With their incredibly atmospheric and compelling debut feature Talk to Me, a fairly gory supernatural title out of Australia, twin brother filmmakers Danny & Michael Philippou have set themselves up as the next great A24 success story.
Directed by the duo from Danny’s script written with Bill Hinzman, Talk to Me tells the story of Mia (Sophie Wilde), a teenager grappling with the loss of her mother who gets in over the head, to say the least, when she and her friends begin playing a malevolent party game as a kind of way of getting high. As they sit around a table and whip out their smartphones to record, Mia grips a mysterious ceramic hand, says some magic words and finds her body taken over by an unknown spirit. There was initially interest in making the film at a major U.S. studio. But when the brothers sensed that their vision would be compromised,...
Directed by the duo from Danny’s script written with Bill Hinzman, Talk to Me tells the story of Mia (Sophie Wilde), a teenager grappling with the loss of her mother who gets in over the head, to say the least, when she and her friends begin playing a malevolent party game as a kind of way of getting high. As they sit around a table and whip out their smartphones to record, Mia grips a mysterious ceramic hand, says some magic words and finds her body taken over by an unknown spirit. There was initially interest in making the film at a major U.S. studio. But when the brothers sensed that their vision would be compromised,...
- 7/29/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
A few years ago, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of influential film critic Pauline Kael, I wrote the following:
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
- 4/2/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Do rediscovered ‘lost’ movies always disappoint? This Depression-era pre-Code science fiction disaster thriller was unique in its day, and its outrageously ambitious special effects –New York City is tossed into a blender — were considered the state of the art. Sidney Blackmer and a fetching Peggy Shannon fight off rapacious gangs in what may be the first post-apocalyptic survival thriller.
Deluge
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1933 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Peggy Shannon, Lois Wilson, Sidney Blackmer, Lane Chandler, Samuel S. Hinds, Fred Kohler, Matt Moore, Edward Van Sloan .
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: Martin G. Cohn, Rose Loewinger
Special Effects: Ned Mann, Williams Wiliams, Russell Lawson, Ernie Crockett, Victor Scheurich, Carl Wester
Original Music: Val Burton
Written by Warren Duff, John F. Goodrich from the novel by Sydney Fowler Wright
Produced by Samuel Bischoff, Burt Kelly, William Saal
Directed by Felix E. Feist...
Deluge
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1933 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Peggy Shannon, Lois Wilson, Sidney Blackmer, Lane Chandler, Samuel S. Hinds, Fred Kohler, Matt Moore, Edward Van Sloan .
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: Martin G. Cohn, Rose Loewinger
Special Effects: Ned Mann, Williams Wiliams, Russell Lawson, Ernie Crockett, Victor Scheurich, Carl Wester
Original Music: Val Burton
Written by Warren Duff, John F. Goodrich from the novel by Sydney Fowler Wright
Produced by Samuel Bischoff, Burt Kelly, William Saal
Directed by Felix E. Feist...
- 2/21/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
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.
– L.A.-based outfit Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Michael O’Shea’s Cannes premiere “The Transfiguration.” The film was sold by Protagonist Pictures at Toronto, and it marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael O’Shea. The atmospheric feature puts a new spin on the vampire movie.
“Mr. O’Shea’s film is a unique hybrid that audiences and critics will be compelled by,” said Strand Releasing’s partner Jon Gerrans, who discovered the film at Cannes. No word yet on release plans.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that Joel Potrykus’s latest dark comedy, “The Alchemist Cookbook,” will be available worldwide for pay-what-you-wish via BitTorrent Now on October 7, before it screens in select theaters across the country.
– L.A.-based outfit Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Michael O’Shea’s Cannes premiere “The Transfiguration.” The film was sold by Protagonist Pictures at Toronto, and it marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael O’Shea. The atmospheric feature puts a new spin on the vampire movie.
“Mr. O’Shea’s film is a unique hybrid that audiences and critics will be compelled by,” said Strand Releasing’s partner Jon Gerrans, who discovered the film at Cannes. No word yet on release plans.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that Joel Potrykus’s latest dark comedy, “The Alchemist Cookbook,” will be available worldwide for pay-what-you-wish via BitTorrent Now on October 7, before it screens in select theaters across the country.
- 9/16/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Blinded by science! And no, it's not a sequel to Donovan's Reef. Lew Ayres yanks the living brain out of a dying millionaire, plugs it into his mad lab gizmos, and is soon obeying the know-it-all noggin's telepathic commands to scheme and murder. Gene Evans and Nancy Reagan assist in Curt Siodmak's creative, compelling tale of possession by mental remote control. Donovan's Brain Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date March 22, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Reagan, Steve Brodie, Tom Powers, Lisa K. Howard, James Anderson, Victor Sutherland, Harlan Warde, John Hamilton. Cinematography Joseph H. Biroc Film Editor Herbert L. Strock Production Design Boris Leven Original Music Eddie Dunstedter Written by Felix Feist, Hugh Brooke from the novel by Curt Siodmak Produced by Allan Dowling, Tom Gries Directed by Felix E. Feist
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sci-fi and horror...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sci-fi and horror...
- 3/1/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.