. For sure, it’s controversial material, guaranteed to divide audiences on whether or not it is in fact a criticism of religious sectarianism or merely a depiction of humanity’s dark heart. Tore (Julius Feldmeier) is a young man who has fallen in with so-called Jesus Freaks, a punk Christian sect basing themselves out of a house in Hamburg. Though an awkwardly unassuming sort, Tore one day makes acquaintance with an affable family man, Benno (Sascha Gersak), and decides to move into his home, where he meets and forges a connection with Benno...