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Stars: Tess O’Flaherty, Matt Connelly, Claudia Bonifazio, Thibul Nettle, Trung Le, Gail Morrison, Nick Buckland, Natasha Wanganeen | Written by Thibul Nettle, Tim Pine, Travis Akbar | Directed by Tim Pine

Coming in at just under an hour, including credits, it might seem like a stretch to call the Australian slasher Spithood a feature film. Surprisingly, however, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as both the American and British Film Institutes define a feature film as any film longer than 40 minutes, so Spithood does indeed qualify. The question is, does it have the quality to make up for what it lacks in quantity?

Set somewhere Down Under, the workers at a mental institution are preparing for their last shift. The final inmate, Kiara, is scheduled to be transferred out, and the facility is closed in the morning. Of course, as films from Assault on Precinct 13 to Malum have taught us,...

Stars: Paul Marlon, Aaron Sidwell, Charlene Aldridge, May Jones, Stanley Clarke, Tia Owomoyela, Jake Canuso, Alana Wallace, Jay James, Sam Anthony, Otto Jäger, Dan Richardson, Cynthia Rothrock, Eric Roberts, Joseph Millson | Written and Directed by Paul Knight

Fyre Rises is the story of Richard Fyre who was once a killer in the employ of a clandestine agency of some kind. But after a mission against Russian sex traffickers went badly wrong, he turned pacifist. So much so that when Priest offers him a job that would get him out of debt, he turns it down. And when several of his goons turn up to get him to reconsider, he refuses to defend himself.

But since Priest, like everyone else, has seen a few action films, he knows what to do. He threatens Fyre’s family. His wife Maddie, daughter Abbey (May Jones), and son Connor (Stanley Clarke) instead. That gets results,...

Popeye The Slayer Man: "Popeye the Slayer Man, a new horror feature exploring an alternate backstory for the legendary sailor, will be coming early 2025. The first trailer, stills, and teaser art have been released.

The film concerns a group of friends who sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of the “Sailor Man,” who is said to haunt the factory and local docks.

“We can’t wait for audiences to get a load of this gory and scary version of Popeye,” says producer Jeff Miller. “We went old-school and focused on using real practical effects, and not relying on CG for the gore. We’re talking with very enthusiastic and interested buyers now.”

Popeye the Slayer Man stars Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Mabel Thomas, Marie-Louise Boisnier, Jeff Thomas, and Steven McCormack, along with “scream queens” Angela Relucio and Sarah Nicklin. Jason Stephens plays the title role.

UK-based genre specialist Devilworks has added five titles to its slate ahead of next month’s American Film Market.

Devilworks is attending the first Las Vegas-based AFM in-person, and will be based at the Palms Casino Resort Fantasy Tower.

Its new titles include An American Masquerade, an Australian road movie that sees two failed actors transport drugs across the American West. The film is directed and produced by Jasmine Jakupi and Addison Heath, and stars Dylan Heath, Yoji Yamada and Elissa Dowling.

Also from Australia is Tim Pine’s Spithood, in which a patient escapes a mental asylum and begins a killing spree.

Travis Akbar is the third recipient of the Centralised First Nations Documentary Australia Fellowship, with the filmmaker to receive a grant of up to 30,000 to develop his project Kuta New Wiltja (Toward New Camp), as well as up to 10,000 of in-kind support to attend training opportunities at Aftrs.

The post Travis Akbar named Centralised First Nations Documentary Australia fellow appeared first on If Magazine.