News

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

For December 2024, we’re celebrating the end of the year with a stocking full of Strange Holiday TV Specials and Seasonal Midnight Movies.

First, read the Bait: a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film. Then, try the Bite: a breakdown of the movie’s ending, impact, and any other spoilers you’d want.

The Bait: Santa Wouldn’t Touch This House with a 10-Foot Pole

The week between Christmas and New Year can be notoriously sleepy, and when it comes to holiday horror, evil Santa imposters are a dime a dozen. So why not spice up your seasonal viewing with stockings of a different stripe, and slip on the wildly unsettling “Better Watch Out”? Directed by Chris Peckover, this home invasion flick from 2016 sees the masked killer...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s time to see brilliant classic movies, but if you are not in the mood to see Home Alone or Jingle All the Way for a millionth and want to see some adult movies. We at CinemaBlind have prepared a list of 11 best R-rated Christmas movies you can check out.

Violent Night (Starz & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Universal Pictures

Violent Night is a Christmas action comedy film directed by Tommy Wirkola from a screenplay co-written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. The 2022 film follows Santa Claus as he comes across a wealthy family’s compound, where an elite team of mercenaries has kidnapped the family on Christmas Eve. Violent Night stars David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, and Beverly D’Angelo.

Die Hard Credit – 20th Century Fox

Die Hard...

Alexandra Keddie, Drew Weston and Gemma Bird Matheson in ‘The Housemate.’

Frustrated with the scarcity of job offers, two years ago young actors Gemma Bird Matheson and Alexandra Keddie decided to launch their own production company, Chips & Gravy Films.

Their maiden production was The Housemate, an affectionate take on The Bachelor. They spent several thousand dollars of their own money to make a 4-minute teaser, in which they played friends who are searching for the housemate of their dreams, posted it online and got 260,000 views in the first week.

So they sent the teaser to Rick Kalowski, then the ABC’s head of comedy, who called them within 30 minutes and quickly commissioned a series of 6 x 5′ episodes for iview.

Since then the duo have created four or five projects which are in development with Screen Australia, while Matheson also performs in plays (currently the Griffin Theatre Company’s Superheroes...

Stars: Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton, Olivia DeJonge, Dacre Montgomery, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic | Written by Zack Kahn, Chris Peckover | Directed by Chris Peckover

On a quiet suburban street tucked within a ‘safe neighbourhood’, Ashley has turned up to babysit 12-year-old Luke for the evening while his parents are out for a Christmas party night. Ashley is Luke’s favourite babysitter and he’s looking forward to spending time with her again. Suddenly a brick crashes through the window reading ‘U Leave, U Die’ and they hear someone sneaking around the house upstairs…

Where to begin with Better Watch Out? A film that starts as your typical, cliched seasonal slasher: two teens trapped in a house by a madman outside, who eventually breaks in to terrorise his victims. If the film had stuck with that story it would have been, judging by what we saw, an Ok entry in...

Santa Claus isn't the only one making house calls this holiday season... A Home Alone-esque take on the holiday horror subgenre, Chris Peckover's Better Watch Out is out now on Digital HD, DVD, and Blu-ray Combo, and to celebrate the film's home media release, we've been provided with five Blu-ray / DVD combo pack copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers!

---------

Prize Details: (5) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray / DVD combo pack copy of Better Watch Out.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Better Watch Out Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Well Go USA is making sure that Santa Claus isn't the only one making house calls this holiday season, as they'll be releasing the Home Alone-esque holiday horror comedy Better Watch Out on Blu-ray and DVD beginning December 5th.

Read on for more details in the official press release, and in case you missed it, read Heather's review of Better Watch Out, check out her interview with co-writer/director Chris Peckover, and read her fun chat with co-star Ed Oxenbould.

Press Release: Plano, Texas. (November 1, 2017) – Better Watch Out, the critically acclaimed horror-comedy that “puts the carnage into Christmas” (Entertainment Weekly), debuts on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD December 5 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Holiday cheer and Home Alone get a decidedly dark spin when a babysitter must protect her charges from a terrifying home invasion. Directed by Chris Peckover (Undocumented), Better Watch Out stars Olivia Dejonge (Scare Campaign...

Better Watch Out

Stars: Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton, Olivia DeJonge, Dacre Montgomery, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic | Written by Zack Kahn, Chris Peckover | Directed by Chris Peckover

On a quiet suburban street tucked within a ‘safe neighbourhood’, Ashley has turned up to babysit 12-year-old Luke for the evening while his parents are out for a Christmas party night. Ashley is Luke’s favourite babysitter and he’s looking forward to spending time with her again. Suddenly a brick crashes through the window reading ‘U Leave, U Die’ and they hear someone sneaking around the house upstairs…

Where to begin with Better Watch Out? A film that starts as your typical, cliched seasonal slasher: two teens trapped in a house by a madman outside, who eventually breaks in to terrorise his victims. If the film had stuck with that story it would have been, judging by what we saw, an...

It’s Christmas and songs of carolers are in the air of a quaint suburban neighborhood populated by houses big enough to list four bedrooms yet safe enough to not need alarms. Perfectly imperfect families live inside them like the pulls-no-punches Deandra (Virginia Madsen) and affably self-deprecating Robert (Patrick Warburton) showing how love can take and sometimes excel with a little argumentatively sarcastic friction. They may drink and swear, but they’d do anything for twelve-going-on-thirteen year old son Luke (Levi Miller)—and he knows it. A sensitive kid with lofty aspirations to show his babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) why he’s a better suitor than her revolving door of inconsiderate brutes, the time to make a move is now since college is a couple months away from separating them forever.

Writer/director Chris Peckover does a wonderful job setting up Better Watch Out‘s wholesome atmosphere like holiday genre-benders of the past.

Chris Peckover’s Better Watch Out (formerly Safe Neighborhood) is more a gift-wrapped home invasion tickler than break-in terrorizer à la The Strangers, but that doesn’t translate to a lack of creeps. The innocence of Home Alone meets jingle bell schlock, and while Zack Kahn’s story isn’t wholly unpredictable, what plays out still subverts typical babysitter-in-peril tropes (enough). My only advice? Don’t watch a single trailer, clip, or interview until you’ve experienced Better Watch Out for yourself. Hell, you should probably stop reading my review. Spoilers won’t follow, but Peckover’s strengths all hinge on surprise. No peeking until Christmas morning!

The setup, without divulging twists, is a simple one. Thirteen-year-old Luke (Levi Miller) is in love with his babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge). He’s determined to win over the high school sweetheart while his parents (played by Virginia Madsen and Patrick Warburton) enjoy a night out.

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– IFC Films has acquired the U.S rights to director Jamie M. Dagg’s thriller “Sweet Virginia,” starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots, Rosemarie DeWitt and Odessa Young. The film, which premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival, was written by Ben and Paul China from their Black List script, and was produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones for Automatik, Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows and Fernando Loureiro and Roberto Vasconcellos for Exhibit, who also financed.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Focus Features Picks Up ‘Tully,’ Electric Entertainment Buys ‘Lbj’ and More

Xyz Films is currently handling international sales and will screen the film at the upcoming Marché du Film at Cannes. “Sweet Virginia” is a riveting thriller that...

Well Go USA is looking to give fright fans another holiday horror film to add to their seasonal viewing slate, as the company has acquired North American distribution rights to Better Watch Out, formerly known as Safe Neighborhood.

According to THR, Well Go USA has scheduled Better Watch Out for an October 6th release in theaters and on digital platforms.

Directed by Chris Peckover from a screenplay he wrote with Zack Kahn, Better Watch Out stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Dacre Montgomery, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton, Ed Oxenbould, and Aleks Mikic.

Set around Christmastime, Better Watch Out follows "a babysitter that must defend her 12 year-old ward... from intruders that have planned an extraordinary home invasion."

Better Watch Out is produced by Thornquest and Sidonie Abbene of Storm Vision Entertainment, with Hambel and Paul Jensen of Best Medicine Productions also on board as producers. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more updates.

First look: Olivia DeJonge as Ashley with Levi Miller as Luke in Safe Neighborhood. Photo by Sean O'Reilly

.

Virginia Madsen (Joy, Sideways) and Patrick Warburton (Ted, Family Guy, Seinfeld) have joined the cast of Safe Neighbourhood, currently shooting at Sydney's Fox Studios and starring Olivia DeJonge (M. Night Shyamalan.s The Visit), Levi Miller (Pan, Jasper Jones, Red Dog: True Blue) and Ed Oxenbould (The Visit, Paper Planes).

Also joining the cast are Dacre Montgomery (Lionsgate.s upcoming Power Rangers) and Aleks Mikic (Joe Cinque.s Consolation, Secret City).

The Storm Vision Entertainment and Best Medicine production is described as "Home Alone meets Scream".

"Set in a quiet American suburb on a snowy evening on the lead up to Christmas, Ashley (Olivia DeJonge), the regular babysitter for Deandra (Virginia Madsen) and Robert Lerner (Patrick Warburton), has to defend their twelve-year-old son (Levi Miller) from strangers breaking into the house -...

Exclusive: Virginia Madsen and Patrick Warburton have been added to the cast of Safe Neighborhood, the thriller being directed by Chris Peckover. Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould are already aboard. Production is already underway in Sydney. Dacre Montgomery and Aleks Mikic have also joined the cast. Xyz Films is repping North American rights and Versatile is handling international sales at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin. The plot: Set in a quiet…...