Speaking at the New York premiere of the newly restored Multiple Maniacs last month, John Waters touched on the state of his first feature length film, Mondo Trasho. He said it would probably never be re-released because the music licensing would cost $750,000, and it’s not the first time he has made a statement like this. And every time I hear it, it’s a bummer. There’s an entire generation of Waters fans who have only seen VHS rips on YouTube or via torrents, and that’s a shame. These mediums are not suitable for an acclaimed director’s first film, nor are they exactly legal. Let’s get the fan entitlement out of the way. We’re not owed an official, restored release of Mondo Trasho.
Read MoreShortly after graduating film school and coming out to his family, Will Allen joined a Los Angeles-based group called The Buddhafield. He was searching for spiritual fulfillment and found it in the group of like-minded individuals. With his video camera in tow, Allen spent twenty years documenting the group’s activities, at the center of which was their enigmatic leader Michel. Over the two decades, the group’s focus changed due to both external and internal forces. They grew to be seen as a cult by the outside world while Michel tightened his grip on them. His public behavior bordered on bizarre, but it was what he did in secret that ultimately led to the unraveling of The Buddhafield. The footage that Allen accumulated serves as a record of both the joyous highs and horrific lows of the group, capturing the literal Holy Hell it became.
Read MoreIf all went according to plan, Jon would drive his friend/mentor Daryl on a 3,000-mile trip to the Pacific Northwest on a custom motorcycle fitted with a sidecar. The trip would fulfill a longstanding promise and allow Jon to pay Daryl back for helping him through rough times. It had a sense of urgency as Daryl suffered from degenerative eye disease that’ll leave him blind. He’d likely never have another opportunity like this one. But in the grand tradition of road trips, nothing went as planned.
Read MoreCaroline Williams is one of those actresses you never forget. In 1986 she starred in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Tobe Hooper’s bonkers and wildly entertaining sequel to the original horror classic. As disc jockey Stretch Brock, she fought to survive an unfortunate run-in with Leatherface and the rest of the sadistic Sawyer clan. Following that iconic performance, she appeared in dozens of other films, including another of my favorite horror sequels, Stepfather 2. This month marks the 30th anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, as well as the release of her latest film, Syfy’s Sharknado 4. To celebrate, we reached out (and geeked out a little) to Ms. Williams about her historic horror career.
Read MoreHope Ann Gregory (Melissa Rauch) was the star of her hometown after making it to the Olympics for gymnastics. A career-ending injury left her with the Bronze medal, but in the ensuing decade Hope clung to the glory lavished upon her as a child. Enabled by her well-meaning father Stan (Gary Cole), Hope became an adult who never quite grew up, entirely dependent on her father’s financial support as well as the small town’s emotional support. She still wants everyone to see her as a star, even though she’s lost much of her shine. Bossy, selfish, and foul-mouthed, Hope is perfectly fine with her lot in life, though her father wants more for her. She begrudgingly takes on training Maggie (Haley Lu Richardson), a talented young gymnast who could possibly surpass Hope’s own accomplishments. She even more begrudgingly entertains a romance with Ben (Thomas Middleditch), an adorably awkward employee of the gym who is sweeter to Hope than she deserves. Hope’s rival Lance (Sebastian Stan) is eager to take over as Maggie’s trainer, but his antagonism isn’t nearly as much of an obstacle as Hope’s own self-destructive tendencies. Both her and Maggie’s futures are at stake in this debut comedy by Bryan Buckley was written by Rauch and her husband Winston Rauch.
Read MoreLace Crater is the debut feature film by Harrison Atkins. Produced (and co-starring) Joe Swanberg, the film has all traits of the mumblecore genre that Swanberg helped popularize a decade ago. Atkins cleverly plays on those conventions with the influence of body horror traditions, using them to bolster the film’s mumblecore framework.
Read MoreYou’d think being taken hostage during a bank robbery gone awry would the worst thing to happen to Vivian (Ashley Bell) on a sweltering day in the California desert in 1978. In a race to get away from the police, her captors inadvertently drive onto the property of Wyatt Moss (Pat Healy), a crazed former military sniper with a deadly pastime. Until now Wyatt’s brother, the local sheriff (Alan Ruck), has turned a blind eye to his sibling’s activities. But, with the missing Vivian, the Sheriff might have to intervene. Whether Vivian survives long enough to be found is a whole another story.
Read MoreThe first live-action team-up of DC Comics icons Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman should have been a game-changer in the comic book movie genre. Instead, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS), both a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steeland the stepping stone to ambitious slate of upcoming films from Warner Bros., was met with savage reviews (27% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and underwhelming box office numbers. $872 million worldwide is hardly a failure but given the production and marketing costs, anything less than a billion dollars would be seen as a disappointment. In the United States alone, it couldn’t outperform Fox’s Deadpool, which was an R-rated superhero equivalent of an episode of Family Guy. What went wrong?
Read MoreActor Anton Yelchin died unexpected this weekend in what’s been called a freak accident. He was only 27 years old. Shock and sadness often comes along with the news of the death of a young and beloved public figure. Given the bizarre circumstances of Yelchin’s death, the news stings a bit more than usual. The actor emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union with his parents—both star figure skaters—when he was only 6 months old. He began acting professionally when he was 9. During his 16 years working, he amassed an impressive 65 film and TV credits, but it’s hard not to think he was just getting started.
Read MoreMiles (Shane Callahan) finds himself on the losing end of a coin toss to determine whether he gets promoted or fired, and is subsequently dumped by his high-strung and materialistic girlfriend. But just as he’s at his lowest, he comes up with a genius but crazy scheme to amass a fortune by collecting the coins in wishing fountains. When the endeavor grows bigger than he originally planned, he recruits his best friend Jack (Cullen Moss) and a friendly local homeless man Durwood (Don Henderson Baker) to help. With the team in place, Miles travels around North Carolina gathering coins. In one park, he has a fateful encounter with Penelope (Anna Stromberg), a woman running from her troubles and eager to join Miles on his trek.
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