“Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war.” – Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s Julius Cesar. Though his debut short released in 2003, filmmaker Gareth Evans wouldn’t make his international mark until 2011’s The Raid, also known as The… Read More ›
XYZ Films
Dark comedy creature feature “Mermaid” is an ode to Florida Man. [SXSW]
Perfect people make for boring stories. The outcomes are expected because there’s no drama, no challenge, no antagonist. Imperfect people, however, are not only more interesting, they’re more accessible. So much so that it doesn’t matter how shitty their behavior,… Read More ›
Sci-fi thriller “Ash” struggles to rise above its composite of source materials. [SXSW]
When it comes to narrative mysteries, truth and reality are all a matter of perception. Some things can be argued or compromised on, others are indisputable, but they are all a matter of perception. It’s in this vein that multihyphenate… Read More ›
The McManus Brothers’s “Redux Redux” explores grief as an ouroboros through a multiversal sci-fi thriller. [SXSW]
There was a time when the concept of a multiverse was left to modern philosophy and creative writing as the idea of worlds on top of worlds separated by frequency, many like our own except for the tiniest of differences,… Read More ›
Beware the creature of the night who promises peace in “Touch Me.” [Sundance]
Trigger Warning: The narrative of Touch Me grapples with difficult topics involving sexual abuse and addiction. Additionally, there are a few brief sequences of light-strobing that might be difficult for photosensitive viewers. “And crawling on the planet’s face, some insects,… Read More ›
Before you “Get Away,” be sure to stow your colonialistic tendencies under your seat.
In an always-on world, there’s something beautiful about traveling somewhere without easy access to tech. It helps one recenter and, if with others, reconnect. Traveling is, of course, a privilege and should be treated as deferential to the place one… Read More ›
Faux true crime documentary “Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire” challenges audiences to separate facts from fiction in its conclusion. [Fantastic Fest]
In the Jewish tradition, each person dies twice. The first is when the person dies, their bodily functions ceasing operation through natural causes or unexpected tragedy. The second comes when someone says your name for the last time. This isn’t… Read More ›
Tragic, whimsical romance “Daniela Forever” perfectly doses audiences with Nacho Vigalondo’s trademark story-telling. [TIFF]
Have you heard of writer/director Nacho Vigalondo? If you haven’t, you’re truly missing out. While he’s certainly not new to the scene, he has cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to weird, insane, crazy… Read More ›
Get into the down and dirty of filmmaking on your own budget with the bounty of bonus features within “The Last Stop in Yuma County” on home video.
It’s no small feat and an incredible gamble to make a film. It requires a team of creatives working tirelessly toward the same goal, forced to confront their limitations and turn them into opportunities at every step. In the case… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Things Will Be Different” writer/director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson. [Chattanooga Film Festival]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently sat down with writer and director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson to talk about their sci-fi drama Things Will Be Different, an official selection of the 2024 Chattanooga Film… Read More ›
A Conversation with “New Life” actors Hayley Erin and Sonya Walger.
In this edition of EoM Presents, Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning sits down with Hayley Erin and Sonya Walger, the stars of the thriller film New Life, directed by John Rosman. Erin and Walger speak about the directorial vision of Rosman,… Read More ›
Caitlin Cronenberg’s “Humane” mixes the battle royale genre with a reverse whodunnit, creating an uncomfortably real-feeling fictional future.
The word on everyone’s lips in the entertainment industry these days is “nepotism,” and in turn, the term “nepo baby,” used to describe those with immense parental connections within the industry which give them a springboard into their own careers,… Read More ›
Filmmaker Michael Felker’s sci-fi thriller “Things Will Be Different” shakes up the time travel genre for the better. [SXSW]
There’s the world we know — the one we can see, hear, smell, and touch — and there is the world in between. It exists around us, within the spaces within spaces. Overlapping and overlapping, like a Venn diagram wherein… Read More ›
Gareth Evans’s crime actioner “The Raid: Redemption” receives a 4K UHD remaster inside a limited edition steelbook.
Before Expend4bles (2023) set him up to take on aged action stars, before Warrior (2019-2023) made him a villain, before audiences worldwide connected with the violent thrill of Indonesian martial arts in cinema, actors Iko Uwasis and Joe Taslim starred… Read More ›
Intriguing concepts are diluted by abandoned threads in Paul Duane’s folklore horror “All You Need is Death.” [Beyond Fest]
Before the written word carried the words of the present into the future, the oral tradition was used to safeguard family and cultural histories. This method, though reliant on the memory of the custodian, still remains a valued part of… Read More ›
A Conversation with “The Last Stop in Yuma County” writer/director Francis Galluppi. [Fantastic Fest]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently spoke with writer and director Francis Galluppi about his directorial debut, The Last Stop in Yuma County. A selection for Fantastic Fest 2023, this western flick stars the likes of Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue,… Read More ›
Writer/director Francis Galluppi’s feature-length directorial debut “The Last Stop in Yuma County” is like a poker hand where everything remains uncertain even after the river. [Fantastic Fest]
Some days it doesn’t matter what you do, your fate is sealed before you’ve even woken up. On those days, you ride it out to the best of your ability, holding on tight to the proverbial wheel is one option… Read More ›
“Megalomaniac” tells an over-played story in the most violent way possible.
Content warning: I’m not even going to list the triggers that Megalomaniac touches upon so extremely. Basically, if you have a content trigger of any kind, Megalomaniac probably exploits it for you. I can’t say I actually have any, but… Read More ›
EoM Presents: A Conversation with “God is a Bullet” producer Michael Mendelsohn.
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently sat down with God is a Bullet producer Michael Mendelsohn to talk about his work on the Nick Cassavetes-directed film, including the adaptation process for this project based on the novel by Boston Teran. Mendelsohn… Read More ›
John Rosman’s directorial debut “New Life” explores all the angles of the phrase in his engaging thriller. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
It is entirely human to draw fear from the unknown. How does one plan for it? Prepare for it? Is it the loss of control or autonomy that one fears? Or is it something else entirely? When we look into… Read More ›