News

Maura Delpero’s Venice Silver Lion winner Vermiglio has earned the Gold Hugo award in Chicago International Film Festival’s international feature competition, while Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light has won the Silver Hugo.

Vermiglio follows three sisters in an Alpine village in the latter stages of the Second World War as a deserter’s arrival has a profound impact on the community.

All We Imagine As Light was the first Indian film in Cannes Competition in three decades and follows two nurses who head off on a road trip.

Silver Hugos in the international feature competition...

AMC Networks has added several Spanish actors to the cast of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” as the show prepares to film its third season in Spain. The spinoff, which previously took place in France, will now feature Eduardo Noriega, Oscar Jaenada, Alexandra Masangkay, Candela Saitta and Hugo Arbues in lead and recurring roles.

Noriega, Jaenada and Masangkay are established talents in Spanish cinema. Noriega is known for movies such as “Thesis” and “Open Your Eyes.” Jaenada starred in films about legendary flamenco singer Camarón and the Disney pirate movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” Masangkay made her debut in the historical film “1898: The Last of the Philippines.”

The addition of these Spanish actors comes as the show moves production to Madrid and other Spanish locations. This shift offers new backdrops and challenges as Norman Reedus returns as Daryl Dixon. Reedus and co-star Carol Peletier, played by Melissa McBride,...

AMC Networks has named its first Spanish cast for the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, currently shooting in Spain.

Eduardo Noriega, Oscar Jaenada and Alexandra Masangkay will be series regulars, as they join Candela Saitta and Hugo Arbues in recurring roles. Their casting follows the world-weary Georgia zombie apocalypse survivor-turned-Europe backpacker Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus, rambling over to Spain for season three of the successful The Walking Dead spinoff.

That’s a switch from the show’s first and upcoming second seasons, which are set in France. Noriega has had film roles in Thesis, Open Your Eyes, The Wolf, The Devil’s Backbone and Vantage Point.

Jaenada has credits that include Camarón: When Flamenco Became Legend and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Masangkay made her film debut with 1898: The Last of the Philippines and The Platform and also appeared in Código Emperador and most recently Valley of Shadows.

Following in the wake of Leio: The Terrible Giant, The Lake, and The 100, Thailand’s creature feature market continues to boom with killer croc horror movie Immortal Species.

Formerly titled Thesis, the upcoming Immortal Species has debuted its official trailer this morning, and we’ve learned that the film will hit theaters in Thailand on September 21.

Watch the trailer below and stay tuned for U.S. release information.

The creature feature begins when a herbal plant named “Chalawan” is sent to Nava, a senior botanical student, through the postal service. Wishing to learn about the origin of this rare “Chalawan” plant, he sets up a team of friends to travel through the jungles of the west.

There, naturally, the characters encounter a massive man-eating crocodile…

Jetniphat Sasing directed Immortal Species.

The cast includes Natouch Siripongthon, Nattapon Raiyawong, Phatchaya Phiansamoe, Ploy Sornarin, and Vachiravit Paisarnkulwong

The post ‘Immortal Species’ Trailer...

Veteran Spanish actor Ana Torrent was around five-years-old when she was cast in her first movie, the landmark drama The Spirit of the Beehive, by maverick filmmaker Víctor Erice.

Fifty years later, the pair have reunited on a new pic, Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos), Erice’s first feature-length film in over a decade. The film debuts Out-of-Competition in the Cannes Premiere section on Monday.

The film follows a famous Spanish actor, Julio Arenas, who disappears while shooting a film. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he’s been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance is brought back into the spotlight by a TV show outlining his life and death, showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, the director Miguel Garay.

Headed to Thailand this year is a brand new crocodile horror movie titled Thesis, and we’ve got some details for you today along with a piece of early promotional art (seen above). Jetniphat Sasing directed Thesis. Here’s the synopsis… “This thriller begins when a herb called Chalawan is sent to a fourth-year student of the […]

The post Crocodile Horror Movie ‘Thesis’ Swimming into Thailand This Year appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Stars: Gerardo Romano, Mariana Anghileri, Octavio Belmonte, Diego Cremonesi, Osvaldo Santoro, Lautaro Delgado | Written by Alberto Fasce, Gonzalo Ventura | Directed by Daniel de la Vega

On The 3rd Day (Al Tercer Día) is the latest film from Argentinian filmmaker Daniel de la Vega whose other films include Necrophobia 3D and The White Coffin with which this shares a few thematic elements. Although not somewhere that comes to mind when you think of horror films, Argentina has a history of genre cinema that includes the grindhouse favourites The Curious Dr. Humpp and Snuff as well as more recent films such as Francesca and The Funeral Home.

Enrique receives a call directing him to deliver something to Santa Cruz for what, God willing, will be the last time. Down in his cellar we see the item, a large wooden box wrapped in chains. Cecilia (Mariana Anghileri; Dead Man Tells His Own Tale...

Prisoners of the Ghostland screenwriter/producer Reza Sixo Safai joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss his wildest cinematic experiences.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Infested (2002)

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)

Mandy (2018)

Candy (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary

S.O.B. (1981)

The Shining (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary

Robin Hood (1973)

The Story of Robin Hood (1952)

Modern Times (1936)

The Kid (1921)

The Deer (1974)

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Qeysar (1969)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The Warriors (1979)

New Jack City (1991)

Colors (1988)

The Whip And The Body (1963)

Blow Out (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Porky’s (1981)

Cinema Paradiso (1988) – Glenn Erickson’s Region B Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review

Circumstance (2011)

Ninja 3: The Domination (1984)

Flashdance (1983)

Debbie...

Chilean star writer José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela, creator, showrunner and executive producer of hit Netflix series “Who Killed Sara?” has formed a production company with L.A.-based Argentine producer Lucas Akoskin of Aliwen Entertainment.

The new bi-coastal production company, called Malule Entertainment, will be based out of Los Angeles and Miami, where Valenzuela resides. Both partners have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.

Hinting at the type of films and TV series they’ll be producing, Valenzuela said: “I’m most interested in exploring the chance to collaborate with first-rate screenwriters and, at the same time, give emerging Latin American writers the opportunity to write hybrid stories that mix genres and formats.”

“Who said that a thriller cannot be written as if it were a melodrama? Why can’t a romantic comedy have, in addition to a powerful love story, a layer of suspense?” he pointed out.

Stars: Gerardo Romano, Mariana Anghileri, Octavio Belmonte, Diego Cremonesi, Osvaldo Santoro, Lautaro Delgado | Written by Alberto Fasce, Gonzalo Ventura | Directed by Daniel de la Vega

On The 3rd Day (Al Tercer Día) is the latest film from Argentinian filmmaker Daniel de la Vega who’s other films include Necrophobia 3D and The White Coffin with which this shares a few thematic elements. Although not somewhere that comes to mind when you think of horror films, Argentina has a history of genre cinema that includes the grindhouse favourites The Curious Dr. Humpp and Snuff as well as more recent films such as Francesca and The Funeral Home.

Enrique receives a call directing him to deliver something to Santa Cruz for what, God willing, will be the last time. Down in his cellar we see the item, a large wooden box wrapped in chains. Cecilia (Mariana Anghileri; Dead Man Tells His Own...

Buenos Aires-based Film Sharks Int’l. has sold the streaming rights to Spanish sci-fi dystopian comedy “Some Time Later” (“Tiempo Despues”) to U.S. Spanish-language Ott platform Pantaya, HBO Max Central Europe and Amazon Spain.

The absurdist comedy is the swan song of beloved Spanish director Jose Luis Cuerda who died from a stroke early last year at age 72.

Talks are underway with a pan-regional Latin American buyer, said Film Sharks CEO Guido Rud, who has managed to set up a stand at Cannes’ Marché du Film after narrowly catching the last flight out of Buenos Aires just as Covid-afflicted Argentina began to close its borders again.

“Some Time Later” is set in the year 9177 when the entire cosmos has been reduced to a single high rise which houses the elite, led by a power-mad king, while scattered around it are grimy suburbs where everyone else resides in barbaric neo-medieval squalor.

The awards will be presented at the Los Angeles venue’s opening gala in September.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the long-awaited Los Angeles venue set to open this autumn, has named Sophia Loren and Haile Gerima as the winners of two new awards to be presented at the museum’s opening gala on September 25.

Ethiopian filmmaker Gerima will get the Vantage Award, honouring, said the museum, “an artist or scholar who has helped to contextualise and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.” Gerima is best known for such films as Harvest: 3000 Years, Sankofa and Teza.

Italian star Loren – the...

The awards will be presented at the Los Angeles venue’s opening gala in September.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the long-awaited Los Angeles venue set to open this autumn, has named Sophia Loren and Haile Gerima as the winners of two new awards to be presented at the museum’s opening gala on September 25.

Ethiopian filmmaker Gerima will get the Vantage Award, honouring, said the museum, “an artist or scholar who has helped to contextualise and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.” Gerima is best known for such films as Harvest: 3000 Years, Sankofa and Teza.

Italian star Loren – the...

Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima and Italian actress Sophia Loren are honorees for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opening gala on Sept. 25, the new museum announced Monday.

Co-chairs of the Gala are Academy Museum trustee and film and television producer Jason Blum; Academy governor and film director Ava DuVernay, and museum trustee and screenwriter, director and producer Ryan Murphy.

Disney executive chairman Bob Iger and actors Annette Bening and Tom Hanks will be saluted at the event, the Academy said in a statement.

Said museum director and president Bill Kramer in the statement: “It is such an honor to be able to recognize both Haile Gerima and Sophia Loren for their impactful and inspirational artistry and to acknowledge the incredible work of our Campaign Committee. We are deeply grateful to our gala co-chairs and our sponsors for the extraordinary leadership and support of this inaugural event.”

Photo Credit: Joshua White...

The long-delayed Academy Museum of Motion Pictures looks like it is finally ready for its close-up.

Ava DuVernay, Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum will be spearheading plans for the gala opening on September 25, 2021 as part of a weeklong program of celebrations leading to its official unveiling for the public September 30. Murphy and Blum are both Museum Trustees, while DuVernay is an Academy governor who has also been lending her consultation on the upcoming 2022 exhibition Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971.

The museum has also announced the establishment of two new annual awards that will be presented for the first time at the gala. Film legend Sophia Loren will receive the inaugural Visionary Award, honoring an artist or scholar whose extensive body of work has advanced the art of cinema. Ethiopian independent filmmaker, professor and author Haile Gerima will receive the Vantage Award, honoring an artist or scholar who has helped to contextualize...

Stars: Elizabeth Gaynor, Sopheaktra Theng, Carmine Giordano, Carley Harper, Greg Paul, Wataru Nishida, Andrew Hunsicker, Zachary Pun Chung | Written and Directed by Mario Cerrito III

Opening in a police station, where Katie Williams mother (Anne Buckwheat) sits waiting for news of her daughter, Human Hibachi posits – through the detective working the case – that the footage we are about to watch is a snuff movie, filmed and edited for the “overseas market”, which documents the death of Katie (Elizabeth Gaynor), a 35-yr old woman whose birthday is vlogged from start to finish by her boyfriend Reo (Sopheaktra Theng). And what a birthday…

Awoken with flowers, taken out for birthday breakfast, treated to a brand-new expensive dress, then out for drinks with her friends Brian (Carmine Giordano) and Meghan (Carley Harper). The event ends with a meal for the four at a Japanese restaurant where Reo works. Everything documented on camera by Reo,...

To a certain generation of moviegoers, Joel Schumacher, who passed away this week, will be forever remembered as the man that introduced the world to Bat-nipples.

But that assessment belies the legacy of a director who, for all his faults, wasn’t afraid to take risks and rarely regretted anything he brought to the big screen.

The Batman & Robin filmmaker even remained philosophical on the subject of those distractingly erect rubber appendages.

“Maybe I was just naive but I’m still glad we did it,” he later reflected.

Indeed, Schumacher once declared: “I’m not embarrassed about anything I’ve done.”

And, Arnold Schwarzenegger ice puns aside, he had no reason to be.

A costume designer turned director, Schumacher’s flair for visuals and keen eye for casting set him on a course for a string of major hits.

Read more Movies How Batman & Robin Helped Bring About...

Fans waiting patiently for even the smallest morsel of information regarding Grand Theft Auto 6 finally received some reassuring news recently.

As revealed by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier last week, the sequel is confirmed to be Rockstar’s next major release and, while initially smaller in scale compared to its predecessors, will continue to grow in scope and size via constant post-launch updates similar to that seen with GTA Online. The new approach to development comes as a result of the studio’s desire to cut down on unhealthy ‘crunch culture’, according to the report, an issue that the company has come under fire for in the past, most notably with 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2.

As for a potential release date, we’re still no closer to learning the truth in that regard, though Schreier warns fans to keep expectations in check, as the sequel is reportedly only in the early phases.

There’s no perfect way to describe the gloriously gloomy music of Rowland S. Howard, the slender guitar slinger whose dusky disposition was deeply imprinted onto the music of his bands — the Birthday Party, Crime and the City Solution, and These Immortal Souls —and his own solo recordings.

“The color of Rowland Howard’s music is a deep-purple bruise,” says Lydia Lunch, who collaborated with Howard several times.

“His guitar playing was like the stab of a switchblade,” says Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, one of the many musicians he inspired.

Paris and Los Angeles-based Federation Entertainment has acquired the TV format and remake rights to Alejandro Amenábar’s debut feature, “Thesis.” It’s a prime example of the value of key older movie titles from standout younger foreign-language auteurs.

Producer of “The Bureau,” “Marseille,” “Bad Banks” and “Hostages,” Federation Entertainment will produce a drama series based on the film along with Raphaël Rocher at Empreinte Digitale, a company with a strong line in genre and sci-fi which produced “Missions,” a TV Critics Award winner at the 2017 MipDrama Screenings.

Federation Entertainment’s Lionel Uzan is understood to have clinched the remake rights in a competitive bidding situation from Guido Rud’s FilmSharks-owned the Remake Co. and Enrique Cerezo’s Video Mercury.

The move opens up a whole new front for rights-holders to exploit the commercial and artistic value of past movies. Further movie-to-series deals in the Spanish-speaking world look set to...

Madrid — Spanish writer-director José Luis Cuerda, a masterful modern practitioner of Spain’s central comedic tradition, died Feb. 4 in Madrid from a stroke. He was 72.

He will also be remembered for discovering Alejandro Amenábar, especially producing his first feature, “Thesis.”

Born in Albacete, central Spain, but moving to Madrid, Cuerda made his feature debut in 1982 with relationship dramedy “Pares y nones.” It was with his second film, 1987’s “The Enchanted Forest,” however, that Cuerda really found his own voice and a place in Spain’s central comedic film tradition, working with screenwriter Rafael Azcona, Luis Berlanga’s regular scribe, and adapting a novel of a writer, Wenceslao Fernández Flórez, who had been brought to the big screen before by two Spanish comedic giants: Edgar Neville and Fernando Fernán Gómez.

Azcona’s humor mixed acidity, the episodic structure of Spanish sainete theater sketches and the social critique of Italian neorealism. Cuerda took this and,...

Exclusive: Lucas Akoskin’s (On The Milky Road) Aliwen Entertainment and Jay Weisleder (Hands Of Stone) and Ben Silverman (The Office) of Fuego Films have optioned U.S. remake rights to hit Argentine rom-com A Boyfriend For My Wife (Un Novio Para Mi Mujer).

Juan Taratuto’s Spanish-language original, about a husband who hires a professional Cassanova to seduce his unhappy wife, was the highest-grossing Argentine film of 2008. The film has had remakes in South Korea, Mexico and Italy and was previously on the development slate at Warner Bros.

The U.S remake deal was struck with Argentine sales outfit FimSharks, whose label The Remake Company has also struck a redo pact for Spain with Arcadia Motion Pictures (Aloft).

Akoskin is executive producer on upcoming drama Bonded with Jason Patric. Fuego’s development slate also includes baseball movie Clemente.

Separately, FilmSharks has also signed remake sales rights from Enrique Cerezo...

Whilst Spanish filmmakers developed a real taste for terrifying cinemagoers in the mid-’90s, serving up solid shockers such as Alejandro Amenábar’s Thesis, Alex de la Iglesia’s Day of the Beast or Agustin Diaz Yanes’ Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead, it wasn’t until the ’00s that Spanish horror movies really started making serious […]...

Madrid — Rolling off their partnership on “While at War,” one of the biggest and highest-profile Spanish movies of 2019, Academy Award winning director Alejandro Amenábar is now teaming with Movistar +, the pay TV division of Spain’s Telefonica, on the development of a drama series, inspired by the Spanish graphic novel “El tesoro del Cisne Negro.”

Created by comic book artist Paco Roca and Spanish diplomat Guillermo Corral, the six part series will turn on the the Black Swan Project: the Odyssey Marine Exploration’s discovery and recovery and transport to Florida of 17.1 tons of coins from the wreckage of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a 30-gun Spanish frigate sunk by the British Navy off the Portuguese coast in 1804. Beginning in 1807, the Spanish government fought a legal battle through U.S. courts to claim the treasure. claimed to be the biggest shipwreck booty in history, as its own.

An adventure...

As Long as the War Lasts (Mientras dure la guerra)

Alejandro Amenabar makes his first Spanish language film since 2004’s The Sea Inside with seventh feature As Long as the War Lasts (Mientras dure la guerra), financed through Movistar+ and produced by Fernando Boivara, who has worked with Amenabar ever since his 1997 sophomore film Open Your Eyes. Amenabar’s cast is headlined by Karra Elejalde playing Miguel de Unamuno, with a supporting cast consisting of Eduard Fernandez, Nathalie Poza, and Santi Prego. Berlin’s Panorama provided Amenabar with his initial platform, presenting his 1995 debut Thesis and programming Open Your Eyes in the 1998 edition of the festival.…...

Guido Rud’s Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks Intl., one of the most influential sales agents for Spanish-language cinema worldwide, has released the international trailer for Spaniard producer-director José Luis Cuerda’s upcoming sci-fi dystopian comedy “Some Time Later.” (“Tiempo Después”)

“This is Cuerda at his best,” Rud told Variety, “The one that can fly, the one who was behind Spain’s best films of all time like ‘The Others,’ ‘Open Your Eyes,’ ‘Butterflies,’ and ‘The Blind Sunflowers,’ and all the reviews from San Sebastian support this.”

With nine Spanish Academy Goya Award nominations and four wins for directing or production, Cuerda has seen success both critically and at the box office. He directed Spanish Goya standouts like 1999’s “Butterfly” and 2008’s “The Blind Sunflowers” – each scored a Goya for best adapted screenplay – and he produced fellow Spaniard Alejandro Almenábar’s 1996 debut “Thesis,” and took a producer credit on 1997’s “Open Your Eyes,...

Mateo Gil made a name for himself firstly as the writer of Alejandro Amenábar - he co-wrote such films as Thesis, Open Your Eyes (later remade by Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky) and The Sea Inside - but he has been directing his own feature length films for quite a while now. His latest effort, Realive (aka Proyecto Lázaro), is in the science fiction genre and follows the story of a young man named Marc (played by Tom Hughes), who makes a very tough and unique decision once he learns that he has terminal cancer: to kill himself before dying due to the disease, and then freeze his body hoping that he can be resuscitated in the future (a process known as cryonics). Marc’s plan...

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

Pedro Almodóvar is arguably the most influential Spanish filmmaker working today, but no auteur is an island. The Academy Award winner (Best Original Screenplay for “Talk to Her,” who also won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for “All About My Mother,” has compiled a list of Spanish movies that inspire him for the British Film Institute, with choices ranging from “The Executioner” to “Poachers.” Check out the full list below.

Read More: Watch: First Trailer For Pedro Almodovar’s ‘Julieta,’ Premiering In Competition At Cannes

Main Street (“Calle Mayor,” 1956)

“‘Calle Mayor’ is a major work that has not only stood the test of time but has consolidated its reputation.”

“It Happened in Broad Daylight” (“El cebo,” 1958)

“‘El cebo’ is one of the few examples of a film in which a diverse mix of nationalities and talents crystallises into something beautiful and personal.”

“The Executioner” (“El verdugo,” 1963)

“‘The Executioner...

Lots happening in Hollywood this week. Here’s a quick primer on stories you might have missed!

• Harry Potter Meets The Others Meets The Purge. Alejandro Amenábar (The Others, Thesis, Open Your Eyes) drops his latest psychological thriller, Regression, May 10 on Blu-ray and DVD as well as on demand through Starz Digital. With a script by Amenábar and a cast that includes Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke, Harry Potter alums Emma Watson (Hermione) and David Thewlis (Lupin), and veteran Dale Dickey (Iron Man 3, Super 8, The Yellow Wallpaper, True Blood), this satanic-cult thriller has a lot of potential. I know what I’ll be doing May 10!

• Everything Old Is New Again. CBS has found the lead for its reboot of the Richard Dean Anderson action-fantasy series MacGyver. Deadline reports that Lucas Till (X-men: Days Of Future Past, Stoker, Kristy) has signed on to play the innovative secret agent known for...

Back in the 1990s, Alejandro Amenábar was part of the incredible new wave of Spanish fantastic cinema. His first feature, Thesis, was a Hitchcock-style thriller about snuff films that was creepy and sexy; his second, Open Your Eyes, a subtle sci-fi thriller that was one of the most original contemporary puzzle films; his third, The Others, was one of the most interesting and effective gothic horrors of our time, managing to be completely terrifying with no gore or violence. He went in a different direction for his next two films; one of them, The Sea Inside, winning the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. It seems fitting that his most recent film after six years would be a return to his horror/thriller roots. Alas, it...

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

Shock threatens readers while premiering new trailer for short horror film You’Re Gonna Die Tonight. I’m the ultimate patsy when it comes to Spanish genre movies – always have been, always will be – whether it be Jaume Balagueró’s rage-fuelled [Rec] franchise, Alejandro Amenábar’s snuff shocker, Thesis, or Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s demon seed shocker, Who…

The post You’Re Gonna Die Tonight! (Not Really, But Check Out This Teaser Trailer) appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Back in the 1990s, Alejandro Amenábar was part of the incredible new wave of Spanish fantastic cinema. His first feature, Thesis, was a Hitchcock-style thriller about snuff films that was creepy and sexy; his second, Open Your Eyes, a subtle sci-fi thriller that was one of the most original contemporary puzzle films; his third, The Others, was one of the most interesting and effective gothic horrors of our time, managing to be completely terrifying with no gore or violence. He went in a different direction for his next two films (one of them, The Sea Inside, winning the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards). It seems fitting that his most recent film after six years would be a return to his horror/thriller roots. Alas,...

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

Alejandro Amenabar discusses delayed Us release and a penchant for international stories after opener garners mixed response.

The 63rd San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 18-26) opened last night with the world premiere of Alejandro Amenabar’s Regression.

It is the first time Amenabar has played San Sebastian since 1996’s Thesis, the feature directing debut that put him on the map both at home and abroad.

The film, which met with mixed reviews, tells the story of a teenager (Emma Watson) who accuses her father of sexually abusing her in a satanic ritual. Ethan Hawke plays the tough cop who becomes obsessed with solving the mystery.

During the film’s press conference, Amenábar described his motivation for making the thriller: “I really want to make the kind of films I like to watch as a film-goer. I love horror films and I was inspired by the austere and harsh tones of films of the 1970s.”

Regarding the film...

Alejandro Amenabar’s 1991 debut Tesis was a smartly crafted, intelligent, claustrophobically moody film about the elasticity of what we call "the truth." Much the same can be said of Regression, his third English-language film and a reversion of sorts to Amenabar’s cinematic origins. A retreat into the safe house of genre following his wide-ranging, challenging and much-misunderstood Agora (2009), this carefully-crafted tale of collective psychosis, satanic ritual abuse and pseudo-science, starring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson, is satisfying as a compact, if over-cautious, horror-tinged psychological thriller. But it's most interesting beneath its

read more...

Update 6/10/15: The first American trailer is now online. Find it below. Previously: You may recall that Regression was on our list of "2015 Movies That Need to Be on Your Radar." The reason it was on there was simple: Alejandro Amenábar (Thesis, Open Your Eyes, The Others, The Sea Inside) has yet to make a bad movie, and Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson meant the cast was sure to be reliable as well. But when we put Regression on that list, we hadn't seen a trailer, or even stills, from the movie. We were going off the talent involved and the vague premise that it was about a father who is facing jail for committing a crime he has no memory of. Now that we've seen the actual trailer, it's rocketed even further up our list of most anticipated...

Read More...

Judging by this new trailer and striking first poster for the film, Spanish-Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar is clearly traumatising poor Emma Watson in his new psycho-drama Regression. Like Nicole Kidman in The Others, Watson will be going through the emotional mill as a young woman with an agonising history of domestic abuse. Click on the YouTube to watch it in full.Watson plays Angela Gray, a woman who accuses her father (Daniel Dencik) of sexual abuse. He submits to the investigation by Hawke's detective, although he has no recollection of the alleged events. So the stage is set for regression therapist David Thewlis to pick through Dad's repressed memories and uncover a disturbing conspiracy.The gifted Amenábar made his debut with the serial killer thriller Tesis in 1996, and followed it a year later with the compelling, and subsequently remade Open Your Eyes. Since then The Others, The Sea Inside and...

This August, Alejandro Amenábar, director of Tesis and The Others returns to the thriller with Regression, a tale of seeming cultic conspiracy starring Emma Watson and Ethan Hawke. See the latest poster for the film, reminiscent of close-ups like The Strangers and Funny Games, below. Out August 28th from Dimension, Regression is set in “Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates…

The post Regression Poster: Emma Watson and a Face of Fear appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Alejandro Amenábar, the filmmaker behind tense debut Thesis, surreal thriller Open Your Eyes (later remade as Vanilla Sky) and fantastic Nicole Kidman creeper The Others is returning to genre with an eerie-looking, 1990-set thriller involving cover-ups and cults. See the first trailer for Regression. Starring Ethan Hawke, David Thewlis and Emma Watson, Regression “tracks detective Bruce Kenner (Hawke) as he investigates…

The post Regression Trailer has an Eerie Rhythm appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

We’re back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a full episode of Ghost Trek, first details on a Kane Hodder figurine by DeConte Figures & Collectibles, a new State of Desolation poster, a casting update from Welcome to Purgatory, distribution details from Dark Was the Night, a trailer for What’s Kind About the Dark, and much more:

Watch Ghost Trek: Goomba Body Snatchers Mortuary Lockdown: “Ghost Trek is an episodic supernatural-comedy series that follows the Paranormal Underworld Detective Society (Puds) as they investigate haunts across the U.S. and abroad between tanning beds, babes, body-building, and bong hits – all the while risking life and limb capturing the undead and unexplained on video. The series is not a “parody” of paranormal reality shows, Admittedly, Ghost Trek pokes fun at all the ghost hunting programs but...

More than a decade on from The Others, Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar has returned to genre filmmaking with Regression. Emma Watson and Ethan Hawke star in the psychological thriller, the first still from which has just been released.Watson plays Angela Gray, a young woman who accuses her father (Daniel Dencik) of sexual abuse. He submits to the investigation by Hawke's detective, although he has no recollection of the alleged events. So the stage is set for regression therapist David Thewlis to pick through Dad's repressed memories and uncover a disturbing conspiracy.The excellent Amenábar made his debut with the serial killer thriller Tesis in 1996, and followed it a year later with Open Your Eyes (remade by Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise as Vanilla Sky). Since the clasically spooky The Others in 2001 his output has slowed, but he did direct the biographical drama The Sea Inside in 2004 and the historical...

After making a smashing English-language debut in 2001 with "The Others," Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar hasn't been quite as busy in Hollywood as one might have hoped. He returned to Spain for his follow-up, the euthanasia-themed biopic "The Sea Inside," and picked up the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for his efforts. In 2009, he returned to international filmmaking with the Rachel Weisz-starring historical drama "Agora," an ambitious but rather turgid affair that didn't find much of an audience. Since then, things have been rather quiet -- so it's good to see the writer-director returning to genre filmmaking with the Spanish-American co-production "Regression." The film, on which principal photography has just wrapped, stars Emma Watson and Ethan Hawke in a psychological thriller -- in the literal sense. Watson plays a young woman who accuses her father ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" star David Dencik) of sexual abuse; when he admits guilt but no recollection of the abuse,...

It’s that wonderful, frightful, cool and creepy time of year again, when everything including the leaves on the trees are dying and our taste buds are craving sugary sweets and pies made from the guts of our jack-o-lanterns. It’s October, which means Halloween is nearly upon us! Get you costumes completed, your home haunts constructed and your candy collected for trick’r treaters, because you have to make time to watch some of the scariest movies this time of year.

In an effort to assist you in your cinematic scare-fest, we’ve come up with a list of the scariest movies to watch on Halloween… with one caveat. We have excluded virtually all “slasher” flicks. Why? Well, let’s just say we all know them, we all love them on some level, but really… don’t we all want something more in our scary movies? In honor of...

On this episode of the Destroy the Brain podcast we visit a little known film from director Alejandro Amenábar called Tesis (Thesis). Amenábar has previously directed films like The Others and Open Your Eyes (which was later remade into Vanilla Sky). This film was recommended to us by El Goro (Ian) from the Talk Without Rhythm podcast.

Show Notes:

Intro

What We’ve Been Watching (1:31)

Michael: Game of Thrones: Season 2, Girls Andy: Finished Breaking Bad: Season 4, Rites of Spring, The Dark Knight Rises

Picks of the Week for July 31st (18:57)

Michael: The Bunny Game

Andy: Midnight Movies Vol. 4: Thriller Triple Feature (The Bloodstained Window, Short Night of Glass Dolls, Who Saw Her Die?

Break (25:55)

Tesis Discussion (29:12)

Feedback (1:11:47)

Outro (1:17:06)

Contact us Email Michael & Andy at podcast@destroythebrain.com Leave us a voicemail at 206-338-2572

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Pablo Paniagua Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn in “Blackthorn”

Slung back into a green plastic chair, director Mateo Gil explained his lifelong love of American westerns, the inspiration for “Blackthorn,” his fictional feature film about legendary bandit Butch Cassidy’s final years in Bolivia. The 98-minute film, which took roughly a year to shoot and edit, premiered over the weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Born in the Canary Islands, Gil’s first exposure to the western film genre took...

Pablo Paniagua Eduardo Noriega in “Blackthorn”

Celebrating its tenth year, the Tribeca Film Festival begins tonight and runs until May 1. Over the course of 11 days, 93 feature films will be shown as well as 60 shorts: that’s 153 curtains.

To ease some of the burden for festival goers, Speakeasy has previewed the films, trailers and featurettes available to us to offer up educated advice on the most promising offerings. Because–and it’s just us talking here, right?–there are only so...

After a 12-year absence (“Nadie Conoce A Nadie” aka Nobody Knows Anybody), Alejandro Amenábar's longtime collaborator Mateo Gil has officially returned to his directing duties. His comeback film “Blackthorn” which is a western starring Eduardo Noriega (“Thesis”) and American playwright and actor Sam Shepard has been named to the Tribeca Film Festival's World Narrative section line-up. The western written by Miguel Barros and shot in Bolivia, revolves around the legendary Butch Cassidy whom, after twenty years later after his supposed death and under the new name of James Blackthorn teams up with a spanish mine robber. This is a co-production between Spain, France and Bolivia. Gil is a well renowned screenwriter in Spain where he is remembered for his script collaborations for Alejandro Amenábar´s films such as “Thesis”, “Open Your Eyes”, Oscar winner “The Sea Inside” and recently “Ágora”. He debuted in 1999 with the box office hit thriller...

The title of the 1996 Spanish thriller Tesis (“Thesis”) refers to the project that drives the film, a research paper on media violence by a graduate student who’s simultaneously repulsed and seduced by the topic. But it could apply just as much to the film itself, a precocious debut feature by 23-year-old writer-director Alejandro Amenábar, who later made a name for himself with smart, stylish genre revampings like 1997’s Open Your Eyes (remade as Vanilla Sky) and 2001’s The Others. For better or worse, Tesis feels very much like the product of a movie-crazed film-school grad ...

Well fiends, it is another week for us to plop down our hard earned dollars for some ghoulish digital entertainment. The week we have an exploitation classic hitting Blu-Ray as well as its remake plus more! Check it out beyond the break.

All Descriptions of the following titles are provided by Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. If you plan on buying a flick from this list, please click on the links provided or click on the cover as it helps us pay the bills around here. Also, unlike most sites, we provide the Netflix widget which we think is pretty convenient to add these films to your queue. If you don’t have Netflix, feel free to click on “Free Trial” and try it out!

Alice in Murderland

Format: DVD

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From IMDb.com – It’s Alice’s birthday and her sorority girlfriends throw her a themed party. Everyone comes as their favorite,...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Tesis" (1996)

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

Released by Widowmaker Films

Long out of print, "The Others" director Alejandro Amenabar's debut about a grad student's discovery of a snuff film is being remastered and rereleased by Widowmaker Films.

"Alice in Murderland" (2011)

Directed by Dennis Devine

Released by Brain Damage Films

A year after Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" scared the bejeezus out of kids in multiplexes everywhere, this horror take on Lewis Carroll's classic fairy tale aims to do so intentionally on DVD players around the country.

"America, America" (1963)

Directed by Elia Kazan

Released by Fox Home Entertainment

Elia Kazan's most personal film based on the story of his uncle's immigration to the United States from Turkey, where as a Greek his family is persecuted, was already released as part of last year's Kazan boxed set, but now will be...

There's a difference between a genuine artist and a filmmaker who cares about what people think of him, and prime examples of both are currently playing. First we have Alejandro Amenabar's Agora (7 screens); it's his first release after he won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. This new one is about the search for knowledge during the rise of Christianity in 4th Century Egypt. Then we have George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead (8 screens), the sixth in his ongoing series of zombie movies, which has received mainly bad reviews. So which of these two directors is the genuine artist? Wrong!

Amenabar started out with three very good genre films, Tesis (1996), Open Your Eyes (1997), and The Others (2001). They all contained some really interesting horror and sci-fi ideas and they were enough to get genre fans excited about him, marking him as a director to watch. But instead...