News

Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner has closed a raft of deals in Cannes on Jesse Haaja’s superhero film sequel Rendel: Cycle Of Revenge.

US rights have gone to Shout! Studios and other key sales have closed in Germany (Splendid), France (Program Store), Spain (Wild Duck), and Italy (Blue Swan).

Kris Gummerus stars as the eponymous masked vigilante who dismantles the evil Vala organisation after his family is killed, as a spital of violence awakens the ghosts of the past.

Sean Cronin, whose credits include Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, plays the villain Smiley. Pekka Lehtosaari wrote the screenplay.

Miika J. Norvanto...

Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner has unveiled a packed sales slate ahead of the EFM in Berlin, led by Finnish revenge saga Rendel 2: Cycle Of Revenge.

Jesse Haaja’s sequel (pictured) to the 2017 cult hit Rendel: Dark Vengeance stars Kristofer Gummerus as the titular character who wages war against the Vala Corporation to avenge his family’s death.

Raven Banner has also acquired Chris Cronin’s folk horror debut The Moor, about a group of investigators who must venture deep into a haunted moor to solve the death of a childhood friend. The film premiered at FrightFest in London,...

Dual Review — Dual (2022) Film Review from the 45th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Riley Stearns, starring Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul, Beulah Koale, Maija Paunio, Andrei Alén, and Kristofer Gummerus. High concept precludes high risk, which can really give such [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Dual: A Detached & Deadpan Sci-Fi Comedy Undermined By Its Own Vapid Vagueness [Sundance 2022]...

Stars: Kristofer Gummerus, Rami Rusinen, Renne Korppila, Matti Onnismaa, Johnny Vivash, Bianca Bradey, Sheila Shah, Michael Majalahti, Michael Hall, Alina Tomnikov, Aake Kalliala, Reino Nordin, Tero Salenius, Sami Huhtala | Written by Pekka Lehtosaari, Miika J. Norvanto, Timo Puustinen | Directed by Jesse Haaja

Hans(el) und (G)rendel

There is something uniquely American in the unashamed virtues and patriotism wrapped up in traditional Superhero films. It is this un-ironic earnestness that I admire but find impossible to emulate personally. Superman, with his endlessly positivity is too vanilla for me. Probably more importantly I am, deep down too sneering, too cynical to fully embrace or relate to the struggles of the invincible man with the shopping list of powers.

Speaking of heroes… lots of people like to root for John McClane in the original Die Hard as the consummate underdog. Even watching as a kid, I rooted for the actual underdogs of the movie,...

Rendel Trailer and Posters Jesse Haaja‘s Rendel (2017) movie trailer and movie posters star Kristofer Gummerus, Johnny Vivash, Bianca Bradey, Sheila Shah, and Michael Hall. Rendel‘s plot synopsis: “A faceless hero Rendel is at open and ruthless war against the Vala organization: no mercy, no prisoners. One hit after another, this dark avenger destroys both the criminals [...]

Continue reading: Rendel (2017) Movie Trailer: A Faceless Hero Battles Evil in Jesse Haaja’s Superhero Film...

"What the hell is Rendel?" The first official trailer has arrived online for a Finnish, futuristic superhero film titled Rendel, which is the name of the masked superhero character that it's about. Created by the film's director, Jesse Haaja, Rendel is a "faceless" superhero fighting against the Vala criminal organization in the "cold dystopia" of a fictionalized version of a Finnish city called Mikkeli. This "superhero story" is a bit darker and grittier than what we see out of Hollywood, but still has some of the same tropes of the genre. Starring Finnish actor Kristofer Gummerus as Rendel, along with Matti Onnismaa, Minttu Tamski, Roosa-Maria Makinen, Alina Tomnikov, Bianca Bradey, and Johnny Vivash. This looks it could be cool, but I'm also a bit worried it might also be straight-to-vhs level terrible. Check out the footage below. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Jesse Haaja's Rendel, direct from...

Of all the planets in the universe… Got some time? Take a look at writer/director Jesse Jokela’s 20-minute sci-fi short “Place to Stay”, which after spending two years on the festival circuit, is now available for free in its entirety below. So what’s it all about? The plot goes something like this: A human explorer crash lands onto a new planet also inhabited by humans – our planet. The injured woman needs to quickly send an emergency signal from the forest, but she faints and wakes up in a local man’s house. Starring Maria Ahlroth, Kris Gummerus, and Vesa Postila.