The Strangers: Chapter 1
Photo: John Armour (Lionsgate)
After 16 years of axe-wielding, needle-dropping, and door-knocking scares, The Strangers have become all too familiar. When Bryan Bertino’s 2008 original asked, “Is Tamara home?” the home invasion felt like a novel avenue for slashers. With added authenticity and a sense of criminal mundanity,...
Photo: John Armour (Lionsgate)
After 16 years of axe-wielding, needle-dropping, and door-knocking scares, The Strangers have become all too familiar. When Bryan Bertino’s 2008 original asked, “Is Tamara home?” the home invasion felt like a novel avenue for slashers. With added authenticity and a sense of criminal mundanity,...
- 5/16/2024
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
“Is Tamara here?” In May of 2008, those three words hung in the air with foreboding menace (along with “because you were home”) as Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers played in theaters and shocked moviegoers like myself with its straightforward approach to home invasion horror and random violence. Now, 16 years later, the masked murderers now known as Pin-Up Girl, Dollface, and Scarecrow are back on the big screen in The Strangers – Chapter 1, the first film in a new trilogy and the third movie overall in the franchise (the most recent being 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night). More of a relaunched expansion of the franchise rather than a full-on remake of the original movie, The Strangers – Chapter 1 still retreads a lot of the first film’s frights, but it does so effectively while weaving in its own intriguing story threads, delivering a promising start to a new trilogy of terror...
- 5/16/2024
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Rebooting and expanding upon Bryan Bertino’s chilling 2008 horror film in a brand new trilogy, all installments already shot as part of one continuous, overarching story, makes for one of the more ambitious horror endeavors as of late. It also means that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is only the opening act of a three-part saga. Considering it’s the entry most committed to recreating the familiar beats of Bertino’s film, Chapter 1 makes for a tricky-to-gauge, overly familiar introduction to this new expansion.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 introduces happy couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) on their way to starting a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Car troubles leave them stranded in the quirky small town of Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to stay the night in a cozy but remote cabin in the woods.
Naturally, the deeply in love couple soon find themselves in a desperate...
The Strangers: Chapter 1 introduces happy couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) on their way to starting a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Car troubles leave them stranded in the quirky small town of Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to stay the night in a cozy but remote cabin in the woods.
Naturally, the deeply in love couple soon find themselves in a desperate...
- 5/16/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Stars: Ian McShane, Nora Arnezeder, Oscar Coleman, Adam Nagaitis, Fanny Ardent, Thomas Kretschmann | Written by Nacho Faerna | Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego
American Star is the latest film from Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego whose output has ranged from Apollo 18 and Open Grave to Backdraft 2, a 28-year later Dtv sequel to the 1991 hit. Here he and writer Nacho Faerna are presenting a variation on a well-worn theme, the criminal who’s about to pull off their last job before retiring.
In this case, the criminal is a hitman named Wilson who has come to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to perform what should be an easy assignment. But complications ensue right from the start, when he drives out to the unnamed target’s secluded house, he’s not there. Someone does arrive, but it’s a young woman, not the man he was expecting. Wilson bides his time, then slips out unseen,...
American Star is the latest film from Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego whose output has ranged from Apollo 18 and Open Grave to Backdraft 2, a 28-year later Dtv sequel to the 1991 hit. Here he and writer Nacho Faerna are presenting a variation on a well-worn theme, the criminal who’s about to pull off their last job before retiring.
In this case, the criminal is a hitman named Wilson who has come to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to perform what should be an easy assignment. But complications ensue right from the start, when he drives out to the unnamed target’s secluded house, he’s not there. Someone does arrive, but it’s a young woman, not the man he was expecting. Wilson bides his time, then slips out unseen,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
It’s a little ironic that the fair-minded maiden in “Love in the Villa” yearns for an authentic, romantic Italian vacation since her fairy tale has been cobbled together by Netflix’s practically patented algorithm. Take one part down-on-her-luck female protagonist, add in a handsome-but-cantankerous gentleman either from or in an enchanting European setting, and mix with a generous splash of high jinks that force them to fall head over heels. Yet the blessed surprise awaiting even the most cynical of audiences of writer-director Mark Steven Johnson’s romantic comedy is that within the manufactured product lies a heartening appeal to its sensible delight.
Elementary school teacher Julie (Kat Graham), who is obsessed with “Romeo and Juliet,” has planned the trip of a lifetime with her boyfriend of four years, Brandon (Raymond Ablack). Their jaunt to Verona, Italy, includes everything from reservations at the finest restaurants to themed tours, all...
Elementary school teacher Julie (Kat Graham), who is obsessed with “Romeo and Juliet,” has planned the trip of a lifetime with her boyfriend of four years, Brandon (Raymond Ablack). Their jaunt to Verona, Italy, includes everything from reservations at the finest restaurants to themed tours, all...
- 9/1/2022
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
When characters in a movie are having a good time, it’s hard to completely resist their charms. Such is the case with Finding Steve McQueen, a jaunty heist tale that has more than its fair share of fun, even if the final product is on the sleight side. This is the sort of picture that, depending on how and when you watch it, will determine in large part what your feelings are. If you were to see it on cable or on a plane, for example, it would certainly satisfy and pass the time. In theaters or On Demand, however? There, it comes up a little short of the necessary mark. The film is a mix of a crime caper and a bit of a romance as well. In 1980, Harry Barber (Travis Fimmel) begins to tell his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachel Taylor) a story. Back in 1972, a group of thieves from Youngstown,...
- 3/17/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
What Happened to Monday? has begun production in Romania; new cast additions include Kon-Tiki’s Pal Sverre Hagen.
Willem Dafoe (The Grand Budapest Hotel) has joined Noomi Rapace and Glenn Close in sci-fi thriller What Happened to Monday?, which began principal photography at the Castel Film Studios in Bucharest on July 23 .
Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) directs the feature, which is produced by Vendome Pictures and Raffaella Productions and fully financed by Snd, which will handle French distribution rights as well as international sales.
New additional cast includes Marwan Kenzari (Accused, Reckless), Christian Rubeck (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) and Pal Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki).
Set in a world where families are allowed only one child due to overpopulation, a resourceful set of seven identical sisters must avoid governmental execution and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.
Rapace - star of the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Prometheus - plays all seven...
Willem Dafoe (The Grand Budapest Hotel) has joined Noomi Rapace and Glenn Close in sci-fi thriller What Happened to Monday?, which began principal photography at the Castel Film Studios in Bucharest on July 23 .
Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) directs the feature, which is produced by Vendome Pictures and Raffaella Productions and fully financed by Snd, which will handle French distribution rights as well as international sales.
New additional cast includes Marwan Kenzari (Accused, Reckless), Christian Rubeck (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) and Pal Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki).
Set in a world where families are allowed only one child due to overpopulation, a resourceful set of seven identical sisters must avoid governmental execution and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.
Rapace - star of the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Prometheus - plays all seven...
- 7/31/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
A bleak and twisted “murder” mystery in the vein of Identity with the sensibilities of Saw, Open Grave delights in toying with the audience’s deductive prowess and is as much a whodunit as it is a whyisit (hereby coined). In presenting us, initially at least, with a simple setup, the film capitalizes on a straight forward tale that quickly spirals into a surreal nightmare for all those involved.
Strong performances from relative unknowns and up and comers, plenty of stomach churning imagery (made all the more hard hitting for our characters due to the fact that it’s all shrouded in mystery) and revelations that emerge in an unforced manner, all make for an intense watch. The ironic downside to this bloody riddle is that it offers up so many tantalizing options for what will comprise its climax that the actual outcome (though strong) seems diluted against the crazy...
Strong performances from relative unknowns and up and comers, plenty of stomach churning imagery (made all the more hard hitting for our characters due to the fact that it’s all shrouded in mystery) and revelations that emerge in an unforced manner, all make for an intense watch. The ironic downside to this bloody riddle is that it offers up so many tantalizing options for what will comprise its climax that the actual outcome (though strong) seems diluted against the crazy...
- 12/31/2013
- by Simon Brookfield
- We Got This Covered
After making his English language debut with 2011’s Apollo 18, Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego returns with another horror-thriller this year in Open Grave.
Led by Sharlto Copley, who really looks to be going from strength to strength, the film is set to be released in Italy this August, and the first international teaser trailer has surfaced online, along with a handful of images to set the tone nicely.
Six people wake up with in a remote forest next to an open grave of rotting bodies, with no memory of what happened. Not knowing if one among them is the murderer, they must piece together the mysterious set of circumstances that brought them together before it’s too late.
Copley stars alongside Erin Richards (Breaking In), Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries), Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula), Josie Ho (Exiled), and Max Wrottesley (The Cosmonaut).
López-Gallego is directing from a script co-written by brothers Chris and Eddie Borey,...
Led by Sharlto Copley, who really looks to be going from strength to strength, the film is set to be released in Italy this August, and the first international teaser trailer has surfaced online, along with a handful of images to set the tone nicely.
Six people wake up with in a remote forest next to an open grave of rotting bodies, with no memory of what happened. Not knowing if one among them is the murderer, they must piece together the mysterious set of circumstances that brought them together before it’s too late.
Copley stars alongside Erin Richards (Breaking In), Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries), Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula), Josie Ho (Exiled), and Max Wrottesley (The Cosmonaut).
López-Gallego is directing from a script co-written by brothers Chris and Eddie Borey,...
- 7/8/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"For me, writing a poem is like having a secret. It's like making love and delaying orgasm as long as possible. I find it hard now. My poetry is the result of the invention of an identity. Once identity is assumed, nothing stimulates the imagination less than being what you are. Furthermore, one's maturity is a silly time in life when the only intimacy is headaches, and paradoxically life starts becoming alarmingly short because you spend the whole day worrying about your fear of death."--Jaime Gil de Biedma (1929-1990).
Sigfried Monleón's The Consul of Sodom (2009) is a lavishly-produced biopic draped with literary weight. You need to love language--particularly poetry--to fully appreciate Sodom's Venusian excess and baroque melancholy. Sumptuously lensed by José David Montero, Sodom joins the ranks of such films as Kavafis (1996) and Before Night Falls (2000) in its effort to retroactively invest a queer historicity into the lives...
Sigfried Monleón's The Consul of Sodom (2009) is a lavishly-produced biopic draped with literary weight. You need to love language--particularly poetry--to fully appreciate Sodom's Venusian excess and baroque melancholy. Sumptuously lensed by José David Montero, Sodom joins the ranks of such films as Kavafis (1996) and Before Night Falls (2000) in its effort to retroactively invest a queer historicity into the lives...
- 6/11/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Well, another Screamfest is behind us yet again! Man it seems like these things take forever to get here and then are gone in the blink of an eye. This year’s winners have been selected and instead of droning on about how special they all are in their own way, as I am want to do, just dig on the list below!
Two quick highlights this year; Toby Wilkins’ Splinter (justifiably) swept up a whopping six awards this year, including best Special Effects and Best Picture, and effects man Tate Steinseck took home the Boost Mobile Best of the Next award for his short film “Clown”! Congrats!
Best Short
“Detour” directed by K. Akeseh Tsakpo
Best Student Short
“Citizen” directed by James Darling
Best Editing
David Michael Maurer - Splinter
Best Cinematography
José David Montero - El Rey de la Montana
Best Special Effects
Quantum Creation FX - Splinter...
Two quick highlights this year; Toby Wilkins’ Splinter (justifiably) swept up a whopping six awards this year, including best Special Effects and Best Picture, and effects man Tate Steinseck took home the Boost Mobile Best of the Next award for his short film “Clown”! Congrats!
Best Short
“Detour” directed by K. Akeseh Tsakpo
Best Student Short
“Citizen” directed by James Darling
Best Editing
David Michael Maurer - Splinter
Best Cinematography
José David Montero - El Rey de la Montana
Best Special Effects
Quantum Creation FX - Splinter...
- 10/22/2008
- by Johnny Butane
- DreadCentral.com
As the eighth annual Screamfest drew to a close this past Sunday night in the heart of Hollywood, Fango attended the award ceremony held at Level 3 at Hollywood and Highland (see exclusive photos from the ceremony and fest below). With drinks flowing and merriment abounding, director Toby Wilkins’ creature feature Splinter swept the evening.
The movie (opening theatrically beginning October 31 from Magnolia) garnered golden Screamfest skulls for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Makeup, Best Editing and Best Musical Score. Screamfest sponsor Boost was on hand to present filmmaker Tate Steinsiek with its Best of the Next in Horror award (which included a $10,000 cash prize) for his short film Clown, while director Michael Dougherty unsurprisingly picked up the Audience Choice award for his amazing Trick ‘R Treat. The full rundown of winners is below; for more on Screamfest, visit the official site linked above. (Special thanks to Rachel Belofsky and publicist...
The movie (opening theatrically beginning October 31 from Magnolia) garnered golden Screamfest skulls for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Makeup, Best Editing and Best Musical Score. Screamfest sponsor Boost was on hand to present filmmaker Tate Steinsiek with its Best of the Next in Horror award (which included a $10,000 cash prize) for his short film Clown, while director Michael Dougherty unsurprisingly picked up the Audience Choice award for his amazing Trick ‘R Treat. The full rundown of winners is below; for more on Screamfest, visit the official site linked above. (Special thanks to Rachel Belofsky and publicist...
- 10/22/2008
- Fangoria
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