Latest news with #psychologicalthriller
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Nicolas Cage Thriller ‘The Surfer' Arrives On Streaming This Week
Nicolas Cage in "The Surfer." The Surfer — an acclaimed psychological thriller starring Nicolas Cage — is new on digital streaming this week. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer opened in theaters in limited release on May 2. The official summary for the film reads, 'A man (Cage) returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son (Finn Little). But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is, 'Don't live here, don't surf here.' "Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.' Rated R, The Surfer also stars Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand and Justin Rosniak. The Surfer is expected to arrive on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Friday, June 6, per When to Stream. While the streaming tracker is typically accurate with its PVOD reports, it noted that The Surfer's studio, Roadside Attractions, and distributor, Lionsgate, have not announced or confirmed the release date of the film and it is subject to change. The Surfer will be available on such digital platforms as Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube. The film will be available for digital purchase for $14.99 and since digital rentals are typically $5 less, viewers can expect to rent the film for $9.99 for 48 hours. In an interview with Nerdist prior to the release of The Surfer, Nicolas Cage said one of the elements of the film that piqued his interest was its unique story. 'When I read this script, I thought, 'Well, this is different. This is weird. This is the kind of story I aspire to write.' It was a non-linear narrative. I couldn't believe the whole thing took place on a beach in a parking lot. That was new,' Cage told Nerdist. 'And the more I do this, the more I want to find expressions in cinema that are unlike other things that we kind of become bored with. I wanted to find a new way of storytelling.' The Surfer has earned $1.3 million from North American theaters and more than $800,000 internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $2.1 million to date. Production budget information for The Surfer was not disclosed. The Surfer earned a collective 86% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 154 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus reads, 'Nicolas Cage expertly rides the waves of toxic masculinity in this sand-filled arena of torment.' Audiences on RT thought differently of The Surfer, though, giving the film a 'rotten' 46% Popcornmeter score based on 250-plus verified user ratings. The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage, is expected to arrive on PVOD on Friday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Digital Twin: Liann Zhang, Julie Chan is Dead
Photo: Bloomsbury Psychological thriller writer Liann Zhang's debut novel Julie Chan is Dead satirises Instagram and Tiktok stars, social media, status and obsession. When Julie Chan steals her dead identical twin's internet sensation persona she inherits her sponsorship deals, her followers, her wealth, her whole life. Julie Chan had nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian, who after a short stint as a skincare content creator, graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in psychology and criminology. Liann speaks with Susie.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
New Horror Novels Full of All Types of Hauntings
We Live Here Now Pinborough's WE LIVE HERE NOW (Pine & Cedar, 287 pp., $28.99) starts off like a standard haunted house novel: There's a move to an old place in a remote location, and characters are dealing with the aftermath of something awful. There are creepy noises, unusually cold rooms, a looming raven and more. Yes, a list of clichés — but don't despair because this book quickly morphs into a Pinborough novel: atmospheric, immersive, surprising and as dark as wet tires. Emily suffered a fall that left her in the hospital with a shattered leg and fighting sepsis. After being discharged, she and her husband, Freddie, abandon their home in London and move into Larkin Lodge, a big house in Dartmoor. Like any old building, Larkin Lodge has creaks and drafts, but Emily thinks there's more going on. Books fly off the shelves, a protruding nail vanishes and then reappears, a Ouija board spells an incomplete message, and there's definitely something on the third floor. The house could be haunted, or post-sepsis psychosis could be making Emily hallucinate. More than just a haunted house novel, this is a supernatural psychological thriller. The closing chapters are a master class in twists. There's plenty of spooky stuff here, but what makes the book great is the way Pinborough mixes in Emily's human struggles. 'We Live Here Now' deals with grief, infidelity and dying love, in addition to blackmail, lies and murder. It's an intoxicating mix. This story is urgent and bold until the very end. The Night Birds Golden's THE NIGHT BIRDS (St. Martin's, 289 pp., $28) is a tense, chaotic horror novel that moves like a thriller. The Christabel — a half-sunken boat off the shore of Galveston, Texas — has sat abandoned for more than a century. Nature has reclaimed the vessel, which is now covered in mangroves and has been nicknamed the 'Floating Forest.' Charlie Book, an employee of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is one of the scientists tasked with studying the strange ship, and he's so dedicated to the boat that he lives on it. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Dept Q review – this excellent crime drama is a grimy, gothic treat
It must be so galling for an actor to be blessed with just the right face for one kind of part. Galling for good actors anyway. Pretty sweet for the others – 'You need a face someone would definitely kill for? Put this useless hunk/babe in there and just move the scenery round them.' Matthew Goode is, nomenclaturally and otherwise, one of the former, but cursed with a face best described as 'modern patrician' and has therefore been the first port of call for just about every period drama there has been for the last 20 years. He's been in everything from Brideshead Revisited (as Charles Ryder) on the big screen, to Downton Abbey (Henry Talbot) and The Crown (where at least he got to play that bounder Lord Snowdon) on the small one. Judging by the relish with which he seizes the chance to play contemporary and ignoble in his new outing, the psychological thriller Dept Q, he must have been going quietly mad with frustration throughout. Goode takes the part of detective Carl Morck in this excellent adaptation by Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit, plus innumerable hit films as a credited writer or uncredited rewriter) of the Danish crime novelist Jussi Adler-Olsen's bestselling series of the same name. Morck may have a flair for the job, but he is a terrible man and colleague. After his ceaseless arrogance gets a young uniformed officer killed, and his own partner paralysed by a bullet that then passes through Morck's own neck, he is put on long-term leave and must wrestle, possibly for the first time in his egocentric life, with the idea of his mortality. This is accompanied with a rising guilt that he fights every step of the way; watching the latter perfuse his soul as the nine episodes unfold is at least as compelling as the dense, twisty, cleverly structured and hideous plot playing out above it. When Morck returns unwelcomed to work, he is assigned to head a new department (the Q of the title). It is set up to investigate cold cases, in the hope of providing good optics for the troubled Edinburgh police force (granite and gothic are subbed in for snowy Nordic bleakness, which works a treat) while they work on unyielding new ones, including the search for Morck's attacker. His new office is located in the dank, grimy basement beneath the station, so that's Morck told. Oh, and he also turns out to be the entire department, as his boss allocates its supposed funds to the cash-strapped officers above ground. Gradually, he assembles a motley crew to help him. It includes: cadet Rose (Leah Byrne), recovering from a breakdown and hoping get away from the desk duty she has been given; Morck's partner DI James Hardy (Jamie Sives), operating from his hospital bed; and Syrian refugee and former police officer Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), who picks their first case – the disappearance four years ago of ambitious young advocate Merritt Linguard (Chloe Pirrie). For the audience, her story – which I think stays the right side of voyeuristic, though it is occasionally a close call – runs in parallel to the main, though the claustrophobic may have to watch some of it through their fingers. It is all fantastically well, and rigorously, done. The pacing has a leisurely confidence that some may find a touch slow, but allows for a character-first approach, creating a richness that amply rewards initial patience. Soon, we are immersed in a narrative that involves a missing necklace, a brutal historic beating, the perils of isolated village life, urban horrors and institutional failings ranging from simple incompetence to outright corruption. Plus a plentiful dash of the mental, emotional and physical suffering human beings are capable of inflicting on one another, in the name of love, revenge or just for the sheer fun of it. The performances – which also include Mark Bonnar as Linguard's unsettling boss and Kelly Macdonald as Morck's unfortunate but mandated police therapist, Dr Irving – are all first rate. (Goode, as the bearded, gaunt, increasingly haunted detective, is the blackly shining centrepiece.) The script is sharp and lean, and especially good at channelling Morck's spitting sarcasm. Writers Chandni Lakhani and Stephen Greenhorn enable the audience to thrill to his keen and ever-whetted edge while also making us sympathise with the colleagues who would rejoice to see him head over the side of the same ferry from which Linguard supposedly fell. A slightly harrowing treat, but a treat all the same. Dept Q is on Netflix
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Weeknd And Jenna Ortega's ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow' Gets Streaming Date
Jenna Ortega and Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye in "Hurry Up Tomorrow." Hurry Up Tomorrow — a psychological thriller starring Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye and Jenna Ortega — is reportedly coming soon to digital streaming. Rated R, Hurry Up Tomorrow opened in theaters on May 16. The logline for Hurry Up Tomorrow reads, 'A musician plagued by insomnia is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.' Tesfaye stars as Abel — a fictionalized version of himself — while Ortega plays the stranger, Anima. Barry Keoghan also stars in the Hurry Up Tomorrow as Abel's manager, Lee. Hurry Up Tomorrow is directed by Trey Edward Shults from a screenplay by Reza Fahim, Shults and Tesfaye. Hurry Up Tomorrow is expected to arrive on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Friday, June 6, according to When to Stream. While When to Stream is typically accurate with its PVOD reports, the streaming tracker noted that Hurry Up Tomorrow's distributor, Lionsgate, has not announced or confirmed the release date and it is subject to change. When Hurry Up Tomorrow arrives on PVOD, it will be available on a variety of digital platforms, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube. Prime Video has Hurry Up Tomorrow listed for pre-order for $24.99, which is also the film's purchase price. Since digital rentals are typically $5 less than purchase prices, viewers can expect to rent Hurry Up Tomorrow for $19.99 for a 48-hour period. Hurry Up Tomorrow is part of a three-pronged project from The Weeknd, which also involves the artist's new album and tour. The film to date has earned $4.9 million from North American theaters and $500,000 internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $5.4 million against a $15 million budget before prints and advertising, per The Numbers. Hurry Up Tomorrow had a harsh reception by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who collectively gave the film a 15% 'rotten' rating based on 73 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for Hurry Up Tomorrow reads, 'On second thought, let's fast-forward to the workweek.' The film was better received by RT users, who gave the film a 65% 'fresh' Popcornmeter score based on 500-plus verified user ratings. The RT audience summary for the film reads, 'Cashing in narrative chips for intriguing and moody visual currency, Hurry Up Tomorrow will deeply engage The Weeknd's fans.' Hurry Up Tomorrow is expected to arrive on PVOD on June 6.
