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The producer of films including Searching and Unfriended, Timur Bekmambetov returns to screenlife horror with Bloat, headed to select theaters and Digital on March 7.

While you wait, Bloody Disgusting has been provided with an exclusive clip from Bloat that gives us a small taste of the demonic infection plaguing the family at the center of the film.

The demon in question? The frog-like Kappa from Japanese folklore.

In Lionsgate’s Bloat, “After a near-death drowning accident, a young boy’s family is horrified to discover he has become possessed by a legendary demon from the depths of the lake.

“As the family races against time to save the boy’s soul, the evil monster inside the child tears the family apart as it seeks to destroy everyone in its path.”

Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”) and Bojana Novakovic (Devil) star with Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones (Antlers), and Kane Kosugi (Godzilla: Final Wars...

https://youtu.be/4VZfmgLLXgY?si=aQZyZzVS9FukNpHH Directed & Written By Pablo Absento Starring Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic, Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones, Kane Kosugi Synopsis From a producer of Searching and Unfriended, Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”) and Bojana Novakovic (Birds of Prey) star in this chilling tale of horror and suspense. After a near-death drowning accident, a young …

The post Bloat starring Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic, Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones, Kane Kosugi – In Theaters, On Demand and On Digital March 7, 2025 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

In Theaters, On Demand and On Digital March 7 Directed & Written By Pablo Absento Starring Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic, Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones, Kane Kosugi Synopsis From a producer of Searching and Unfriended, Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”) and Bojana Novakovic (Birds of Prey) star in this chilling tale of horror and suspense. After a near-death …

The post Official Trailer + Poster!! – Bloat starring Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic, Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones, Kane Kosugi – In Theaters, On Demand and On Digital March 7, 2025 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

"You think you're gonna wake up from a nightmare – but it ain't no nightmare, it's real." Lionsgate has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror thriller movie called Bloat, made by filmmaker Pablo Absento who is based in Tokyo, Japan. Ready for release in March including on VOD, though we haven't seen this show up at any festivals before. The film follows a mother and two sons vacationing in Japan. Their younger son almost drowns in a lake, and soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy. From a producer of Searching and Unfriended, Ben McKenzie and Bojana Novakovic star in this chilling tale of horror and suspense. The boy's family is horrified to discover he has become possessed by a legendary demon from the depths of the lake. As the family races against time to save the boy's soul, the evil monster...

Nearly three years have gone by since we heard that Ben McKenzie (Gotham) and Bojana Novakovic (Beyond Skyline) were the stars of the Japanese horror film Bloat, which had already started filming at that time. Now, Bloat is finally ready to make its way out into the world, as it’s set to receive a theatrical, on demand, and digital release on March 7th. Although with the release date announcement comes the unveiling of a trailer, which can be seen in the embed above.

Written and directed by Tokyo-based filmmaker Pablo Absento, Bloat is a co-production between Timur Bekmambetov‘s company Bazelevs, the Russian streaming service Okko, French production and sales company Pulsar Content, and Japanese production company flag Co., Ltd. Filming took place in New York and Japan. Bloat does indeed use Bekmambetov’s Screenlife filmmaking technique, “in which the story unfolds on the screens of the devices used by the movie’s characters.

Searching and Unfriended producer Timur Bekmambetov returns to screenlife horror with Bloat.

The J-horror-inspired film will possess select theaters and Digital on March 7 via Lionsgate. Check out the trailer below.

After a near-death drowning accident, a young boy’s family is horrified to discover he has become possessed by a legendary demon from the depths of the lake. As the family races against time to save the boy’s soul, the evil monster inside the child tears the family apart as it seeks to destroy everyone in its path.

Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”) and Bojana Novakovic (Devil) star with Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones (Antlers), and Kane Kosugi (Godzilla: Final Wars).

Writer-director Pablo Absento makes his feature debut on the film.

The post ‘Bloat’ Trailer – Screenlife Horror Starring Ben McKenzie Will Possess Viewers in March appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Nearly three years have gone by since we heard that Ben McKenzie (Gotham) and Bojana Novakovic (Beyond Skyline) were the stars of the Japanese horror film Bloat, which had already started filming at that time. Now, it looks like Bloat might finally be almost ready to make its way out into the world, as the Motion Picture Association ratings board has announced that they’ve given the film an R rating for language and some violent content. The film will be released by Lionsgate, but they haven’t set a release date for it yet.

Written and directed by Tokyo-based filmmaker Pablo Absento, Bloat is a co-production between Timur Bekmambetov‘s company Bazelevs, the Russian streaming service Okko, French production and sales company Pulsar Content, and Japanese production company flag Co., Ltd. Filming took place in New York and Japan. Bloat does indeed use Bekmambetov’s Screenlife filmmaking technique, “in...

Sometimes, it can be very difficult to decide whether to watch a serious drama, or a laugh-out-loud comedy. Fortunately, there are plenty of TV shows nowadays that provide a thoroughly entertaining blend of both of these genres. Of course, not every show that attempts to find the proper balance manages to do so effectively. Some programs end up just feeling like comedies with moments of drama randomly forced in, and others come off as serious shows that are merely being interrupted by unwanted jokes. After all, combining the two distinct elements is no easy feat.

Thankfully, certain gifted teams of creators are able to find just the right balance. While some may lean more toward the side of one or the other, these special TV shows successfully find ways to appeal to both fans of comedy and of drama. From murderers being funny to comedians being serious, blending comedy and...

Antlers Review — Antlers (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Scott Cooper and starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan, Sawyer Jones, Cody Davis, Lyla Marlow, Jesse Downs, Arlo Hajdu, Dorian Kingi, Ken Kramer, Dendrie Taylor, Andy Thompson, Jake T. Roberts and Glynis Davies. Antlers [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Antlers (2021): Keri Russell Returns To The Screen With A So-So Creature Feature...

Jeremy T. Thomas, and Keri Russell in the film Antlers. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Before you begin to fill the candy bowls and light up the jack o’lantern, how about taking a terror trek to the “haunted” multiplex for a very modern take on the traditional “creature feature”? Yes, there’s a growling drooling mythical monster at the center of the story, though the town and its past are pretty scary without this “beastie”. Perhaps this is a result of the unique behind-the-scenes pairing of a producer known for his fantasy fright flicks and a director who’d helmed several films that deal with all-too-human horrors. Together this “mad move-scientist” duo have stitched together a shambling nightmare thing that threatens to impale several villagers on its razor-sharp Antlers.

This said nightmare actually begins during another overcast day, just outside a remote dying town in Oregon.

Scott Cooper is comfortable in the mud. The American director routinely finds himself in the confines of the lowdown and dirty, in gritty landscapes with working-class characters overcoming their shortcomings and often turning to violence to solve their problems. While his previous two features Black Mass and Hostiles failed to find tension in their deliberately tedious pacing, Antlers strikes the balance between methodology, terror, and blue-collar dynamics.

Its prologue shows the grime that has become of a nameless Oregon town––sparse landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, grey air, oil rigs, polluted skies, and jobless Americans attempting to make a living after what once was a coal-mining town has all but descended into a town of the unemployed. Scott Haze plays Frank Weaver, a father of two who leaves one of his sons in the truck while he dives into a cave to make meth with his partner. Surrounded by medicine...

As movie titles go, “Antlers” seems ready-made for one of two holidays — either Christmas or Halloween — and it’s kind of a shame to see it squandered on the latter. Now what is some enterprising filmmaker supposed to call his revisionist Rudolph story when the time comes? The name’s a somewhat less obvious fit for director Scott Cooper’s somber, character-centric stab at supernatural horror, although it makes sense once you realize that this slow-burn, Oregon-set monster movie is centered on the Native American “wendigo” legend, whereby an evil spirit possesses people and transforms them into deadly elk-horned creatures with an appetite for human flesh.

Cooper has dabbled in many a genre across his five-movie directing career, although there’s been a consistent darkness to it all that puts horror squarely in his wheelhouse. Executed with style and perhaps a bit too much self-importance, his work has traditionally focused...

Often we refer to the concept of family as the ties that bind, and for good reason. Because sometimes, our family can be the very thing in our lives that is either holding us down or they can keep us connected to some type of trauma that continues to haunt our very existence. That’s the primary theme that ripples throughout Scott Cooper’s Antlers, a harrowing, gut-punch creature feature that is shockingly bleak at times and features brilliant performances from Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, and the precocious Jeremy T. Thomas, who is at the center of Antler’s mystery and is so heartbreakingly great in this.

In the small town of Cispus Falls, Oregon, a series of mysteriously gruesome deaths has gripped the isolated mining community, and Sheriff Paul Meadows (Plemons) is completely baffled by certain grisly details surrounding the murders. His sister Julia (Russell) is a teacher who...