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The Finnish superhero movie Rendel, created by director Jesse Haaja, was a straightforward attempt to build a basic urban vigilante feature, and even though it by no means conveyed any sense of originality in narrative or characterization whatsoever, it was at least entertaining. As an origin story, Rendel ticked all the trope checklists: witnessing the death of his family turns a common man into an masked avenging angel, one-man battles against a powerful criminal empire, grim and gritty treatment, and the darkened path of violence and vengeance doing a number on the psyche of the protagonist—all the expectations fans of the genre might have had were fulfilled.

However, the same cannot be said about its lackluster sequel, Rendel 2: Cycle of Revenge, which fails to convey any cohesive sense of direction from the beginning to the end. Leaving aside the problems with the plotline or characterizations, the movie cannot...

Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner has closed a raft of deals in Cannes on Jesse Haaja’s superhero film sequel Rendel: Cycle Of Revenge.

US rights have gone to Shout! Studios and other key sales have closed in Germany (Splendid), France (Program Store), Spain (Wild Duck), and Italy (Blue Swan).

Kris Gummerus stars as the eponymous masked vigilante who dismantles the evil Vala organisation after his family is killed, as a spital of violence awakens the ghosts of the past.

Sean Cronin, whose credits include Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, plays the villain Smiley. Pekka Lehtosaari wrote the screenplay.

Miika J. Norvanto...

Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner has unveiled a packed sales slate ahead of the EFM in Berlin, led by Finnish revenge saga Rendel 2: Cycle Of Revenge.

Jesse Haaja’s sequel (pictured) to the 2017 cult hit Rendel: Dark Vengeance stars Kristofer Gummerus as the titular character who wages war against the Vala Corporation to avenge his family’s death.

Raven Banner has also acquired Chris Cronin’s folk horror debut The Moor, about a group of investigators who must venture deep into a haunted moor to solve the death of a childhood friend. The film premiered at FrightFest in London,...

Night Terrors Film Festival returns for the 5th year in a row, again hosted by actor Kim Sønderholm.   This time the official selection consists of 20 short films and one music video. And the list looks like this:   Powersolo: Lonely Gal Scavenger Stalag III-c The Headless Hipster Altered Paralysis Revenant Relocation Officers Adima Decoyed Tlaloc Sacrificium Atomic Ed   [Intermission!]   Shower Dona & Vixen Beauty Juice Noctámbulos Mise En Abyme Rood...

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Shooting on masked avenger saga underway in Finland.

Toronto-based genre specialists Raven Banner are in Tiff talking to buyers on the sequel to their hot seller and Finnish superhero film Rendel.

Jesse Haaja return to the director’s chair on Rendel 2: Cycle Of Revenge, and the action picks up as the masked avenger sets his sights on bringing down a bellicose mega-corporation.

Black Lion Pictures and Frozen Flame Pictures are producing the sequel and shooting has begun in Finland.

Raven Banner licensed Rendel in more than 60 territories and handles worldwide sales on the sequel. Miika J. Norvanto, Trevor Doyle...

Stars: Kristofer Gummerus, Rami Rusinen, Renne Korppila, Matti Onnismaa, Johnny Vivash, Bianca Bradey, Sheila Shah, Michael Majalahti, Michael Hall, Alina Tomnikov, Aake Kalliala, Reino Nordin, Tero Salenius, Sami Huhtala | Written by Pekka Lehtosaari, Miika J. Norvanto, Timo Puustinen | Directed by Jesse Haaja

Hans(el) und (G)rendel

There is something uniquely American in the unashamed virtues and patriotism wrapped up in traditional Superhero films. It is this un-ironic earnestness that I admire but find impossible to emulate personally. Superman, with his endlessly positivity is too vanilla for me. Probably more importantly I am, deep down too sneering, too cynical to fully embrace or relate to the struggles of the invincible man with the shopping list of powers.

Speaking of heroes… lots of people like to root for John McClane in the original Die Hard as the consummate underdog. Even watching as a kid, I rooted for the actual underdogs of the movie,...

To celebrate the home entertainment release of Rendel, available on DVD and Digital on 25th February 2019, we have a copy of the DVD up for grabs, courtesy of 4Digital.

Batman’s dramatic flair and The Punisher’s merciless morals collide in Finland’s violent, pulp noir answer to the booming superhero genre, as a masked vigilante wages a one-man war on the criminals ruining his city, and his life When a worldwide corporation known as Vala launches an untested vaccine called Nh25 into the market by bribing, threatening, and killing every official opposing them, a dark avenger is born. Rendel, a man driven by revenge and hatred, unleashes his own special kind of hell against the firm, threatening to put an end at the distribution of the deadly Nh25. As blood spills and money burns, Vala recruits a group of violent mercenaries to do what they seemingly can’t: eliminate Rendel permanently…...

Shooting will start in early 2019, with Jesse Haja returning to direct.

Toronto-based genre sales specialist Raven Banner has launched worldwide sales in Cannes on a sequel to its Finnish superhero film Rendel.

Producers Black Lion Pictures and Frozen Flame Pictures are planning an early 2019 shoot on Rendel 2, which sees Jesse Haaja return to directing duties. Raven Banner licensed Rendel in more than 60 countries.

“I can’t even describe how excited I am for this,” Haaja said of the ongoing saga of the masked avenger who fights a criminal organisation. “It was my lifelong dream to get Rendel to the big screens.

The enormous success of the recent R-rated Deadpool and Logan movies from Fox and the McU shows on Netflix proves that there will always be a strong market for bloody and brutal superhero stories told onscreen. The latest excessively violent superhero movie to come our way is director Jesse Haaja’s Rendel: Dark Vengeance, and it’s […]

The post Shout! Factory Brings Brutal Finnish Superhero Movie Rendel: Dark Vengeance to Us Blu-ray appeared first on Dread Central.

Toronto genre specialist’s slate includes Rendel, Charismata, Trench 11, 200 Hours, The Crescent.

Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner has boarded action title Snowflake by Adolfo Kolmerer and William James and will launch worldwide sales at the Efm in Berlin next week.

Snowflake takes place in a Berlin set in the near future as gang members hunt down the murderer of their families and find themselves trapped inside a nightmarish fairytale contained within a screenplay written by a demented dentist.

En route to justice, the individuals get sucked into a vicious circle of revenge and must contend with a cast of wicked characters ranging from assassins to madmen to a blood-soaked angel.

Arend Remmers wrote the screenplay to Snowflake and Erkan Acar produced with Reza Brojerdi and Adrian Topol.

Raven Banner’s James Fler and Michael Paszt negotiated the deal with producers.

The Efm sales slate includes Jesse Haaja’s Rendel, Charismata, Trench 11, 200 Hours, and Toronto...

Living in Chicago, I spend much of my year being jealous of all the people I see online going to the various genre film festivals held around the parts of the country that aren’t here… until now.

For the first time ever, Chicago is getting its very own full-blown genre festival with Cinepocalypse, a week-long event running November 2nd–9th at the Music Box Theatre, the best place to see a movie in the entire city. Formerly the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival (which I have attended since it began and always completely loved), Cinepocalypse now has a new venue, a larger and more ambitious slate of programming, and dozens of special guests. It’s going to be bigger and better than any festival of its kind the city has ever seen, and I can’t wait to be there as much as possible to see as many cool movies as possible.

Zombies, serial killers, and all manner of creepy creatures will descend upon the inaugural Cinepocalypse film festival in November 2nd–9th at Chicago's Music Box Theatre, and the first wave of programming has officially been announced, including Tyler MacIntyre's Tragedy Girls, Ted Geoghegan's Mohawk, and the 35mm uncut version of Suspiria.

Press Release: August 31, 2017 - The Music Box Theatre is proud to announce their first wave of programming and guests for the debut year of Cinepocalypse (an evolution to the program design of Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Festival), which will take place November 2 - 9 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. The Midwest’s largest gathering of genre films and fans, the festival’s organizers are proud to have acclaimed screenwriter Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest) guest host the entirety of the festival.

Writer/director Joe Carnahan (The Grey, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) will guest curate “Blood,...

Rendel Trailer and Posters Jesse Haaja‘s Rendel (2017) movie trailer and movie posters star Kristofer Gummerus, Johnny Vivash, Bianca Bradey, Sheila Shah, and Michael Hall. Rendel‘s plot synopsis: “A faceless hero Rendel is at open and ruthless war against the Vala organization: no mercy, no prisoners. One hit after another, this dark avenger destroys both the criminals [...]

Continue reading: Rendel (2017) Movie Trailer: A Faceless Hero Battles Evil in Jesse Haaja’s Superhero Film...

"What the hell is Rendel?" The first official trailer has arrived online for a Finnish, futuristic superhero film titled Rendel, which is the name of the masked superhero character that it's about. Created by the film's director, Jesse Haaja, Rendel is a "faceless" superhero fighting against the Vala criminal organization in the "cold dystopia" of a fictionalized version of a Finnish city called Mikkeli. This "superhero story" is a bit darker and grittier than what we see out of Hollywood, but still has some of the same tropes of the genre. Starring Finnish actor Kristofer Gummerus as Rendel, along with Matti Onnismaa, Minttu Tamski, Roosa-Maria Makinen, Alina Tomnikov, Bianca Bradey, and Johnny Vivash. This looks it could be cool, but I'm also a bit worried it might also be straight-to-vhs level terrible. Check out the footage below. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Jesse Haaja's Rendel, direct from...

A few details are coming from Cannes on Rendel. Rendel is Finland's premiere superhero movie. And, the first trailer shows a dark and tormented protagonist. Hidden behind a mask, he seeks vengeance, on those responsible for the untested vaccine Nh25. It has left him and others permanently scarred. Soon, the film will have its World Premiere, at this prestigious event. For more on the story, Rendel focuses on an evil corporation. It is flooding the market with its rogue vaccine. Rendel pushes back. But, the company, Vala, is determined to spread their vaccine further, despite its brutal side effects. Outside of Cannes, the film will be starting a film festival run, this Summer. Fans of darker heroes, or darker material will want to check this foreign film out as sales agent Raven Banner Entertainment brings the film to several, select theatres. All of the available details on Rendel are below.

It was right around this time last year that word surfaced on Finnish superhero film Rendel, a vigilante style masked hero picture based on the original creation of Jesse Haaja. The basics here are fairly familiar - vigilante in mask and suit battles criminal underworld - but the quality of the original stills and teaser certainly captured the attention and they're back now with a full trailer. They clearly don't have a Marvel / DC budget to work with here but that's fine because they're clearly not trying to make a Marvel / DC film and their resources are very well used, with strong production values. Language used is a mixture of Finnish and English and, yep, the keen eyes will spot Wyrmwood star Bianca...

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

We’ve been eagerly anticipated the violent Finnish superhero film Rendel from director Jesse Haaja, so we’re super happy to hear that it has picked up a distributor at Cannes. That distributor comes in the form of Raven Banner, who will… Continue Reading →

The post Cannes 2016: Brutal Finnish Superhero Film Rendel Lands Distribution appeared first on Dread Central.

News out of the market at Cannes is that local lads Raven Banner Entertainment have landed the worldwide sales rights for Finland's first superhero movie. Rendel. The trailer has been out for a while and you may have a look at it below, as well as some pics from the production. This film is shot and I am told that it is now into post, which may mean we still have a while until we see the completed film. Raven Banner, the genre specialist has landed worldwide sales rights (excluding Scandinavia) to Finland's first superhero movie, Rendel, directed by newcomer, Jesse Haaja. In the vein of ‘The Punisher’ and ‘Spawn’ Rendel is a stylized gritty antihero story about a vigilante seeking revenge against...

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

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Finland's first superhero movie, Rendel, has found a sales agent in Raven Banner Entertainment who landed the rights at Cannes.

Directed by first-time director, Jesse Haaja, Rendel is based on his own own comic character who has already gained tens of thousands of followers and enthusiasts from all around the world and the film's trailer has proven to be something of a hit online with more than 3 million views to date.

Synopsis:

A Finnish superhero, a masked vigilante Rendel seeks for revenge and fights against Vala, the huge cri [Continued ...]...

We love superhero films round these parts, so we’re proud to present the trailer for Rendel, the first Finnish superhero film, which was recently released on its official Facebook page. Rendel, like many heroes of the night, is driven by… Continue Reading →

The post Trailer for First Finnish Superhero Film Rendel and Exclusive Statement from Director Jesse Haaja appeared first on Dread Central.