Latest news with #SundanceFilmFestival
Edinburgh Live
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
'Best horror film' fans have ever seen now streaming on Netflix
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Boasting an impressive 98 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Babadook is a 2014 indie psychological horror film that has garnered a cult following since its debut. The film, based on Jennifer Kent's 2005 short film Monster, was both penned and directed by Kent, marking her first foray into feature-length directing. The cast includes young Noah Wiseman as Samuel Vanek and Essie Davis delivering a compelling performance as Amelia Vanek, with Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear rounding out the top-notch ensemble. Currently available on Netflix, The Babadook tells the chilling tale of a widowed single mum, Essie, who, along with her son Sam, grapples with a sinister humanoid monster in their home that simply won't leave. Kent reportedly began crafting the screenplay in 2009, aiming to delve into themes of grief, parenting, and the terror of insanity. Funding for the film was sourced from Australian government grants and partially through crowdfunding. The shoot took place in Adelaide, where the crew made sure to protect six year old Wiseman from the film's eerie undertones, reports the Daily Record. (Image: PA) The eponymous monster and special effects were reportedly realised using stop-motion animation and practical effects. The film smashed the global box office, pocketing an impressive $10 million against a modest $2 million budget. Despite its worldwide success, The Babadook received a lukewarm response in Australia, managing a mere $258,000. It initially charmed audiences at its Sundance Film Festival debut in January 2014. Film buffs were utterly taken by "The Babadook," with one critic hailing it as: "One of the strongest, most effective horror films of recent years - with awards-quality lead work from Essie Davis, and a brilliantly designed new monster who could well become the break-out spook archetype of the decade." While accolades poured in with another critic branding it "one of the smartest and most effective horror films in years", yet another praised: "This psychological thriller from gifted first-time filmmaker Jennifer Kent will have you climbing the walls simply by plumbing the violence of the mind. Brace yourself." (Image: FREE FILM STILL / FREE TO USE) Praise wasn't in short supply, with one saying: "Let a law be passed, requiring all horror films to be made by female directors." Another added: "Manages to deliver real, seat-grabbing jolts while also touching on more serious themes of loss, grief and other demons that can not be so easily vanquished." Cinema-goers echoed critics' sentiments, with one praising: "Excellent, suspenseful movie with incredible acting, especially from the child actor. This movie, at 10 years old already, will be a classic. The Rotten Tomato score is SPOT ON with 98%!". One viewer was thoroughly impressed, writing: "This is definitely one of the best horror movies I've ever seen. Not only was it terrifying, but it really made me care about the characters. I highly recommend it for horror fans!". Another enthusiast couldn't contain their enthusiasm, writing in all caps: "ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN! This film was no joke! Although no jump scares, this movie has proven that you don't need cheep jump scares and gore to make a proper horror film. The performances of the two characters and the atmosphere of everything is what made this movie truly terrifying in it's own ways. One other thing to mention is the emotional story that grabs you from start to finish. The Babadook is a unique work of cinema unlike anything you've ever seen! What a masterpiece!". Meanwhile, another viewer admitted a change of heart: "I made fun of this movie when I first watched it. Until it was late at night and I was trying to fall I ate my words."
Daily Record
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Netflix horror with near perfect rating 'so terrifying it taps into everyone's deepest fears'
This 2014 psychological horror film with a 98 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes has become a cult classic With a near-perfect 98 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Babadook is a 2014 indie psychological horror film that has achieved cult classic status in the years since its release. Based on Jennifer Kent's 2005 short film Monster, The Babadook is written and directed by Kent and marks her feature directorial debut. Starring the young Noah Wiseman as Samuel Vanek and Essie Davis in a powerful performance as Amelia Vanek, the actors are supported by Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear, completing a stellar ensemble cast. Currently streaming on Netflix, The Babadook is the story of a widowed single mother, Essie, who along with her son Sam, finds herself confronting a mysterious human-like monster in their home that refuses to go away. It's reported that Kent began writing the film's screenplay back in 2009 with intentions of exploring the themes of grief, parenting, and the fear of madness. Financing for the film came from Australian government grants and partially through crowdfunding. Filming took place in Adelaide, where the production team took care to shield Wiseman — who was six at the time — from the movie's unsettling themes. The titular monster and special effects were reportedly brought to life using stop-motion animation and practical effects. The movie proved to be a success at the global box office, grossing $10 million against its budget of $2 million. Surprisingly, The Babadook didn't do well in its home country of Australia, grossing only a dismal $258,000. The movie first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. Critics were left floored by the film, with one saying it was: 'One of the strongest, most effective horror films of recent years - with awards-quality lead work from Essie Davis, and a brilliantly designed new monster who could well become the break-out spook archetype of the decade.' While one critic said it's 'one of the smartest and most effective horror films in years', another wrote: 'This psychological thriller from gifted first-time filmmaker Jennifer Kent will have you climbing the walls simply by plumbing the violence of the mind. Brace yourself.' Another reviewer lauded the film's director and said: 'Let a law be passed, requiring all horror films to be made by female directors.' Yet another critical review of the film says: 'Manages to deliver real, seat-grabbing jolts while also touching on more serious themes of loss, grief and other demons that can not be so easily vanquished.' Audience reviews for The Babadook follow in the same theme, with one viewer commenting: 'Excellent, suspenseful movie with incredible acting, especially from the child actor. This movie, at 10 years old already, will be a classic. The Rotten Tomato score is SPOT ON with 98%!' While one viewer wrote: 'This is definitely one of the best horror movies I've ever seen. Not only was it terrifying, but it really made me care about the characters. I highly recommend it for horror fans!' Another commented in caps lock excitement: "ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN! This film was no joke! Although no jump scares, this movie has proven that you don't need cheep jump scares and gore to make a proper horror film. The performances of the two characters and the atmosphere of everything is what made this movie truly terrifying in it's own ways. One other thing to mention is the emotional story that grabs you from start to finish. The Babadook is a unique work of cinema unlike anything you've ever seen! What a masterpiece!" And one viewer simply said: 'I made fun of this movie when I first watched it. Until it was late at night and I was trying to fall I ate my words.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sundance coming to Boulder: Gov. Polis talks statewide impact of landing the iconic film festival
Gov. Jared Polis sat down for an exclusive interview with Denver7 and CPR News for the latest episode of Real Talk, the stations' joint public affairs show that focuses on the stories and experiences of underserved communities, to discuss the impact of the Sundance Film Festival in Colorado.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
15 unmissable movies at this year's Sydney Film Festival
The 72nd Sydney Film Festival has a dizzying number of screenings. Films from 70 countries – all the way from Afghanistan to Zambia – will run in the grand State Theatre and nine other venues around the city. The opening night will be spicier than expected. Given its success at the Sundance Film Festival, where it sold for a record $26 million after a bidding war, there was already keen interest in Michael Shanks' Australian horror film Together, which stars American couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie. Then it ran into controversy when a New York production company filed a lawsuit claiming it was a 'blatant rip-off' of a 2023 comic romance - a claim the American agent for the Together team has described as 'frivolous and without merit'. A jury headed by Australian director Justin Kurzel will judge the 12 films in the $60,000 official competition for 'audacious, courageous and cutting-edge' cinema. Here's our guide to festival highlights ... SLANTED Sydney-raised writer-director Amy Wang has been quietly building a career in Los Angeles. Her first feature film, Slanted, is a body horror satire with a touch of The Substance meets Mean Girls about it. In the winner of the narrative feature competition at South by South West, a Chinese-American teenager (Shirley Chen), who is desperate to be a prom queen, goes through 'ethnic modification' surgery to become white. It promises timely observations about body image, sexism and racism. BLUE MOON With Dazed and Confused, the Before Sunrise trilogy, School of Rock, Boyhood and Apollo 10½, director Richard Linklater is a brilliant chronicler of charming American stories. His latest film is what IndieWire calls 'a razor-sharp biopic' about struggling lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) on the night his former writing partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) triumphantly opens Oklahoma! Hart calls a young Yale student (Margaret Qualley) his writing protegee. Loading VIDEOHEAVEN Growing up in Pennsylvania, filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip) worked at Suncoast Video. After graduating from New York University, he worked at Kim's Video in Manhattan. So a documentary about the history and culture of video stores that has taken a decade to make is very much a passion project. Narrated by Maya Hawke, it sounds like an entertaining and thoughtful three hours of nostalgia. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi has paid a heavy price for courageously making films. Imprisoned several times, he was officially banned from making films and travelling outside the country until recently. Panahi made this thriller secretly to avoid having the script vetted by Iran's Ministry of Islamic Guidance. An emotional rollercoaster that starts with a family having an accident while driving on a remote road, it won the Palme d'Or, the top prize, in a strong Cannes competition last weekend. ORWELL: 2 + 2 = 5 Haiti's Raoul Peck is best known for the masterful I Am Not Your Negro, a ferocious, racially charged documentary about American novelist James Baldwin. In this equally political documentary, Peck draws parallels between George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984, where Big Brother dictates every aspect of life, and Trump's America. With Orwell's writing narrated by Homeland star Damian Lewis, it uses archival footage and clips from movies and TV news. Deadline called it 'an urgent, indispensable film for our times'. Jodie Foster speaks pitch-perfect French as a psychiatrist drawn into a mystery when one of her patients dies suddenly. This upmarket psychological thriller, warmly reviewed overseas, is from French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski. She has surrounded her American star with a strong French cast including Daniel Auteuil as her ex-husband and Mathieu Amalric as the late patient's grieving husband. ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO Restored vision of the 1972 One to One charity fundraising concert that John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-ordinated in New York, performing alongside the likes of Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack, is the centre of a documentary The Hollywood Reporter has called 'a stone-cold brilliant fusion of kinetic and contemplative'. Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald (Touching The Void, The Last King of Scotland) and editor/co-director Sam Rice-Edwards (The Rescue) revisit an eventful time in the couple's post-Beatles life, using audio and video from personal and public archives. THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE This comic drama set in Saddam Hussein's Iraq was hailed as a warm-hearted, crowd-pleasing gem when it screened in Cannes. The debut film for Iraqi director Hasan Hadi centres on nine-year-old Lamia (Banin Ahmad Nayef), who wins the questionable prize of having to bake a cake for the dictator's birthday. She sets off to Baghdad to find ingredients with her beloved pet rooster Hindi and her grandma, Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat). 2000 METRES TO ANDRIIVKA Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov won an Oscar last year for the documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, which was about the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This time he follows a Ukrainian platoon attempting to liberate a Russian-occupied village. A jury at a Danish documentary festival called it 'a masterpiece in filmmaking: a haunting, multilayered portrayal of war comparable to All Quiet On The Western Front '. COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT Director Ryan White, who made the wonderful Mars rover film Good Night Oppy, follows a Colorado couple - spoken word artist Andrea Gibson, who has incurable ovarian cancer, and poet Megan Falley - for a documentary that won a festival favourite award at Sundance. Noting that it is about grief, joy, heartache and love, POV magazine said that calling it 'deeply moving is an understatement'. Loading THE LIFE OF CHUCK Tom Hiddleston stars as the mysterious Charles 'Chuck' Krantz in an emotional end-of-days sci-fi film told in reverse. Adapted from a quirky Stephen King novella and directed by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting Of Hill House), it won the people's choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The strong cast includes Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan and Chiwetel Ejiofor. DANGEROUS ANIMALS Directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones), this Australian horror film with echoes of Wolf Creek was a surprising Directors' Fortnight selection at Cannes but was warmly reviewed. Jai Courtney plays a shark-obsessed serial killer, Tucker, who abducts a resourceful American surfer, Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), in a gory romp screening in the festival's Freak Me Out program. MY FATHER'S SHADOW British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies jnr's semi-autobiographical drama follows two young brothers, Akin (Godwin Egbo) and Remi (Chibuike Marvellous Egbo), during a chaotic day in Lagos, Nigeria. Their estranged father Folarin (Sope Dirisu) takes them into the city as an election promises hopeful changes for the country. Deadline described it as 'one of the most moving and universally relevant and emotional films' at Cannes. MISTRESS DISPELLER Mistress Wang has a role in Chinese romantic relationships that seems fascinating to outsiders. In Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo's documentary, the so-called mistress dispeller is hired by a Chinese woman who wants to break up her husband's affair to save her marriage. IndieWire said the film revealed 'a profound and searching panorama of loneliness and partnership, where everyone gets a chance to be heard'. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, who won the festival competition with Aquarius in 2016, won best director and actor at Cannes for this stylish political thriller set during the country's military dictatorship in 1977. Wagner Moura plays mild-mannered Marcelo, working undercover in a film the BBC said 'bursts with sex and shootouts, sleazy hitmen and vintage cars'. Like the Oscar-winning I'm Still Here, set during the same period, it's about the brutality of political tyranny.
The Age
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
15 unmissable movies at this year's Sydney Film Festival
The 72nd Sydney Film Festival has a dizzying number of screenings. Films from 70 countries – all the way from Afghanistan to Zambia – will run in the grand State Theatre and nine other venues around the city. The opening night will be spicier than expected. Given its success at the Sundance Film Festival, where it sold for a record $26 million after a bidding war, there was already keen interest in Michael Shanks' Australian horror film Together, which stars American couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie. Then it ran into controversy when a New York production company filed a lawsuit claiming it was a 'blatant rip-off' of a 2023 comic romance - a claim the American agent for the Together team has described as 'frivolous and without merit'. A jury headed by Australian director Justin Kurzel will judge the 12 films in the $60,000 official competition for 'audacious, courageous and cutting-edge' cinema. Here's our guide to festival highlights ... SLANTED Sydney-raised writer-director Amy Wang has been quietly building a career in Los Angeles. Her first feature film, Slanted, is a body horror satire with a touch of The Substance meets Mean Girls about it. In the winner of the narrative feature competition at South by South West, a Chinese-American teenager (Shirley Chen), who is desperate to be a prom queen, goes through 'ethnic modification' surgery to become white. It promises timely observations about body image, sexism and racism. BLUE MOON With Dazed and Confused, the Before Sunrise trilogy, School of Rock, Boyhood and Apollo 10½, director Richard Linklater is a brilliant chronicler of charming American stories. His latest film is what IndieWire calls 'a razor-sharp biopic' about struggling lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) on the night his former writing partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) triumphantly opens Oklahoma! Hart calls a young Yale student (Margaret Qualley) his writing protegee. Loading VIDEOHEAVEN Growing up in Pennsylvania, filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip) worked at Suncoast Video. After graduating from New York University, he worked at Kim's Video in Manhattan. So a documentary about the history and culture of video stores that has taken a decade to make is very much a passion project. Narrated by Maya Hawke, it sounds like an entertaining and thoughtful three hours of nostalgia. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi has paid a heavy price for courageously making films. Imprisoned several times, he was officially banned from making films and travelling outside the country until recently. Panahi made this thriller secretly to avoid having the script vetted by Iran's Ministry of Islamic Guidance. An emotional rollercoaster that starts with a family having an accident while driving on a remote road, it won the Palme d'Or, the top prize, in a strong Cannes competition last weekend. ORWELL: 2 + 2 = 5 Haiti's Raoul Peck is best known for the masterful I Am Not Your Negro, a ferocious, racially charged documentary about American novelist James Baldwin. In this equally political documentary, Peck draws parallels between George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984, where Big Brother dictates every aspect of life, and Trump's America. With Orwell's writing narrated by Homeland star Damian Lewis, it uses archival footage and clips from movies and TV news. Deadline called it 'an urgent, indispensable film for our times'. Jodie Foster speaks pitch-perfect French as a psychiatrist drawn into a mystery when one of her patients dies suddenly. This upmarket psychological thriller, warmly reviewed overseas, is from French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski. She has surrounded her American star with a strong French cast including Daniel Auteuil as her ex-husband and Mathieu Amalric as the late patient's grieving husband. ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO Restored vision of the 1972 One to One charity fundraising concert that John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-ordinated in New York, performing alongside the likes of Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack, is the centre of a documentary The Hollywood Reporter has called 'a stone-cold brilliant fusion of kinetic and contemplative'. Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald (Touching The Void, The Last King of Scotland) and editor/co-director Sam Rice-Edwards (The Rescue) revisit an eventful time in the couple's post-Beatles life, using audio and video from personal and public archives. THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE This comic drama set in Saddam Hussein's Iraq was hailed as a warm-hearted, crowd-pleasing gem when it screened in Cannes. The debut film for Iraqi director Hasan Hadi centres on nine-year-old Lamia (Banin Ahmad Nayef), who wins the questionable prize of having to bake a cake for the dictator's birthday. She sets off to Baghdad to find ingredients with her beloved pet rooster Hindi and her grandma, Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat). 2000 METRES TO ANDRIIVKA Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov won an Oscar last year for the documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, which was about the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This time he follows a Ukrainian platoon attempting to liberate a Russian-occupied village. A jury at a Danish documentary festival called it 'a masterpiece in filmmaking: a haunting, multilayered portrayal of war comparable to All Quiet On The Western Front '. COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT Director Ryan White, who made the wonderful Mars rover film Good Night Oppy, follows a Colorado couple - spoken word artist Andrea Gibson, who has incurable ovarian cancer, and poet Megan Falley - for a documentary that won a festival favourite award at Sundance. Noting that it is about grief, joy, heartache and love, POV magazine said that calling it 'deeply moving is an understatement'. Loading THE LIFE OF CHUCK Tom Hiddleston stars as the mysterious Charles 'Chuck' Krantz in an emotional end-of-days sci-fi film told in reverse. Adapted from a quirky Stephen King novella and directed by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting Of Hill House), it won the people's choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The strong cast includes Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan and Chiwetel Ejiofor. DANGEROUS ANIMALS Directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones), this Australian horror film with echoes of Wolf Creek was a surprising Directors' Fortnight selection at Cannes but was warmly reviewed. Jai Courtney plays a shark-obsessed serial killer, Tucker, who abducts a resourceful American surfer, Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), in a gory romp screening in the festival's Freak Me Out program. MY FATHER'S SHADOW British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies jnr's semi-autobiographical drama follows two young brothers, Akin (Godwin Egbo) and Remi (Chibuike Marvellous Egbo), during a chaotic day in Lagos, Nigeria. Their estranged father Folarin (Sope Dirisu) takes them into the city as an election promises hopeful changes for the country. Deadline described it as 'one of the most moving and universally relevant and emotional films' at Cannes. MISTRESS DISPELLER Mistress Wang has a role in Chinese romantic relationships that seems fascinating to outsiders. In Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo's documentary, the so-called mistress dispeller is hired by a Chinese woman who wants to break up her husband's affair to save her marriage. IndieWire said the film revealed 'a profound and searching panorama of loneliness and partnership, where everyone gets a chance to be heard'. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, who won the festival competition with Aquarius in 2016, won best director and actor at Cannes for this stylish political thriller set during the country's military dictatorship in 1977. Wagner Moura plays mild-mannered Marcelo, working undercover in a film the BBC said 'bursts with sex and shootouts, sleazy hitmen and vintage cars'. Like the Oscar-winning I'm Still Here, set during the same period, it's about the brutality of political tyranny.
