Talk To Me

Horror

Available on VOD: 16 november 2023

Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Cast: Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Alexandra Jensen, Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, War of the Worlds)

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and opens the door to the spirit world forcing them to choose who to trust: the dead or the living.

• 95% FRESH op Rotten Tomatoes!
• RTL Boulevard / Tim Oliehoek: Beste horrorfilm van 2023. Bekijk het item hier.
• Telegraaf.nl: Talk to Me is een film die de luide buzz, die begon op het Festival van Sundance, weet waar te maken. Een beklemmende, effectieve en onvergelijkbare aanwinst in een genre dat de afgelopen jaren te weinig nieuwe impulsen kende. Lees de hele review en een interview met de regisseurs hier.
• AD.nl: Wurgende horrorhit Talk to me is de Evil dead voor de TikTok-generatie (****). Lees de hele review hier.
• Volkskrant.nl: Een zowel beklemmende als gruwelijke horrorfilm over de wurggreep van rouw. De hellevaart van regisseurs Danny en Michael Philippou kent geen enkel taboe of creatieve rem (****). Lees de hele review hier.
• NPO3.nl: Wanneer je over een nieuwe horrorfilm hoort dat hij de engste of beste van het jaar is, denk je inmiddels: yeah right, zal wel. Maar het debuut Talk to Me van de Australische YouTubers Danny en Michael Philippou is écht heel tof en écht creepy. Lees de hele review hier.
• DeCorrespondent.nl: Talk to Me kan zo in het lijstje van horrorfilms die het genre de afgelopen jaren nieuw leven hebben ingeblazen, samen met andere aanraders Nope, Smile en Pearl. Lees de hele review hier.
• Filmkrant: Een uiterst efficiënte schrikmachine, die een slimme moderne twist geeft aan het aloude genre van possession-horror en waar de lol van het maken aan alle kanten vanaf spat. Lees de hele review hier.
• VPROGids.nl: Australische horrorhit Talk to Me grijpt je bij de keel (****). Lees de hele review hier.
• Gids.tv: Talk to Me heeft naargeestige humor met zeer gruwelijke (schrik)momenten en een ijzersterke twist die vrijwel nog nooit vertoond is. Kortom: we kunnen wel stellen dat deze productie nu al dé moderne horrorklassieker van onze tijd is. Vier en halve ster. Lees de hele review hier.
• PU.nl: Horrorfanaat Rogina durft echter nu al met zekerheid te zeggen dat Talk To Me de beste horrorfilm van dit jaar is. Lees de hele review hier.
• SchokkendNieuws.nl: De Philippou’s halen de hele cinematische trukendoos leeg om de spanning aan te houden. Dus roep wat vrienden bij elkaar en ga naar de bios, Lees de hele review hier.

No Way Up

Thriller

Available on VOD: 12 augustus 2024

Director: Claudio Fäh

Cast: Sophie McIntosh, Will Attenborough (Dunkirk), Colm Meaney (Law Abiding Citizen, Seberg), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey)

Ava is hoping for a peaceful getaway with friends in the resort town of Cabo, Mexico. But when the plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean and comes to rest on the edge of an underwater ravine, Ava and a handful of survivors are trapped in the airlocked cabin. Against the odds, Ava must fend for herself, contend with bloodthirsty sharks, and find the courage to step up and lead the crash survivors to safety.

• Filmschoolrejects.com: You’re likely to be pleasantly surprised by its personality, thrills, and resourcefulness.
• Fangirlish.com: This is peak cinema that didn’t take itself too seriously and opened the doorway for sequels.
• Culturess.com: What appealed to me in the movie was the strong dynamic between three compelling female characters. Another highlight is the plane accident itself.
• Aisleseat.com: You’ll be entertained by all the unapologetic mayhem in No Way Up. It is what it is – a cheerfully implausible thrill ride.
• Times-herald.com: A silly night out at the movies, it will be unnerving and even frightening in places.
• Blu-ray.com: Capable of raising hell, especially in such a claustrophobic setting.

Terrifier 3

Horror

Available on VOD: TBA Q4 2024

Director: Damien Leone

Cast: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera (Iron Fist, Terrifier 2), Daniel Roebuck (Getting Grace, The Fugitive)

Soon in cinemas. Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.

• VPRO Gids:  Knap gemaakte ‘ouderwetse’ exploitatie-splatter in een fris jasje (****). Lees het hele artikel hier.
• Nytimes.com: Nobody is pushing horror boundaries quite like the writer-director Damien Leone.
• Thewrap.com: Improves on previous entries while spurting out the blood and guts in increasingly elaborate fashions that will have Art lovers laughing and screaming.
• TheGuardian.com: The number of horror films that promise to sicken your soul and shrivel your stomach is enormous, but the proportion that actually do so, particularly for veteran horror-watchers, is small. I’m pleased to report that Terrifier 3 is genuinely gruesome.
• MovieFreak.com: I feel pummeled to the point I can barely breathe, and my entire body has an icky sensation of being covered in such overwhelming filth I wonder if I’ll be able to clean the muck off of me.
• Indiewire.com: Terrifier 3 is decking the halls with a triumphant celebration that’s horrifying for all the right reasons and snaps into focus what it is that Leone does singularly well.
• Slantmagazine.com:Mini-masterpieces of cinematic ultraviolence.
• TheNerdShepherd.com: Een waar walhalla van blood, guts and gore! Lees de recensie hier.

The Well

Horror

Available on VOD: 24 oktober 2024

Director: Federico Zampaglione

Cast: Lauren LaVera (Iron Fist, Terrifier 2), Claudia Gerini (John Wick 2, The Passion of the Christ), Jonathan Dylan King, Denise McNee (The Swarm)

A budding art restorer travels to a small Italian village to bring a medieval painting back to its former glory. Little does she know she is placing her life in danger from an evil curse and a monster born of myth and brutal pain.

• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: The distilled essence of European Gothic.
• Projectedfigures.com: Federico Zampaglione's gory gothic delves deep into Italian cinema past to restore and resurrect a particular kind of grotesquery.
• Screen-space.net: A gruesome, gleeful throwback to the Italian film sector’s heyday as the prime purveyor of Europe’s grisliest B-pics.
• Horrordna.com: Full of genuinely ghastly monsters and compelling mysteries.
• Mybloodyreviews.com: It's refreshingly high on the gore count, bragging an impressive catalogue of inventive kills that should make this a must-see for to the gore hounds amongst you.
• Nightmarishconjurings.com: An old-school Italian shocker that has a modern feel and twist, great production value, and an excellent lead-in Lauren LaVera (TERRIFIER 2)

When Evil Lurks

Horror

Available on VOD: 28 oktober 2024

Director: Demián Rugna

Cast: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Silvina Sabater

When brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomón) discover that a demonic infection has been festering in a nearby farmhouse — its very proximity poisoning the local livestock — they attempt to evict the victim from their land. Failing to adhere to the proper rites of exorcism, their reckless actions inadvertently trigger an epidemic of possessions across their rural community. Now they must outrun an encroaching evil as it corrupts and mutilates everyone it is exposed to, and enlist the aid of a wizened “cleaner,” who holds the only tools that can stop this supernatural plague.

• Jan “Mr. Horror” Doense zegt: “De beste horrorfilm van het jaar. Punt. Ik heb in tijden geen film gezien die zó onder de huid kruipt en die zulke effectieve en brute jump scares bevat.”
• Schokkendnieuws.nl: When Evil Lurks is voor de geharde horrorfan die geen kotszakje nodig heeft.
• DeFilmRecensent.nl: When Evil Lurks is niet alleen anders maar ook gewoon goed. Rugna legt in het begin niets uit en laat het verhaal zichzelf vertellen. De actie is snel op niveau en dan gaat When Evil Lurks er volledig voor.
• Modernmyths.nl: Gruwelijk goede Argentijnse horror. Buiten al het demonisch geweld en de grimmige shots is When Evil Lurks ook gewoon fun.
• Slashfilm.com: This is a movie that is both familiar and fresh. Scary, yes, but mostly disturbing, gory, smart, quite expansive, and all around created in the bowels of hell itself.
• Nytimes.com: A dark and timely parable about what happens when trust - among community members, within families, between a government and its people - disintegrates.
• MovieNation: One of the most original horror films of recent memory and a pretty convincing argument to turn out the lights when you’re not using them.
• Polygon.com: 2023’s most unnerving horror release.
• RogerEbert.com: Gets great power from occasionally dropping into gory, gnarly insanity. It’s an admirably vicious piece of work.
• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: Will haunt viewers, like the awful suffering of the characters, long after the film is over.
• Inverse.com: A possession thriller unlike any that you’ve likely seen before... It's one of the boldest, most viscerally intense, and unpredictable horror movies of the year.
• 97% op Rotten Tomatoes met maar liefst 116 reviews. Lees meer quotes hier.

The Last Stop in Yuma County

Thriller

Available on VOD: 31 oktober 2024

Director: Francis Galluppi

Cast: Jim Cummings (Halloween Kills), Jocelin Donahue (Doctor Sleep), Richard Brake (Doom, Kingsman - The Secret Service)

A traveling knife salesman is stranded and forced to wait at a rural rest stop and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a violent hostage situation upon the arrival of two bank robbers who are on the run after a recent heist.

96% Fresh op Rotten Tomatoes! Check de reviews hier.

Daddy's Head

Horror

Available on VOD: 7 november 2024

Director: Benjamin Barfoot

Cast: Rupert Turnbull, Julia Brown (World on Fire), Charles Aitken (Happy Death Day 2U)

Step mother Laura and twelve year old Issac are forced into an unwanted family dynamic after the sudden death of Isaac’s father, James. Living together in James’s luxury, isolated, designer home he built with his previous deceased wife both Laura and Issac struggle to come to terms with the situation.

• 90% op RottenTomatoes! Een greep:
• Eye for Film: A sinister fairytale which balances elements of ancient lore with a crisp, modern sensibility.
• Mar Reviws Movies: Daddy's Head is about the all-enveloping nature of grief ... [The] film is also a creepy and, at times, genuinely frightening horror story.
• Bloody Disgusting: Daddy’s Head is handsomely crafted, with a creature design that’s pure nightmare fuel.
• Roger Ebert.com: Echoes of Folk Horror, “The Babadook,” and even “Under the Skin” weave through Benjamin Barfoot’s chilling study of the denial that often unfolds after the sudden loss of a loved one.

Chosen Family

Romantic Comedy

Available on VOD: 21 november 2024

Director: Heather Graham

Cast: Heather Graham (Austin Powers, Boogie Nights, On a Wing and a Prayer), Julia Stiles (Orphan First Kill, Jason Bourne), John Brotherton (Fast & Furious 7, The Conjuring), Thomas Lennon (We're the Millers, What to Expect When You're Expecting, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas)

Ann (Heather Graham) is a yoga teacher struggling to achieve inner peace despite the fact her family is driving her crazy and her dating life is miserable. She doesn’t know how to say no and wants to fix everyone’s problems. In the meantime, Ann struggles to save her sister (Julia Stiles) from addiction with disastrous results. With so many expectations on her, Ann leans on her good friends Max (Thomas Lennon), Frances, Roz and Ella for support. They in turn set her up with a cute divorced dad Steve (John Brotherton), who has an adorable 7 year old daughter. When Ann meets Steve’s daughter Lily, she is immediately smitten. But Lily does not feel the same, and as Steve and Ann get closer, Lily grows increasingly jealous and competitive. When Lily starts to misbehave, Ann sees that Lily can do no wrong in Steve’s eyes - she’s in the battle of her life with a 7 year old.  

• Filmgatereviews.com: Chosen Family is a funny and thoughtful look at adult relationships.
• Gazettely.com: Heartfelt lead performances from Graham and Stiles.

Sunray: Fallen Soldier

Action

Available on VOD: 25 november 2024

Director: James Clarke, Daniel Shepherd

Cast: Tip Cullen, Tom Leigh, Luke Solomon, Steven Blades (One More Shot)

After dedicating his entire life to service in the armed forces Andy now struggles to slot back into a world he no longer recognises. Now forced to confront the death of his daughter following a fatal encounter with drugs he becomes hell-bent on finding those responsible. With nothing to lose, a violent criminal underworld unravels in his wake. Set against a backdrop of realistic, fast-paced action, guided by high-quality military drills; and created by UK Armed Forces veterans. Sunray challenges the perceptions of mental health and the struggles that soldiers face when re-integrating back into civilian life.

Dominique

Action

Available on VOD: 5 december 2024

Director: Michael S. Ojeda

Cast: Oksana Orlan (The Russian Bride), Maurice Compte (Narcos), Ski Carr (Debt Collectors), Chase Coleman

Dominique, a well-trained assassin, flees from her troubled past in an attempt to begin a new life in South America. However, she soon finds herself in a town plagued with violence and corruption. Facing brutal attacks from the police and mafia, Dominique must decide whether to protect herself or an innocent family that has taken her in.

The Demon Disorder

Horror

Available on VOD: 12 december 2024

Director: Steven Boyle

Cast: Charles Cottier (Home and Away), Dirk Hunter, John Noble (Conjuring 3, Devil Made Me Do It), Amy Ingram

Graham lives alone in his garage workshop and hides from the world. It has been this way since the death of his father and the estrangement from his two brothers. Then one day, his brother calls, he believes that their younger brother is possessed by their deceased father. How do you defeat a  presence that wants revenge on the sons that murdered him?

• Maddwolf.com: he chemistry among the brothers feels strained but authentic, and their performances go a long way toward elevating the story. Impressive practical effects.
• Screenzealots.com: Excellent performances, strong production values, and an evocative sense of place.
• Morbidlybeautiful.com: A visceral ride that serves up a grotesque feast of jaw-dropping practical effects and emotional depth.
• Fictionmachine.com: Vivid and bloody physical effects in the mode of early Cronenberg and Raimi. A rock-solid, hugely entertaining genre piece.
• Assignmentx.com: It mixes Cronenbergian levels of body horror with family drama that has elements of both tragedy and dark humor.
• Caseymoviemania.com: Boyle manages to sustain some claustrophobic tension and a sense of menacing, yet visceral dread with the help of Terry King’s atmospheric cinematography and Peter Spierig’s ominous score.
• Dreadcentral.com: Steven Boyle’s directorial debut features masterfully grotesque effects and a strong emotional core.
• Voicesfromthebalcony.com: A grotesque mix of the demonic and body horror straight out of one of David Cronenberg’s early films.