Demigod is coming to theaters and On Demand on Friday, October 15, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Just in time for the Halloween season, Demigod, starring Rachel Nichols, Jeremy London, and Elena Sanchez opens nationwide in theaters and On Demand on Friday, October 15, 2021. Upon the death of her grandfather, a woman and her husband return to her birthplace in Germany’s Black Forest, only to find a terrifying secret awaits them. Directed by Miles Doleac. (Demigod, 2021)
After her grandfather dies, Robin (Rachel Nichols) and her husband Leo (Yohance Myles) travel to Germany to return to her childhood home in the Black Forest. She grew up there surrounded by the wonders of the forest and has memories of spending time with her grandfather. The more time she spends there, the clearer those memories become and they are not all pleasant ones. Soon after, a group of local witches captures the couple and they, along with other captured locals, become part of an ancient hunting ritual meant to appease Cernunnos. Cernunnos was an ancient Celtic god who represented nature, flora and fauna, and fertility. He is frequently depicted in Celtic art wearing stag antlers or horns and usually a torc around his neck.
Demigod is a horror movie composed mostly of suspenseful horror instead of the type of horror that scares people and haunts them after the movie is over. The Black Forest is the perfect location for this type of dark movie that centers around witches, a demigod, and winter solstice rituals. It also provides excellent cinematography that envelops the action and makes it come alive. Cernunnos’ dark red eyes stand out against the bleak background for dramatic purposes. Having a group of people struggling to survive reveals the strength of the human survival instinct and how far they are willing to go to protect a loved one. Prepare for a plot twist at the end.
Overall, Demigod is entertaining, suspenseful, and at times creepy. The violence is not too graphic, which might otherwise turn off more sensitive viewers. At only an hour and a half long, the story is short and to the point. There is some German dialogue with subtitles.
Digital platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Xbox/Microsoft, Comcast/Xfinity, and more. Demigod, 2021 1 hr. 35 min.
*The author received an opportunity to pre-screen this movie for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
River’s End will be released on Video On Demand on November 2, 2021. Photo: Giant Pictures, used with permission.
River’s End explores the global water crisis, using California as a microcosm. It reveals how water politics that led to the draining of the Owens Valley by Los Angeles, made famous by the filmChinatown, continue to this day in ongoing efforts to take ever more water from Northern California’s San Francisco Bay estuary. Except this time, the water grab is at the hands of industrial agriculture and its powerful corporate investors. River’s End inspires viewers to learn where their water comes from so that we can save our rivers and the ecosystems and communities that depend upon them. (River’s End, 2021)
River’s End is a feature documentary film by Jacob Morrison. It will be released on Video On Demand in the United States, Canada, and the UK on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Run time: 81 minutes (USA)
VOD Platforms: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu (US, Canada, UK)
Cable Platforms: InDemand TVOD (Comcast, Spectrum, Cox), DirectTV/AT&T and more (US)
JACOB MORRISON- WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Jacob Morrison is a filmmaker releasing his feature directorial debut, River’s End. Morrison has produced series for Viceland and Fullscreen, wrote and starred in a multi-episode explainer series for Vice, and directed a half-hour television pilot. He is a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and a native of Southern California.
Giant Pictures is a leading digital distributor that is committed to empowering filmmakers to own their distribution. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, we work directly with rights owners to distribute movies and TV shows to VOD and streaming platforms in North America and worldwide. Our content partners range from first-time filmmakers to award-winning independent producers, as well as notable studios Alamo Drafthouse Films, Abramorama Selects, Participant, Tribeca Enterprises, Utopia Distribution, and XYZ Films. A division of Giant Interactive, the award-winning digital media and technology services company, we distribute across 45+ platforms, including AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Peacock.
These classic programs will be released on home video for the first time. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
The David Susskind Archive announces four classic programs for release on home video for the first time: Paul Newman – The Paul Newman Trilogy on DVD and Digital on October 5, The Power And The Glory on DVD and Digital on October 5, Harvey on DVD and Digital on November 9, and The Bridge Of San Luis Rey on DVD and Digital on December 14. (MVD Entertainment Group, 2021)
Paul Newman – The Paul Newman Trilogy Three early live TV performances starring Paul Newman as a college kid, a clothing manufacturer, and a cowardly soldier. Produced by David Susskind for inclusion in various TV anthology series, these shows have not been seen since their original air dates in 1956-57. Featuring all-star casts, headed by Paul Newman and starring Jack Lord, Nehemiah Persoff, Sydney Pollack, and Frank Campanella, each episode contains the original commercials and previews of future shows.
“Five In Judgment” has two hitch hiking college kids forced to seek shelter from a storm in a small town diner where they are falsely accused of committing murder. The diner customers and owner terrorize the boys in the belief they committed the murder, only to discover the horrible truth. “The Rag Jungle” has Newman working for his father as a clothing manufacturer. They run up against racketeers demanding protection money, Newman refuses to pay and after his father is attacked, he organizes other manufacturers to stand up against the gangsters. “The Army Game” portrays Newman as a spoiled mama’s boy, a 9 letter man in college and a narcissist who does not want to be in the Army. His efforts to get a discharge anger his friends and barrack mates and it is not until he is attacked in the barracks that he is given his discharge.
The Power And The Glory The Graham Greene novel that made the world gasp, the drama of a priest who somehow stumbled onto the road to martyrdom. In the 1930s, a cynical Catholic priest is sent to Mexico to preach in post-revolution Mexico: a cleric who risks his life by continuing to conduct the Catholic Mass in secret after the totalitarian government has outlawed the Catholic Church. To confer the Christian sacraments, the priest must have wine but his attempts to obtain wine will call attention to his clandestine activities.
Featuring an all-star cast with multiple Oscar winners, the film was released theatrically in Europe and was nominated for an Emmy and DGA awards. The novel was recommended reading by Barack Obama in 2008. For fans of: As You Like It, Merchant of Venice, 21 Days, The Fugitive.
Harvey Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six-foot rabbit for a best friend, a man is thought to be insane. The classic stage hit gets the Hollywood treatment in the story of Elwood P. Dowd, an endlessly pleasant and delightfully eccentric bachelor living in a small town that is not aware that its newest citizen is an invisible 6’3″ white rabbit named “Harvey” that only he sees. After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for the family to heal.
Featuring an all-star cast (Art Carney, Larry Blyden, Fred Gwynne, Marion Lorne, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charlotte Rae, Jack Weston), the Paley Center for Media provided the film master elements. The Elwood P. Dowd character and imaginary rabbit are referenced in a variety of places: The Simpsons, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Field of Dreams, Shawshank Redemption, Farscape, Bob’s Burgers, and Scrubs. The novel won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize, instead of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. For fans of: The Honeymooners, Munsters, Bewitched, and Donnie Darko.
The Bridge Of San Luis Rey A friar is tried by the Inquisition for questioning God’s intentions when five die in the collapse of an Andean bridge. In early 18th century Peru (1714), an old Inca rope bridge over a gorge in the Andes, collapses, plunging five travelers to their deaths. Brother Juniper, who was within minutes of being on the bridge himself, becomes obsessed with discovering how five people of differing class and circumstances came to be on the bridge at that moment. The Catholic friar wants to know if it was mere existential happenstance or part of God’s cosmic plan. After researching the lives of the victims for five years and publishing his findings in a book, he is accused of heresy by the worldly Archbishop of Lima and put on trial for his life by the Inquisition.
Starring Judith Anderson (who received an Emmy nomination for her role) and Theodore Bikel, Hume Cronyn, Rita Gam, Viveca Lindfors, and Kurt Kaznar, the film originally aired as part of Dupont Show Of the Month which was watched by 47% of the available audience. “The Bridge Of San Luis Rey,” Thornton Wilder’s second novel, won a Pulitzer Prize and is #37 on the American Modern Library’s list of “100 Best 20th Century Novels.” For Fans of Our Town, and Hello Dolly.
Back by popular demand, The Call: The Uncut Experience returns to theaters for one night only, just in time for Halloween. Photo: google
On Monday, Cinedigm and Fathom Events announced that The Call is coming back to the big screen with an extended, uncut edition just in time for Halloween. The Call: The Uncut Experience will be in 700 movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, October 27 at 7p.m. local time. After the movie, there will also be a pre-recorded Q&A interview with Emmy® Award-winning director Timothy Woodward Jr. about the making of the movie and a future sequel. Visit Fathom Events online for a complete list of theater locations and to purchase tickets. (The Call: The Uncut Experience, 2021)
From the creator of Final Destination, The Call stars horror icons Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell. Shaye is best known for her role of Elise Rainier from the worldwide box office hit franchise Insidious. She has also starred in a variety of horror films, including The Grudge, Ouija, The Final Wish, and Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. Bell is best known for his role in the Saw franchise playing the terrifying John “Jigsaw” Kramer in all eight movies. The spine-tingling tale also stars Chester Rushing (Stranger Things), Erin Sanders (Big Time Rush), Mike Manning (Teen Wolf) and Judd Lormand (SEAL Team).
Strong word of mouth helped The Call become one of the top-performing horror films of 2020. It was a hit with both audiences and critics alike with MovieWeb calling it, “A chilling tale of revenge and the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season as we head into October” and Dread Central saying, “From credits to the final frame, The Call leaves a lasting impact, an almost congenital terror that’s certain to break your heart and scare you senseless.”
SYNOPSIS: From the creator of Final Destination, Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell star in this terrifying tale of death from the fall of 1987. After a tragic accident, a group of small-town friends must survive the night in the home of a sinister couple. One by one, their worst nightmares quickly become reality as they enter the realm of The Call.
“Being able to bring The Call back into theaters just in time for Halloween is an incredible opportunity,” said Woodward Jr. “From directing genre icons like Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell to re-creating the ‘80s and developing this fantastical horror dreamscape, I’m excited to share some great stories with theatergoers.”
“There’s nothing quite like the visceral experience of watching a horror film with fellow genre fans on the big screen,” said Yolanda Macias, Chief Content Officer, Cinedigm. “It’s scarily perfect timing to bring The Call back into theaters for Halloween with this new Uncut Experience. The additional scenes and Timothy’s interview will keep fans asking for a sequel.”
Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., The Call: The Uncut Experience was written by Patrick Stibbs and produced by Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick, Patrick Stibbs, Zebulun Huling, Gina Rugolo and Randy J. Goodwin. Executive producers include Nicolas Chartier, Jonathan Deckter, Matthew Helderman, Joe Listhaus, Drew Ryce, James Shavick, Kirk Shaw and Luke Taylor. Co-producers are James Cullen Bressack and Chaysen Beacham.
The Call: The Uncut Experience. Photo: Fathom Events, used with permission.
Demigod opens in select theaters on October 15, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Just in time for the Halloween season, Demigod, starring Rachel Nichols, Jeremy London, and Elena Sanchez opens nationwide in theaters on Friday, October 15, 2021. Upon the death of her grandfather, a woman and her husband return to her birthplace in Germany’s Black Forest, only to find a terrifying secret awaits them. Directed by Miles Doleac. (Demigod, 2021)
Demigod – “Already plagued by terrifying visions of childhood memories she cannot quite make sense of, Robin, nevertheless, remembers fondly her grandfather Karl’s (Jeremy London) deep connection to the natural world, the animals, and even the “spirits” of the ancient forest. Soon after arriving at her grandfather’s secluded cabin, however, Robin realizes that the inheritance left her is far more macabre than she had bargained for. She finds herself entrenched in an ancient hunting ritual that will force her to reckon with her family’s past and her own will to overcome the monstrous obstacles in her path.” (Movie Insider, 2021)
The final film by maverick filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi is a love letter to the power of cinema and will be playing on the big screen as it was intended. Photo: Crescendo House, used with permission.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Nobuhiko Obayashiwas a director, screenwriter and editor of films and television advertisements. He began his filmmaking career as a pioneer of Japanese experimental films before transitioning to directing more mainstream media, and his resulting filmography as a director spanned almost 60 years. He was notable for his distinct surreal filmmaking style, as well as the anti-war themes commonly embedded in his films. He died on 10 April 2020 at the age of 82 from lung cancer in Tokyo. The final film by Nobuhiko Obayashi finds the late director returning to the subject of Japan’s history of warfare following the completion of his “War Trilogy” which ended with Hanagatami.Labyrinth of Cinema will be released in New York at The Metrograph on October 20 and in Los Angeles at The Lumiere Cinema on October 29 (co-presented by Acropolis Cinema), with more regional dates to follow including Phoenix, Santa Ana, Tulsa, Seattle, New Orleans, Portland, Dallas, Vancouver (Canada), and more. (Crescendo House, 2021)
Labyrinth of Cinema – On the last night of its existence, a small movie theater in Onomichi—the seaside town of Obayashi’s youth where he shot nearly a dozen films—screens an all-night marathon of Japanese war films. When lightning strikes the theater, three young men are transported into the world onscreen where they experience the violent battles of several wars leading up to the bombing of Hiroshima. A breathless cinematic journey through Japan’s past, Labyrinth of Cinema finds Obayashi using every trick in his book to create an awe-inspiring, visually resplendent anti-war epic that urges us to consider cinema as a means to change history. The culmination of an exceptional 60-year career worth celebrating.
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (House) Cast: Takuro Atsuki, Takahito Hosoyamada, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Rei Yoshida, Riko Narumi, Hirona Yamazaki, Takako Tokiwa Feature, 2019, 179 minutes In Japanese with English subtitles
Crescendo House is a new boutique distribution company that aims to reinvigorate the American film landscape with a new model for distribution. Our goal is to expand the mainstream visibility of international or otherwise underrepresented films to provide viewers with an array of choices that more accurately reflects the diverse world we inhabit.
Photo: Dark Star Pictures/Voltage Pictures, used with permission.
Companion piece and ‘Monster’ prequel, Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman focuses on serial killer Aileen Wuornos. It is directed by Daniel Farrands and stars Peyton List in the title role, Lydia Hearst, Nick Vallelonga, Swen Temmel, Meadow Williams, and Andrew Biernat. Based on Aileen Wuornos’ early life in 1976, the film follows America’s most notorious female serial killer in Florida when she marries an older wealthy Yacht Club president only to inflict mayhem within her new family and Florida’s high society. (Dark Star Pictures, 2021)
Aileen Wournos: American Boogeywoman will have its US Video on Demand release on October 8 and will also be released on DVD on October 15, 2021. Video on Demand platforms include iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Xbox/Microsoft, Comcast/Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox, Verizon Fios, Dish Network, Direct TV and through local cable providers.
Dark Star Pictures is a new-age North American distribution company, focused on bringing unique and targeted content to audiences across the country. We are committed to releasing auteur-driven, original cinema in the theatrical, digital and home video space. Our goal is to create original marketing campaigns directly catered to audiences who will embrace our brand of thought-provoking cinema. Recent releases include Tribeca Midnight Selection Honeydew, Sundance favorite Koko-di Koko-Da, Cannes Official Selection Enfant Terrible and the newly announced SXSW psychological drama Freeland.
New clip from Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman
The documentary Our American Family will premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Our American Family is a radically honest, unfiltered portrait of a close-knit Philadelphia family fighting its greatest nemesis: generational addiction. Beginning with a pivotal, “nothing to lose” moment, then captured over the course of the following year, five family members tired of life plagued by addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories: a mother who learned from childhood to enable her own mother’s addiction, a daughter who doesn’t know who she is without a substance, a son who learned everything about “Heroin 101” from his sister, a younger son who feels alone but acts content to ease the family’s burden, and a stepfather who wonders if addiction is really a disease or simply a by-product of laziness. What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? How will they each free themselves from their interlocking fates? Will they be able to make significant changes to help their next generation? The members of Our American Family invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what is possible. No experts. No drug use. No melodrama. (Our American Family, 2021)
WORLD PREMIERE–Feature Length Documentary (USA) RT 87 mins Directed and produced by Hallee Adelman and Sean King O’Grady
Tickets are available for the Woodstock Film Festival 2021 Screenings World Premiere: Saturday October 2 at 3:45p.m. Bearsville Theater 291 Tinker St Woodstock, NY 12498
Sunday October 3 at 2p.m. Orpheum Theatre Saugerties 156 Main St Saugerties, NY 12477
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman. Photo: Dark Star Pictures, used with permission.
Los Angeles-based Dark Star Pictures have announced upcoming US release dates for TED BUNDY: AMERICAN BOOGEYMAN and AILEEN WUORNOS: AMERICAN BOOGEYWOMAN. The releases include a nationwide one-night Fathom release in over 750 cinemas for both titles, with VOD and DVD release to follow in September and October respectively. (Dark Star Pictures, 2021)
TED BUNDY: AMERICAN BOOGEYMAN will have its Fathom release on August 16 with a US VOD and DVD release to follow on September 3, 2021. Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, TED BUNDY: AMERICAN BOOGEYMAN follows elusive and charming killer Ted Bundy and the manhunt that brought him to justice, involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase “serial killer.” Daniel Farrands wrote and directed the project, which stars Chad Michael Murray (House Of Wax, The Haunting In Connecticut 2: Ghosts Of Georgia, and Riverdale) as Bundy. Rounding out the key cast are genre actress Lin Shaye (Insidious franchise, The Grudge, Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels) and Holland Roden (Escape Room 2, TeenWolf).
AILEEN WUORNOS: AMERICAN BOOGEYWOMAN will have its Fathom release on September 20 with a US VOD/DVD release on October 8, 2021. Companion piece and ‘Monster’ Prequel, AILEEN WUORNOS: AMERICAN BOOGEYWOMAN focuses on serial killer Aileen Wuornos, whichisalso directed by Farrands and stars Peyton List in the title role (Cobra Kai), Tobin Bell (“Jigsaw”from the Saw Franchise), Lydia Hearst (The Haunting Of Sharon Tate), Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), Swen Temmel (In Time, Backtrace), Meadow Williams (Boss Level. Den Of Thieves), and Andrew Biernat (Shadow’s Edge).
“We are thrilled to be bringing these films to audiences across the country, director Daniel Farrands has taken two of America’s most heinous serial killers and managed to spin their stories in a fresh way – introducing a genre film style to these familiar true crime stories. People will be able to experience these chapters of American history in a new way.” – Michael Repsch, President Dark Star Pictures
Dark Star Pictures is a new-age North American distribution company, focused on bringing unique and targeted content to audiences across the country. We are committed to releasing auteur-driven, original cinema in the theatrical, digital and home video space. Our goal is to create original marketing campaigns directly catered to audiences who will embrace our brand of thought-provoking cinema. Recent releases include Tribeca Midnight Selection Honeydew, Sundance favorite Koko-di Koko-Da, Cannes Official Selection Enfant Terrible, and the newly announced SXSW psychological drama Freeland.
Official trailer for Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman
John Coltrane. Photo: Lee Tanner – The Jazz Image, used with permission.
Submarine Deluxe presents, in association with Joseph Wemple, Films We Like, and Mexican Summer, Fire Music – an official selection at the New York Film Festival. Written and directed by Tom Surgal it features Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra & his Arkestra, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, and many more. Opening theatrically in New York (Film Forum) on Friday September 10 and Los Angeles (Laemmle Glendale) on September 17 with a national release to follow. (Submarine Deluxe, 2021)
Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers – brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane – are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America’s most innovative art form. Fire Music showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries and produced landmark albums like Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane’s Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement’s key players.
Writer / Director Tom Surgal is known for directing a series of groundbreaking music videos for leading alternative bands like Sonic Youth, Pavement and The Blues Explosion. Tom was initially mentored in filmmaking by Brian De Palma and would go on to work in a wide range of film production jobs, including production design and casting. Tom is also a musician who has performed regularly with Nels Cline (Wilco), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Jim O’Rourke, and Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges) and is co-leader of the improvisational ensemble White Out. He is also a curator who has programmed celebrated music series at various downtown New York venues, including an entire month of shows at John Zorn’s hallowed performance space The Stone. Tom is recognized as a leading authority on Avant-Garde Jazz and boasts one of the world’s largest collections of Free Jazz recordings.
SA Examiner 