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Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions have entered into a new first-look deal with Universal Television, where the company will develop and produce TV series for broadcast, streaming and cable.

Under the partnership, Brownstone is developing “Pitch Perfect: K-Pop Idols” for Peacock, a comedy series written by Joel Kim Booster (“Fire Island”) that follows a struggling singer-songwriter whose life completely turns upside down when she finds herself auditioning to be a part of the first all-American K-pop group.

Booster, Banks and Handelman serve as executive producers alongside Gold Circle Films’ Paul Brooks and Scott Niemeyer and director Jason Moore (“Pitch Perfect”).

In addition, Brownstone is developing “Crush” for Peacock, a series co-produced by UCP and Universal Television inspired by the 1995 episode of “The Jenny Jones Show” titled “Revealing Same-Sex Secret Crushes.”

The devastating and darkly funny series, which is written by Addison McQuigg (“Bloodline”), is set within the...

The horror film Alma & the Wolf is set to receive a theatrical and digital release this Friday, June 20th – and to help you decide whether or not you’re going to be watching this movie in a few days, we have the trailer embedded above.

Directed by Michael Patrick Jann from a screenplay written by Abigail Miller, the film has the following synopsis: After a violent animal attack, paranoia spreads through Spiral Creek. But when Deputy Ren Accord gets too close, his son vanishes, and reality begins to fracture. This appears to be somewhat of a werewolf movie, with a whole lot of mind-boggling “what the hell is going on?” trickery mixed in.

Jann’s previous directing credits include Drop Dead Gorgeous, Organ Trail, and episodes of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Daybreak, The Good Doctor, Ghosted, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Atypical, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Last Man on Earth,...

Blumhouse Productions is an independent media production company that’s been part of the industry since 2000. It started off making low-budget gems and has since grown into one of the biggest players in cinema. They’re absolutely best known for their horror repertoire, with successful franchises like Insidious turning the studio into a household name alongside horror giants like A24.

Luckily for horror fans, Blumhouse is still going strong and shows no signs of stopping. It entered 2025 on a strong note with the new movie Wolf Man. While the movie is still running in theaters, critics and audiences have already posted their opinions on a very well-known review site called Rotten Tomatoes. Most of Blumhouse’s filmography has a Rotten Tomatoes presence. There are movies like Wolf Man labeled as “Rotten” which is a grade given when less than 60% of the reviews are positive, and many more “Fresh” or “Certified...

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It’s What’s Inside is a sci-fi comedy horror film written and directed by Greg Jardin. The Netflix film revolves around a group of college friends who reunite before one of them gets married but the arrival of an uninvited guest with a mysterious suitcase starts to tear the group apart. It’s What’s Inside stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, Gavin Leatherwood, James Morosini, Reina Hardesty, David W. Thompson, Madison Davenport, Nina Bloomgarden, Hailee Keanna Lautenbach, and Brittany O’Grady. So, if you loved the thrilling suspense, compelling characters, and an intensely dramatic story with a tinge of comedy in It’s What’s Inside here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Talk To Me (Paramount+ & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – A24

Talk To Me is a supernatural horror thriller film directed by Danny and Michael Philippou from a screenplay...

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Speak No Evil is a psychological horror thriller film written and directed by James Watkins. Based on the 2022 Danish film of the same name written by Mads and Christian Tafdrup, the James McAvoy film follows the story of an American family as their dream holiday at a British family’s idyllic country estate turns into a nightmare because of a psychotic man. Speak No Evil also stars Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Scoot McNairy, Dan Hough, Alix West Lefler, and Motaz Malhees. So, if you loved the thrilling story, immense tension, and compelling characters in Speak No Evil here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Speak No Evil (AMC+ & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Shudder

Speak No Evil is a Danish psychological horror thriller film directed by Christian Tafdrup from a screenplay co-written by Mads and Christian Tafdrup.

After crafting short films for a decade, director Beth de Araujo made her feature debut with the one-take thriller Soft & Quiet in 2022. Now SFGate reports that she has wrapped production on her second feature, Josephine, which shot under the radar in San Francisco from April through June. They were also able to unearth the information that Josephine, which stars Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) and Gemma Chan (Eternals) was inspired by a childhood experience of de Araujo’s that she recounted at a The Moth storytelling event in 2019.

According to SFGate, “When she was 8 years old, de Araujo and her father drove to a remote part of the park to play baseball. When her father turned off the car, they heard screams for help. Her father chased off the assailant, leaving de Araujo alone in the car. Eventually, she got scared, went looking for her father and came face...

A film project delayed due to the pandemic, that was pushed back slightly and then leapfrogged when she shot and premiered SXSW title Soft & Quiet, it’s been confirmed that Beth de Araújo is currently in post-production (and probably gunning for a 2025 Sundance 2025 berth) with her sophomore feature. It’s been confirmed that Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan toplined Josephine — production took place this past April in San Francisco. One of our favorites in Philip Ettinger and Syra McCarthy also star while the centerpiece role belongs to newbie Mason Lily Reeves. Animal Kingdom’s David Kaplan is producing alongside Araújo.…...

Beth de Araújo certainly got people talking with her debut feature Soft & Quiet back in 2022, a brazen bit of social commentary that our own Paul Le described as a “shocking white-power nightmare” in his 4-star review for Bloody Disgusting. What’s next from Beth de Araújo?

Indiewire reports this afternoon that the filmmaker has recently been filming her second movie Josephine, which will feature a cast led by Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan.

The website previews, “For her next film, de Araújo is again mining her own life and the world around her to tell what we expect to be another chilling tale.”

Producer David Caplan teases that the upcoming movie is “a story of a family dealing with a personal trauma after seeing something unexpected and horrifying in Golden Gate Park.”

The project’s IMDb page further previews, “After witnessing a brutal attack in Golden Gate Park, eight-year-old...

If you managed to catch filmmaker Beth de Araújo’s feature directorial debut, the Gotham-nominated SXSW premiere “Soft & Quiet,” you already know how uniquely skilled de Araújo is at building dread and terror on both a technical and emotional level. Her first film, which debuted at the fest in 2022 before getting released in October of that year, used the one-take technique to follow a group of white supremacist women as they meet, mingle, and eventually attack a pair of Poc sisters.

While not based on a single real-life story, “Soft & Quiet” was the result of deep research into actual (and terrifying) culture shifts and personal experiences, from de Araújo’s own stories around a racist teacher to the Amy Cooper birdwatching incident and even the “Tradlife” movement. For her next film, de Araújo is again mining her own life and the world around her to tell what we...

One of the most acclaimed horror movies of the year, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow heads home this week, and it’s joined by three other horror movies as well as an anthology TV series.

Here’s all the new horror released June 10 – June 16, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, Gravitas Ventures released G.S. Foxwood’s horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked on VOD outlets this past Tuesday, June 11. The film blends elements of horror, familial drama, and fantasy to “create a unique, emotionally powerful, and terrifying experience.”

Molly Kunz (Widows, The Irrational), Michael X. Sommers (Sense8), Stefanie Estes (Soft & Quiet), and Colleen Camp (Clue) star in the indie horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked.

Wild Eyed and Wicked follows Lily Pierce (Kunz) in her attempt to strike back at the medieval creature that’s haunted her family for generations.

Exclusive: Stefanie Estes, star of Blumhouse-execed SXSW title Soft & Quiet, is leading horror-thriller The Spotter alongside Alyshia Ochse (The Other Black Girl), Rob Kirkland (Yellowstone) and Robbie Allen (The Redeemer) .

USC alum Harry Locke IV directs the movie, which is penned by Mike Gerbino. Locke’s credits as an on-line editor and in the VFX department include The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Tangerine. Currently in post-production, The Spotter is his sophomore feature as a director.

The film follows Iris (Estes), a struggling mother who reluctantly assists her friend Bridgette’s (Ochse) suicide. When the unthinkable happens, she finds herself entangled in a nightmarish battle between guilt and the supernatural. Above is a first-look image.

Sasha Yelaun and Alain Azoulay of Azoulay Pictures (The Redeemer) are producing. Harry Locke IV is also producing alongside Robbie Allen. Alyshia Ochse and Stefanie Estes are co-producers.

Exclusive: Ethan Embry (Blindspotting) and Li Jun Li (Babylon) have signed on to star in Alma and the Wolf, a new feature from director Michael Patrick Jann (Drop Dead Gorgeous) and writer Abigail Miller.

In the psychological horror-mystery, set on the wild Oregon coast, Embry plays Ren Accord, a troubled police officer who must pull himself together when, while investigating a mysterious wolf attack, his estranged son goes missing.

Others set to star in the pic include Jeremie Harris (Legion), Lukas Jann (Organ Trail), Kevin Allison (The State), Mather Zickel (Organ Trail), Beth Malone (Fun Home), Alexandra Doke (City on Fire), and Dana Millican (Soft & Quiet).

Jann and David Codron are producing following their collaboration on the cult favorite Drop Dead Gorgeous, starring Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards and Ellen Barkin, and the horror Western Organ Trail. Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron, and Viviana Zarragoitia are exec producing through Tpc (formerly...

"Soft & Quiet" is a unique Blumhouse production. It's not about paranormal activity or psychotic killers but the banality of evil. Beth de Araújo's intense film centers on a group of white supremacists who host the first meeting of the "Daughters for Aryan Unity," which escalates into a night of cruel violence. Araújo explores the malevolence that exists right under our noses, whether it be the average suburban mom, an elementary school teacher, or the local grocery store owner. Even these kinds of seemingly innocuous people can have insidious viewpoints that perpetuate the very worst of racial and gender stereotypes.

They are the types of conservative white women who helped Donald Trump ascend to the presidency. The ease with which they spit out some of the most horrible, stereotypical thoughts about people of color is chilling. They believe that they are inherently superior simply because they are white Christians.

End Times, the post-apocalyptic zombie film starring horror icon Jamie Bernadette and Craig Stark is out now in limited theaters and on VOD. Jim Towns, writes and directs and The Asylum distributes the feature.

End Times follows a pair of mismatched travelers, Claire and Freddie (Bernadette and Stark), as they try to escape a deadly pandemic that has turned Los Angeles into a zombie-infested wasteland. Claire is a privileged young suburbanite ill-equipped to survive in this hostile new landscape, until she meets Freddie, a retired soldier who lost his daughter to the virus. As they travel together to reach the perimeter, Freddie teaches Claire the skills that will enable Claire to survive, and the uneasy partnership between the two grows into something more akin to a father/daughter relationship. Before they can reach safety, the two will have to escape brutal gangs, cannibals, cults, and the undead.

The supporting cast...

Summer is here, and while the heat might make you sweat, Netflix has the perfect chilling remedy. We've scoured the depths of horror streaming to bring you the ultimate list of the most popular and spine-tingling movies currently haunting Netflix. Get ready to scream, laugh, and question your life choices as we countdown the 10 Most Popular Horror Movies Streaming on Netflix (US) that will keep you glued to your couch all summer long.

Marcell Piti/Sony Pictures 10. The Invitation (2022)

Prepare to step into a nightmare as we kick off our countdown with The Invitation. When Evie receives an invitation to a luxurious wedding, she discovers that her newfound family harbors sinister intentions. As secrets unravel and tensions rise, this psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning the true nature of the gathering and the terrifying secrets that lie beneath.

Saban Capital Group 9. I See You...

This article contains discussions/references to murder and racism

The Blumhouse-produced horror thriller Soft & Quiet involves a limited cast for its claustrophobic settings. The choice of relying on only a handful of main cast members makes sense given how the entirety of the movie takes place within a matter of a few hours. Building upon horror movies with social commentary, like Blumhouse’s Get Out, Soft & Quiet seems to show a women's get-together. However, things soon take a dark turn when these women reveal their white supremacist views, which set off a chain of chaotically violent events. Helmed by Beth de Araújo in her directorial debut, Soft & Quiet is a haunting insight into the race relations plaguing modern America.

While the Soft & Quiet cast might not include mainstream names, each of the main actors chillingly showcase their dramatic prowess. Ranking among the best horror movies filmed in one continuous shot,...

This article contains discussions/references to racism and murder.

The shocking 2022 horror thriller Soft & Quiet was not only a challenging film to watch, but its ending left a lot of questions. Debuting at the South by Southwest film festival, the movie centers on a group of female white supremacists whose meeting spirals into a night of violence and hate. Polarizing critics and audiences alike, Beth de Araújo's directorial debut was intentionally crafted to push buttons and present a story that genuinely shocks. The film was produced by Jason Blum, and its release through the Blumhouse brand makes it one of the most unique additions to that company's catalog of horror films.

Eschewing the usual aspects of a horror movie, Soft & Quiet instead opts to frighten its audience through its sheer plausibility, and presents a story inspired by real-life headlines that speak to larger issues in society. Aside from its challenging subject matter,...

U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Film Releasing has acquired international sales rights, excluding North America, to the debut feature from the Burghart Brothers, “Head Count.”

The company plans to begin sales on the film during the Cannes Film Market.

“Head Count” follows the story of an escaped prisoner, Kat, who finds himself facing an unknown assailant with his own revolver pointed straight at his head. To survive, he must remember what happened on the crazy ride that brought him to this point, one bullet at a time.

The cast includes Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Aaron Jakubenko (“Tidelands”), Melanie Zanetti (“Bluey”), Chris Bylsma (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”), Addam Bramich (“Poker Face”), Polaris Banks (“Reklaw”) and Cinnamon Shultz (“Winter’s Bone”).

“Headcount” is directed by Jacob and Ben Burghart from a screenplay they wrote with Josh Doke. Tristan Barr and David Gim of Continuance Pictures serve as producers,...

Exclusive: UK-based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales, excluding Australia and New Zealand, to the Australian horror flick You’ll Never Find Me, the feature debut from Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen.

The film will have its world premiere as part of the Midnight section at Tribeca 2023. Umbrella Entertainment holds rights to Australia and New Zealand.

Billed as a “sharp and twisted” horror tale, the pic follows an isolated man living at the back of a desolate caravan park where he is visited by a desperate young woman seeking shelter from a violent storm. As the savage storm worsens, these solitary souls begin to feel threatened- but who should really be afraid?

Bell wrote the screenplay. The pic will be Bell and Allen’s feature debut following a series of short projects. The pair also serve as producers alongside Christine Williams and Cowan. Ari Harrison...

Exclusive: Ahead of the EFM, Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales, excluding North America, on horror The Outwaters.

The film follows four friends who set out to make a music video whilst camping in the sun-drenched Mojave desert. Their trip starts off like any other, but the group soon realizes something is not right. Mysterious sounds haunt them, and when a menacing force descends, their horrifying journey begins.

North American rights have been acquired by Cinedigm who plan to release The Outwaters in theaters on February 9 followed by a launch on its horror streaming service Screambox, which is powered by studio Bloody Disgusting.

Written and directed by Robbie Banfitch, The Outwaters has screened at Chattanooga and Panic Fest, and also took home the Jury Prize for Best Feature at Unnamed Footage Festival and Dead of Night Film Festival.

Cast includes Angela Basolis, Michelle May, Scott Schamell and Banfitch and...

UK-based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to horror Raging Grace, we can reveal.

Produced by BFI Vision awarded producer Chi Thai, the film will have its world premiere as part of the Narrative Competition section at SXSW 2023. It heralds from British-born Filipino writer-director, Paris Zarcilla.

The film follows Joy, an undocumented Filipino immigrant who is struggling to do the best she can for her daughter when she secures the perfect job: taking care of an extremely wealthy but terminal old man. The new position pays well and guarantees a roof over their heads. But very soon, Joy and her daughter Grace start to realize everything is not as it seems. Something is festering beneath the surface, threatening all they have worked for.

Pic stars Maxine Eigenmann who featured in Verdict, the Orizzonti entry from Venice. Leanne Best (The Woman in Black) and David Hayman...

Grimy truck stops serve as prime real estate in horror. The setting invokes a sense of desolate lawlessness as strangers pass through a revolving door of anonymity. Don’t even bother entering the filthy, unkept bathrooms; bad things always happen there. It’s precisely this setting where Candy Land unfurls its sleazy slasher filled with broken dreams, religious repression, and a sensitive depiction of sex workers right before a grim turn.

Candy Land introduces Sadie (Sam Quartin) and Liv (Virginia Rand), Riley (Eden Brolin), and Levi (Owen Campbell), a group of tight-knit sex workers dubbed “lot lizards.” They live out of the motel and spend their days chatting near the gas station, snowballs and soda in hand, in between sexual encounters in bathroom stalls or truck cabs. The lot lizards are presided over by Madame Nora (Guinevere Turner) and morally ambiguous Sheriff Rex (William Baldwin). Then the lot lizards find...

2022 saw the loss of one of my most admired film directors, a man who brought me to seek out different films and examine cinema on another level. Jean-Luc Goadard’s Pierrot le Fou, a film which I was so excited to see featured in this year’s updated Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time, and one that still brings me the same joy it did when I first watched it at University. Films, for me, alongside so much, are a vehicle of escapism allowing me to spend a few precious hours outside of the constant push and pulls of life and this year I have been awed and delighted by an incredible array of talent and features which have stuck with me long after the credits rolled.

Honourable Mentions: Barbarian, Speak No Evil, Athena, Pearl, God’s Creatures, Tár, Rrr, Kanaval: A People’s History of Haiti in Six Chapters.

As an appreciator of the culinary arts (a "foodie" or whatever), my favorite type of visual storytelling is always food-based. There's so much a single dish can tell in terms of story: Attention to detail unlocks the psyche of its chef, while the grade of meal in specific scenarios conveys particular emotions. Food may just be food to some people. Still, movies and television shows have long found unique ways to incorporate five-star narrative devices that are flame broiled, served fresh, and intricately layered beyond what's visible from the outside.

As we conclude another year in media entertainment, let's look at some of the year's best incorporations of cinematic cuisines.

10. Meatball (Fresh)

Sebastian Stan plays a most charming cannibal in "Fresh," where he butchers women for their delicious cuts of human meat. In it, Stan's "Steve" or "Brendan' — depending on who he's talking to — indulges prisoner Nora's (Daisy Edgar-Jones) questions about cannibalism.

As one half of /Film's Scariest Scene Ever Boyz™ with Chris Evangelista, it's my pleasure to present the scariest movie moments of 2022. Yes, they're mostly horror films — but terrifying sequences can exist outside rigid horror boundaries. You might not be shocked to find "Smile" or "Barbarian" mentioned below, but what about the awards contender that starts things off? Or my favorite film of 2022 that no one's talking about coming in at the top spot? It's been a rock-solid year for being scared senseless. Let's go ahead and recount all the extra nightmares that cycled through my head.

Tár - The Underground

"Olga?"

"Tár" stars an all-but-locked Best Actress in Cate Blanchett as Berlin Philharmonic composer-conductor Lydia Tár. Her life throttles off the rails as indecent accusations tarnish her good name, leading to faint breaks in storytelling that might be Lydia's projected fractures or actual reality. Writer and director Todd Field pushes Lydia to the brink,...

The Gotham Awards, honoring the best in American independent films, held their 32nd annual event on Monday night, November 28, launching the fall and winter awards season. So who were the big winners? Scroll down for the complete list of film and television champs in all categories, updating live throughout the night.

SEE2023 Oscars: Best Picture Predictions [Updated: November 28]

Nominees were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others directly involved in filmmaking. Those small juries change from year to year and from category to category, so these awards can produce surprising results.

Telling the story of a composer and conductor who comes under fire, “Tar” led the nominations with five bids including Best Feature, as well as for writer-director Todd Field‘s screenplay and for the performances by lead actress Cate Blanchett...

The 2022 Gotham Awards are taking place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City to honor the best independent films of the year. TheWrap will update the list of winners as they are announced.

The award for breakthrough performer went to Gracija Filipovic for the Croatian drama “Murina.”

Todd Field won the screenplay award for “Tár,” the movie that led all films in nominations with five.

The French abortion drama “Happening” won the award for Best International Feature over films that included “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Decision to Leave,” while the documentary award went to the Indian film “All That Breathes.”

Also Read:

‘Tár’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Lead Gotham Awards Nominations: Complete List

The Gothams also handed out awards in four television categories. Ben Whishaw won the Outstanding Performance in a New Series award for “This Is Going to Hurt.” “We Need to Talk About Cosby...

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a multiverse-spanning adventure, scored at the 32nd annual Gotham Awards, capturing the prize for best feature. It also nabbed a best supporting performance honor for Ke Huy Quan, a former child star best known for his work in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” who returned to acting after a nearly 20-year hiatus.

“Oftentimes it is in independent films, where actors who otherwise wouldn’t get a chance, find their opportunities,” Quan said in an emotional speech. “I was that actor.”

Other notable winners included Danielle Deadwyler, who nabbed a best leading performance prize for her work as a grieving mother in “Till.” The Gothams’ acting prizes are gender-neutral, which meant that Deadwyler not only competed with the likes of Cate Blanchett in “Tár,” but that she also beat out contenders such as Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” and Paul Mescal in “Aftersun.”

“Tár...

With the 2022 Gotham Awards in the books, this year’s award season is officially underway. While the independent film awards don’t always align with the Academy Awards, they’re an essential showcase for small films hoping to remain on the minds of key Academy members.

The Gotham Awards recognized 23 feature films, 15 series, and 35 performances in a total of twelve award categories, and the awards were spread between some of the year’s biggest Oscar contenders. The Daniels’ A24 blockbuster “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was one of the night’s big winners, taking home both Best Feature and Best Supporting Performance for Ke Huy Quan.

Best Lead Performance went to Danielle Deadwyler for her performance in “Till.” Todd Field’s “TÁR” and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” were also rewarded with Best Screenplay and Best Breakthrough Director, respectively. Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” won Best Documentary Feature.

On the television side,...

The 2022 Gotham Awards for American independent film will be handed out tonight during a live streaming ceremony taking place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City at 8:00pm Eastern/5:00pm Pacific. Nominations were chosen by committees of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators. Then the winners were selected by separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others directly involved in the industry. Scroll down for our official racetrack odds in every category with our projected winners highlighted in gold.

See‘Tar’ and ‘Everything Everywhere’ are neck-and-neck at Gotham Awards: Which film will get an early Oscar boost?

Our predictions were generated by combining the forecasts of over 1,000 Gold Derby users who have placed their bets here in our predictions center. That includes the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Gotham winners,...

As one of the most viscerally chilling films of the year, “Soft & Quiet” is unrelenting in depicting the rapid force of racism and how violence is so often the devastating consequence. Following an elementary school teacher who organizes a mixer for members of the hate group Daughters of Aryan Unity, the big set piece doesn’t happen until later in the film, but the tension is immediately there. However, most of the film’s narrative happens after an encounter with someone from the teacher’s dark past, which tips off a chain of events that grow increasingly hostile and hard to witness.

Continue reading ‘Soft And Quiet’: Director Beth de Araujo Talks Her Disturbing Neo-Nazi White Karens Thriller [Interview] at The Playlist.

Soft & Quiet Momentum Pictures/Blumhouse Productions Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Beth de Araújo Screenwriter: Beth de Araújo Cast: Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo, Jon Beavers, Cissy Ly, Nina E. Jordan, Rebekah Wiggins, Jayden Leavitt, Jovita Molina, Shannon Mahoney Screened at: Critics’ […]

The post Soft & Quiet Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

A cozy Alt-Right ladies’ luncheon leads to a horrific sequence of events in Beth de Araújo’s real-time wonder, Soft & Quiet. Already one of SXSW’s most divisive features, Soft & Quiet will likely continue to split audiences right down the middle, with some really in-tune with the vicious tone, and others finding the whole experience grueling in a very unpleasant way. Both responses are completely valid in this case, as de Araújo’s film is virtually guaranteed to elicit strong responses from viewers, no matter what side of the above-mentioned divide they fall on. Emily (Stepfanie Estes) is a primary school teacher. After her day at work she heads off to lunch with some like-minded ladies who are concerned about the encroachment of multiculturalism in their...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Momentum Pictures, the distrib behind Soft & Quiet, To Leslie, Dashcam and All My Puny Sorrows, have nabbed the sobering predatory drama that landed the U.S Dramatic Comp Best Director award and jury prize at Deauville debut title by Jamie Dack. Screen Daily slipped the news that Palm Trees And Power Lines will receive a limited theatrical and VoD launch in March 2023 via Momentum. This is about a disconnected teenage girl on summer break who falls into a relationship with a man more than twice her age. While she sees him as the solution to all her problems, his intentions are not what they seem.…...

Indie distributor Utopia, currently in theaters with Holy Spider, anticipates music documentary Meet Me In The Bathroom will be its biggest weekend opening to date.

It’s holding onto numbers for Sunday from one-night premieres this past week in LA at the Fonda and in NY at Webster Hall with live performances by The Moldy Peaches, Adam Green, Wah Together and special guests Tim Heidecker and Jim Jarmusch. This weekend, the event film by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, co-produced by Vice, Xtr and Pulse Films, opens at the IFC Center and Los Feliz with multiple shows sold out. Films and presales speak “to the growing 2000s nostalgia, but also the iconic impact of the bands featured in the film and their continued artistry and output,” said marketing chief Kyle Greenberg.

This early 2000s NYC indie rock scene immersion acquired out of Sundance expands to 150 screens Nov. 8 for one-night engagements...

Soft & Quiet opens with the character Emily (Stefanie Estes) crying over another negative pregnancy test inside a restroom stall. Naturally viewers might feel sorry for this person in emotional distress, yet that sense of sympathy gradually fades as the same character, an elementary teacher, talks to one of her students after school. Emily slyly indoctrinates a young boy, teaching him to fear those unlike him. From there Emily then travels by foot to an unknown destination, making the journey with a home-baked pie in her hands and a curious look on her face.

After a considerable trek through a nearby patch of woods, which are in hindsight the only moments of peace in Beth de Araújo’s overwhelming debut, Emily and a few other women gather inside a small church. As everyone at this sparsely attended meeting airs their complaints and bounces ideas off each other, it is abundantly...

“I just entered the country with derringers

‘Cause them Karens just turned into terrorists.”

— “Energy,” Beyonce

There’s something about Emily (Stefanie Estes) that strikes you as being just a little off. Maybe it’s the edginess emanating from this tall, blond woman when we first meet her, though to be fair, she’s taking a home pregnancy test and seems upset by the result. There’s definitely something micro-aggressive about the way she’s glaring at the Hispanic custodian who just passed by her classroom — Emily is a kindergarten...

Amid baked goods and cheerful introductions, a group of white women hold a meeting inside a small-town church. But before the first slice of pie has been eaten, the seemingly innocuous gathering sheds the veneer of innocence to reveal its atrocious intent.

One of the most audacious American debuts of the year, writer-director Beth de Araújo’s “Soft & Quiet” shocks one’s system from its opening moments and doesn’t ever slow down to let you fully process it as it happens. A whirlwind of increasingly horrifying hate speech that turns into actual violence, the film plays out in real time and was shot to give the impression of being a single take, making for a deliberately intense and disturbing experience.

The newly founded club is led by Emily (Stefanie Estes), a kindergarten teacher poisoning young minds, and exists to peddle white-supremacist ideologies. As they collectively complain about people...

As a short filmmaker, Beth de Araújo explored dark material — love affairs at any cost, the price of drug addiction, sorority hazing. But that’s not horror, right? She didn’t think so. Then she made her feature debut with the terrifying and ambitious “Soft & Quiet,” a one-shot, real-world white-power nightmare. And that’s the kind of feature that should scare anyone.

“It’s funny now that people pin me as a horror director, because I’ve never shot horror in my life, but I love it,” de Araújo said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “I love crossing over expectations. The film is certainly horrific, and I think a lot of my work leans into that.”

“Soft & Quiet,” which debuted at SXSW in March and will be released Friday by Momentum Pictures, follows a single afternoon and evening in the life of an elementary school teacher as...

“How can something so delicious be so bad for you?” asks one of the women, of the pie.

There are a lot of sweet things on display at the meeting, which takes place in a sunny wood-walled room above a church. Emily (Stefanie Estes), whom we have followed there from the pre-school where she teaches, is keen to show the others the children’s book she’s writing. She has brought the pie and helps to serve cakes on floral-patterned paper plates. She met Leslie (Olivia Luccardi) along the way and has been reassuring the nervous younger woman. Everybody is warm and full of smiles and musical laughter. This is the inaugural gathering of the local Daughters for Aryan Unity.

Soft & Quiet arrives in cinemas with a fanfare of well-earned critical praise. It’s a challenge to those who think they know what white supremacy looks like, who imagine that as long as nobody.

Disclaimer: The following article contains descriptions of racism and references to hate crimes that some readers may find disturbing.It has been a busy year for Jason Blum and his spooky independent production company turned horror cinema juggernaut, Blumhouse Productions. The remarkably successful company has continued its long streak of horrifying horror fans in the past year alone. This was thanks to a year consisting of acclaimed hits like The Black Phone, the company's Peacock feature streaming debut with They/Them, and most recently, the conclusion of one of the biggest slasher franchises of all time with Halloween Ends. Quite the impressive fiscal year for a filmmaking company, but Blumhouse isn't through with releasing quality horror content for the year just yet. Soft & Quiet made a big splash in the horror community following its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this March. Buzz surrounding director Beth de Araújo...

Exclusive: Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales rights (excluding North America) to the Toronto Film Festival selection The End of Sex ahead of the American Film Market.

Starring Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) and Jonas Chernick (Ashgrove), the film follows Emma and Josh, whose kids are away at camp. With the house empty for a week, the couple embark on a series of sexual adventures to recapture the magic of their now-too-comfortable relationship.

The film was directed by Sean Garrity who is re-teaming with his My Awkward Sexual Adventure collaborators Chernick and Hampshire.

Justin Rebelo, CEO of Vortex Media, serves as producer alongside Sally Karam, and Christopher Giroux, with Jesse Ikeman and Bill Marks executive producers for Vortex Media. On behalf of Brainstorm Media, Michelle Shwarzstein and Alex Peters act as executive producers. Stars Hampshire and Chernick also executive produce.

‘We’re thrilled with the reception at TIFF of The End of Sex,...

The first awards show of the season is gearing up.

On Tuesday, the nominations for the 2022 Gotham Awards were announced, with the Cate Blanchett drama “Tár” leading the pack with five nominations.

Read More: Cate Blanchett Is A Composer On The Edge In ‘TÁR’ Trailer

The film, about a superstar conductor accused of misconduct, received nods for Blanchett’s lead performance, supporting actors Noémie Merlant and Nina Hoss, writer-director Todd Field and Best Picture.

Following behind “Tár” are “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Aftersun” and “The Inspection”, each of which received three nominations.

Other notable nominees include Canadian director Sarah Polley for her screenplay for “Women Talking”, as well as Canadian “Sort Of” creator Bilal Baig in the TV performers category.

The Gotham Awards will be handed out Nov. 28 in New York.

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Check out the full list below:

Breakthrough television...

“Tar” leads the 2022 Gotham Awards for independent film with five nominations including Best Feature. Nominees were selected by committees of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators (find out who was on those committees below). Next, the winners will be decided by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others directly involved in filmmaking.

SEEGotham Awards 2022: Michelle Williams to receive Performer Tribute on her road to Oscars

Telling the story of a world-renowned composer and conductor who comes under fire, “Tar” is also nominated for writer-director Todd Field‘s screenplay and for the performances by lead actress Cate Blanchett and supporting players Nina Hoss, and Noémie Merlant.

Following close behind with four nominations is “Aftersun,” which is up for Best Feature, Charlotte Wells‘s breakthrough direction, and the acting of lead Paul Mescal and breakthrough performer Frankie Corio. Rounding out the Best Feature category are...

The Gotham Awards, the first prominent awards ceremony of the fall season, has announced its 2022 nominations, recognizing 23 feature films, 15 series, and 35 performances in twelve award categories.

While films like Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” were deemed ineligible due to the organization’s rule to only consider films with a budget below 35 million, prominent awards contenders like “TÁR” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” were recognized in several categories including Best Feature and Outstanding Lead Performance (the awards body removed gendered acting categories last year).

The Gotham Awards are meant to honor worthy independent films and series and their writers, directors, producers, and actors, meaning that several TV series like “Abbott Elementary,” “Pachinko,” and “Yellowjackets” were nominated for awards as well.

The awards body previously announced that the two recipients of the Performer Tributes this year would be Adam Sandler (“Hustle”) and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”), and that the Hulu film...

This year’s Gotham Awards are taking place Nov. 28 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.

“Pose” star Angelica Ross and Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute Jeffrey Sharp announced the nominations live from Variety‘s YouTube channel on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Pt.

“Tár” leads the field with five nominations, including three acting noms, and nods for best feature and screenplay. Coming in next with three nominations are “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Aftersun” and “The Inspection.”

Adam Sandler will be receiving a performer tribute at this year’s ceremony, celebrating the 56-year-old’s tenured comedy career in addition to his illustrious filmography. While Sandler became known for his stint on “Saturday Night Live” and comedies like “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore” and “The Waterboy,” his later career has been marked my more series roles. The Gotham Awards have given nods to the actor in recent years,...

Blumhouse Productions is one of the biggest names in the horror genre these days – and the folks at Blumhouse were so impressed by writer/director Beth de Araújo’s feature debut Soft & Quiet that they decided to put the company name on the movie ahead of its festival premiere, even though they weren’t involved in the making of it. The film has since landed a distribution deal with Momentum Pictures in the US, Canada, and the UK, and will be receiving a theatrical and VOD release on November 4th. With that date drawing near, a trailer for Soft & Quiet has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.

Soft & Quiet is a thriller that plays out in real time and follows

a single afternoon in the life of an elementary school teacher as she organizes a mixer of like-minded women. When the group heads home,...

Playing out in real time, Soft & Quiet is a runaway train that follows a single afternoon in the life of an elementary school teacher, Emily, who organizes an inaugural club meeting of like-minded women. When they all decide to move the meeting to Emily’s house to keep the wine flowing, they stop at the local store to pick up refreshments. At the store, an altercation breaks out between a woman from Emily’s past and the group, leading to a volatile chain of events.

Soft & Quiet is written and directed by Beth de Araújo. Of her film, which premiered at SXSW, she says, “as artists, it is not our job to provide solutions. We are not policy makers. The job of the artist is to tell the truth as we see it and feel it.” The cast features Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo,...

Exclusive: Jacqueline Obradors (Promised Land), Jon Beavers (Licorice Pizza) and Ruth Righi (Sydney To The Max) are set as leads opposite Scott Bakula, Anna Wood, Oluniké Adeliyi and Cress Williams in NBC’s drama pilot Unbroken (working title). They also join previously announced series regulars Delon de Metz, Amanda Payton and Shian Tomlinson in the project from New Amsterdam executive producer Shaun Cassidy and Universal Television.

Written and executive produced by Cassidy and directed/exec produced by Bronwen Hughes, in Unbroken, three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California make love and war in a passionate struggle to survive, ultimately setting the stage for a group of fiercely determined young women to win big for all at the National Championship of Rodeo.

2022 NBC Pilots & Series Orders

Obradors will play Melanie Dominguez,the perceived trophy wife of 80-year-old Emilio Dominguez. Melanie is in the midst of taking over the...

Warning: Some spoilers ahead.

Told in real-time across one (seemingly) unbroken shot, Beth de Araújo’s Soft & Quiet is perhaps the most provocative film to screen at SXSW this year. If it doesn’t quite fit the bill as a traditional horror film, that doesn’t mean there isn’t terror lurking under its surface. Speaking after the screening, de Araujo said her intention is to have the audience witness a hate crime play out in real-time. The film is much more—it’s a political indictment of the kind of frank, racist conversations that can play out amongst a group of like-minded (awful) individuals who are careful to moderate their tone. It’s the kind of wink, wink, nod, nod, coded language used to pull moderate voters into your cause—be it a politician in a sweater vest or a soccer mom in Target is saying it, is it that bad?...