I was going to focus almost entirely on that mess of a trailer for Sky Arts' new series Urban Myths that featured Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson. Wisely, but unfortunately for me, after the Jackson family's backlash on the white actor's portrayal of the pop star, Sky cancelled the episode and pulled the trailer. Instead, we'll focus on the slate of awesome horror movies helmed by female directors in this week's roundup.
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Raw
Julia Ducournau's French cannibal horror film got a lot of buzz at TIFF when it was reported that moviegoers were passing out in the theatre because of the film's gory scenes. That turned out to be just some clever marketing, but watching the trailer you can see why Raw would set the squeamish off. The quick-moving thriller follows a young vegetarian who develops a taste for flesh after a cannibalistic initiation ritual. 33-year-old Ducournau is steadily building a repertoire of pulse-quickening, gorgeously shot thrillers that will no doubt see her on this side of the Atlantic very soon.XX
Horror is without question one of my favourite genres. Yes, it's so often done poorly, which can leave you with hokey, mind-numbing schlock. But when it's done well, the terror is a slow build, pulling you out of your seat and burrowing itself deep in your mind, making sure you don't sleep long after the credits roll. XX is a four-part anthology with a lot of promise, bookending four female directors serving up their own takes on the genre. And all four directors are awesome in their own right: Annie Clark aka St. Vincent tackles The Birthday Party, and Karyn Kusama's short Her Only Living Son has major We Need to Talk About Kevin vibes. Kusama is definitely a director to keep your eyes on. The Invitation was one of last year's most inventive and creepy indies, casting a stylish eye on a modern LA doomsday cult with an unnerving undercurrent of surreality. Roxanne Benjamin and Jovanka Vuckovic round out the anthology which is out Feb. 17.
Julia Ducournau's French cannibal horror film got a lot of buzz at TIFF when it was reported that moviegoers were passing out in the theatre because of the film's gory scenes. That turned out to be just some clever marketing, but watching the trailer you can see why Raw would set the squeamish off. The quick-moving thriller follows a young vegetarian who develops a taste for flesh after a cannibalistic initiation ritual. 33-year-old Ducournau is steadily building a repertoire of pulse-quickening, gorgeously shot thrillers that will no doubt see her on this side of the Atlantic very soon.XX
Horror is without question one of my favourite genres. Yes, it's so often done poorly, which can leave you with hokey, mind-numbing schlock. But when it's done well, the terror is a slow build, pulling you out of your seat and burrowing itself deep in your mind, making sure you don't sleep long after the credits roll. XX is a four-part anthology with a lot of promise, bookending four female directors serving up their own takes on the genre. And all four directors are awesome in their own right: Annie Clark aka St. Vincent tackles The Birthday Party, and Karyn Kusama's short Her Only Living Son has major We Need to Talk About Kevin vibes. Kusama is definitely a director to keep your eyes on. The Invitation was one of last year's most inventive and creepy indies, casting a stylish eye on a modern LA doomsday cult with an unnerving undercurrent of surreality. Roxanne Benjamin and Jovanka Vuckovic round out the anthology which is out Feb. 17.
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Watch: Our Take On Joseph Fiennes As Michael Jackson
It's sad that this feels more like an early look at life in 2020 than a searing dystopia in the far, far away future. Hulu brings to life Margaret Atwood's feminist classic, The Handmaid's Tale, a look at life in a totalitarian state (formerly the US) where women become little more than state-controlled baby machines in an attempt to repopulate the world. Elisabeth Moss plays Offred, a handmaid determined to get the fuck out. In completely unrelated news, the Women's March on Washington is planned for January 21, 2017.
Can you imagine what it must be like for our parents to keep seeing mediocre but well-loved TV shows being turned into glossy, big budget movies starring The Rock? Like please tell me there's not going to be a Family Matters movie in 10 years where poor Steve Urkel has to make a cameo with a walker (uhh I don't know how old the actor who played Urkel is but let's assume he's already 60?) Dax Shepard is both star and director on this and I begrudgingly admit it doesn't look awful. But the plethora of gay jokes in the trailer are pushing this towards a no.iBoy
I feel like Black Mirror has ruined the world of dystopic sci-fi for me. Even the tease on this, "What if your reality, got an upgrade" sounds like an Onion parody of the British series. "Imagine, for one second, our phones are BAD!" OK, OK, OK, we get it. Technology. Despite that, and an unfortunate title ( iBoy? Why?) this Netflix original starring Maisie Williams actually looks good. Bill Milner plays a teenager who, after getting shot in the head, essentially develops the capabilities of a smartphone in his brain. He takes this newfound ability and uses it to enact vigilante justice on the gritty streets of London. If you can get past the name, iBoy looks like solid Sunday night hangover viewing.Follow Amil on Twitter.
The Handmaid's Tale
It's sad that this feels more like an early look at life in 2020 than a searing dystopia in the far, far away future. Hulu brings to life Margaret Atwood's feminist classic, The Handmaid's Tale, a look at life in a totalitarian state (formerly the US) where women become little more than state-controlled baby machines in an attempt to repopulate the world. Elisabeth Moss plays Offred, a handmaid determined to get the fuck out. In completely unrelated news, the Women's March on Washington is planned for January 21, 2017.
CHIPs
Can you imagine what it must be like for our parents to keep seeing mediocre but well-loved TV shows being turned into glossy, big budget movies starring The Rock? Like please tell me there's not going to be a Family Matters movie in 10 years where poor Steve Urkel has to make a cameo with a walker (uhh I don't know how old the actor who played Urkel is but let's assume he's already 60?) Dax Shepard is both star and director on this and I begrudgingly admit it doesn't look awful. But the plethora of gay jokes in the trailer are pushing this towards a no.iBoy
I feel like Black Mirror has ruined the world of dystopic sci-fi for me. Even the tease on this, "What if your reality, got an upgrade" sounds like an Onion parody of the British series. "Imagine, for one second, our phones are BAD!" OK, OK, OK, we get it. Technology. Despite that, and an unfortunate title ( iBoy? Why?) this Netflix original starring Maisie Williams actually looks good. Bill Milner plays a teenager who, after getting shot in the head, essentially develops the capabilities of a smartphone in his brain. He takes this newfound ability and uses it to enact vigilante justice on the gritty streets of London. If you can get past the name, iBoy looks like solid Sunday night hangover viewing.Follow Amil on Twitter.