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Denmark may have had statistically low murder rates, especially when compared to most countries around the world. But the Nordic country remains notorious for some of its high-profile true-crime murder cases from the 1950s Copenhagen hypnosis murders, which was made into a movie titled Murderous Trance a.k.a. The Guardian Angel starring Pilou Asbæk in 2018 to the murder of Kim Wall in 2017, which became a 2022 Netflix documentary film Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case.

Then, there’s the Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, who murdered between 9 and 25 children from 1913 to 1920 before she was eventually arrested and initially sentenced to death before being commuted to life imprisonment. This unspeakable true story becomes a source of inspiration for director Magnum von Horn in The Girl with the Needle.

But instead of diving straight to the grisly subject matter told from Dagmar’s point of view, von Horn, who also co-wrote...

New Indie

Michael Almereyda has tackled science (as a topic of either biopics or dramas) in a fascinating way in “Experimenter” and “Marjorie Prime,” and now he’s bringing that same energy to the inventor-biopic with “Tesla” (Shout Factory/IFC), a bold and audacious look at the life of Nikola Tesla. Ethan Hawke, in the title role, is evenly matched by Eve Hewson’s Anne Morgan, and they both nail Almereyda’s unique tone, which throws in anachronisms and green-screens to tell the story of someone who stretched the notions of what his peers imagined could be possible.

Also available: Madison Iseman plays a young girl with mental-health issues who can’t convince anyone she’s witnessed a crime in “Fear of Rain” (Lionsgate); 2012 indie “Watching TV with the Red Chinese” (Mvd Visual), co-starring Constance Wu and Gillian Jacobs, makes its U.S. DVD debut; Sienna Miller and Diego Luna...

Based on the extraordinary true story, Murderous Trance follows detective Anders Olsen (Pilou Asbæk) as he investigates a case in which a bank robber shoots two bank clerks before fleeing with the money. With the help of a hypnotist (Rade Šerbedžija), Olsen discovers a sinister mystery involving mind control and the charismatic criminal Björn Schow …

The post Josh Lucas & Pilou Asbæk star in Murderous Trance, coming this February appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

"We are trying to help you..." Mvd Entertainment Group has released an official US trailer for the Finnish crime thriller titled Murderous Trance, formerly known as The Guardian Angel when it first premiered. From producer / director Arto Halonen, it is about the most incredible series of hypnosis crimes in history, sending an investigator and a hypnotist deep into a world of psychological manipulation. The international cast includes Josh Lucas as "the charismatic criminal Björn Schow Nielsen", Pilou Asbæk as detective Anders Olsen, plus Rade Šerbedžija, Christopher Fulford, and Sara Soulié. This is a described as an "edge-of-your seat mystery", but doesn't really look any better than your average crime thriller. There are some cool shots and it does look twisted and trippy, thanks to all the hypnosis. Curious to see where it leads. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Arto Halonen's Murderous Trance, direct from YouTube: Based on the extraordinary true story,...

1091 Pictures has acquired worldwide digital rights to A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem, a feature documentary directed and produced by Yu Gu, written and produced by Elizabeth Ai and co-produced by Jin Yoo-Kim. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, will be available to buy on platforms January 26, 2021, and rent February 2.

The doc follows Lacy, an Oakland Raiders cheerleader who sued the team in 2014 for wage theft, and Maria, a former cheerleader for the Buffalo Bills who filed a similar suit with three others, as they fight for fair compensation from the NFL amid a structure in which some cheerleaders are compensated at less than minimum wage, compared with the teams’ players, mascots and concession workers. In the process, they reveal a culture of toxic masculinity and the devaluation of women’s labor in society. The Raiders eventually settled their suit and increased their cheerleaders’ pay.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 34th edition, which takes place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 9. Sixty-three world premieres will debut at the California fest, which is also hosting 59 U.S. premieres from 48 countries. “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy” will open the festival, with “Spoons: A Santa Barbara Story” closing it.

Sbiff also serves as an awards-season stop, and this year’s honorees include Viggo Mortensen, Glenn Close, Melissa McCarthy, Yalitza Aparicio, Sam Elliott, Elsie Fisher, Claire Foy, Richard E. Grant, Thomasin McKenzie, John David Washington, Steven Yeun, and Michael B. Jordan.

Here’s the lineup:

Babysplitters, USA – World Premiere

Directed by Sam Friedlander

Better Together, USA – World Premiere

Directed by Isaac Hernández

The Bird Catcher, Norway, UK – World Premiere

Directed by Ross Clarke

Cemetery Park, USA – World Premiere

Directed by Brandon Alvis

Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy,...

The project is directed by 15 female writers and directors.

Tuffi Films short film anthology One-Off Incident won the Finnish Film Affair’s work in progress award, which goes to the project presented that is most likely to attract international attention.

One-Off Incident is an anthology of short films about how power is used against women in their private lives as well as in society. The project will also include an awareness campaign.

The project is directed by 15 female writers and directors and curated by Tuffi Films’ group of female producers; it was pitched by director Alli Haapasalo and Tuffi producer Elli Toivoniemi.

Finland now offerering 25% tax incentive for film and TV production.

Finland has announced the first three productions to take advantage of its recently launched 25% film and TV production tax incentive.

The three productions are:

The Guardian Angel (pictured), feature film by Art Film Production - $230,000 (€216,767)Gigglebug animation series by Gigglebug Entertainment, for $115,200 (€108,709)The New Norway, documentary by Saamifilmi, $56,600 (€53,400)

The Guardian Angel, an English-language drama/thriller, is being sold internationally by Ambi, and is directed by Finland’s Arto Halonen and stars Pilou Asbaek and Josh Lucas. The film is based on the true story of Copenhagen’s Hypnosis Murders of 1951; a police investigation discovers that one man used manipulation and hypnosis to turn another man into a robber and a murderer.

The film is now shooting in Croatia and Denmark and will use the Finnish incentive to do its post-production in Finland.

The cash rebate, which came into effect on Jan 1, covers a maximum of 25% of the eligible...

Finland now offerering 25% tax incentive for film and TV production.

Finland has announced the first three productions to take advantage of its new 25% film and TV production tax incentive.

The three productions are:

The Guardian Angel (pictured), feature film by Art Film Production - $230,000 (€216,767)Gigglebug animation series by Gigglebug Entertainment, for $115,200 (€108,709)The New Norway, documentary by Saamifilmi, $56,600 (€53,400)

The Guardian Angel, an English-language drama/thriller, is being sold internationally by Ambi, and is directed by Finland’s Arto Halonen and stars Pilou Asbaek and Josh Lucas. The film is based on the true story of Copenhagen’s Hypnosis Murders of 1951; a police investigation discovers that one man used manipulation and hypnosis to turn another man into a robber and a murderer.

The film is now shooting in Croatia and Denmark and will use the Finnish incentive to do its post-production in Finland.

The cash rebate, which came into effect on Jan 1, covers a maximum of 25% of the eligible...

Exclusive: Finnish-Danish-Croatian co-pro is currently shooting in Croatia and Denmark.

Ambi Distribution has acquired worldwide sales rights (Scandinavia, Iceland and former Yugoslavia) to thriller The Guardian Angel, now shooting.

Writer-director Arto Halonen [pictured] is currently filming the Finnish-Danish-Croatian co-production on location in Croatia and Denmark.

Pilou Asbæk (A War), Josh Lucas (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rade Serbedzija (Downton Abbey) and Cyron Melville (A Royal Affair) lead the cast.

The English-language film is based on the true story of Copenhagen’s Hypnosis Murders of 1951; a police investigation discovers that one man used manipulation and hypnosis to turn another man into a robber and a murderer.

“The story holds great interest for us today, not only as proof of the external power of controlling the human mind but also as it focuses on the visible and invisible manipulations acting upon us and affecting us as human beings,” said Halonen. “Focused on a single, fascinating case of an actual hypnosis crime, [link...