OUT NOW:
‘Violation’ (Shudder)
Violation has been making waves with its current festival circuit that includes the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance and SXSW, playing in the midnight sections due to its extremely graphic content and heavy subject matter. The film is a disturbing and gruesome tale of revenge that’ll leave you shaken to your core.
With her marriage on the verge of collapse, Miriam (co-writer and co-director Madeleine Sims-Fewer, The Substitute) returns to her hometown to seek solace in the comfort of her younger sister and brother-in-law after years apart. In one evening, a small slip in judgment leads to a catastrophic betrayal, leaving Miriam shocked, reeling and furious. She embarks on an extreme course of action to address the situation, but the price of revenge is high and she is not prepared for the toll it takes as she begins to emotionally and psychologically unravel. Co-written and co-directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli (Chubby).
‘Paradise City’ (Amazon Prime Video)
Paradise City is a spin-off of the 2017 film American Satan, a supernatural thriller abound an aspiring rock band named The Relentless. Created by Ash Avildsen - who also founded Sumerian Records - the film stars Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides, Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria, and Drake Bell.
The show promises to be a continuation of the story that the original film established, with plenty of thrills and killer music to go with it. Besides Biersack and Bruce reprising their roles, the series will also feature Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, and even Sid Wilson of Slipknot. Knotfest fans will not want to miss this.
‘Hospital’ (Netflix)
In an abandoned hospital in the city of Tainan, visitors seeking to communicate with their relatives’ spirits are haunted by disturbing, supernatural occurrences.
This Taiwanese horror film is written and directed by Chia-Lin Chu and stars Li-chi Hsu, Samuel Ku, Po-Hung Lin, Tai Bo, Zhi-Ying Zhu, and Lei Hung.
‘Let’s Scare Julie’ (Shudder)
Let's Scare Julie has a bold approach, presenting itself and its story as one continuous and unbroken shot in order to set its atmosphere just right. The film follows a group of teen girls who set out to scare their reclusive new neighbor, but the prank turns to terror when some of them don't come back.
A suspenseful contemporary ghost story about how making the wrong choices can end with horrific results, Let's Scare Julie supplies a combination of fright, humor, and thanks to its handheld, single-take style, a true sense of realism.
‘Bad Trip’ (Netflix)
Eric Andre has made a name for himself for his surreal and absurd comedy style that often involves putting real life, unsuspecting people in ridiculous situations. Bad Trip is no different. A feature-length hidden camera comedy, the film has a loose plot built around its numerous stunts and pranks, making for a wildly outrageous movie with some jaw-dropping moments.
The film stars Andre as Chris, who embarks on an East Coast road trip with his best friend Bud (Lil Rey Howery) on a quest to declare his love for his old high school crush, Maria (Michaela Conlin). While getting into all sorts of insane situations, the pair are also being pursued by Bud's sister (Tiffany Haddish), due to them stealing her car for the trip.
‘Solar Opposites (Season 2)’ (Hulu)
From the creator of Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites centers around a team of four aliens who escape their exploding home world only to crash land into a move-in ready home in suburban America. They are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome. Korvo (Justin Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see the pollution, crass consumerism, and human frailty while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love humans and all their TV, junk food and fun stuff. Their mission: protect the Pupa, a living super computer that will one day evolve into its true form, consume them and terraform the Earth.
On season two of Solar Opposites, the Solar Opposites take it bigger, funnier, and more opposite than ever before. For fans of Rick and Morty, this series is just as great if not better, continuously breaking the mold of animated sitcoms and adult animation as a whole.
‘Jiu Jitsu’ (Netflix)
Just when it seems like Nicolas Cage can't add anything more ridiculously awesome to his expansive resume, along comes a movie like Jiu Jutsu, which sees the cult actor as part of an group of warriors who must face off against a vicious race of aliens invaders.
The plot takes place in a world where every six years, an ancient order of jiu-jitsu fighters joins forces to battle the aliens. But when a celebrated war hero goes down in defeat, the fate of the planet and mankind hangs in the balance. Like a cross between The Predator and Mortal Kombat, any and all Cage lovers have to add this one to the watchlist.
‘White of the Eye’ (Shudder)
1987's White of the Eye follows Joan White (Cathy Moriarty), who is informed by the police that her husband, Paul (David Keith), a soundman who specializes in high-end audio systems, might be responsible for a series of gruesome murders in their Arizona community. As Paul's behavior turns violent, she begins to suspect her husband's guilt.
The film is based on the 1983 novel Mrs. White by Margaret Tracy, and was directed by Donald Cammell, who is best known for his landmark film Performance.
‘The Irregulars’ (Netflix)
Following up on the success of last year's smash hit Enola Holmes, Netflix is digging back into the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for their latest series. The Baker Street Irregulars make several appearances in the author's stories, working for Dr. Watson and helping save London from threats as small as petty crimes to as big as supernatural forces.
Creator Tom Bidwell - who also helmed Netflix's adaptation of Watership Down - has described the series as "Sherlock Holmes had a group of street kids he’d use to help him gather clues so our series is what if Sherlock was a drug addict and a delinquent and the kids solve the whole case whilst he takes credit".
‘Invincible’ (Amazon Prime Video)
Invincible is based on the groundbreaking comic book from Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead. The story revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), who’s just like every other guy his age — except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons).
The hour-per-episode series also stars a powerhouse cast that includes Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Quinto, Jason Mantzoukas, Melise, Mark Hamill, Mahershala Ali, Seth Rogen and more. The first three episodes are now streaming with weekly releases through April 30 after that.
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ (Disney+)
After the very different style of WandaVision, the next Marvel Studios Disney+ series is set to return to the more familiar look and feel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The series takes place mere months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and puts the spotlight onto Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) following the retirement of their friend and leader Steve Rogers.
Sam AKA The Falcon is grappling with being given the responsibility of possibly taking up the mantle of Captain America, whilst Bucky is struggling to find his place in a world that’s only seen him as a villain – the brainwashed assassin known as the Winter Soldier. The series promises to deliver large-scale action on par with Marvel’s feature length films, while the episodic format allows for more in-depth time with two of the more secondary characters of the MCU.
Also streaming now:
Hulu - ‘The Hurricane Heist’
HBO Max - ‘Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy’, ‘Hotel Coppelia’
Disney+ - ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - ‘At Eternity’s Gate’, ‘White Boy’, ‘Concrete Cowboy’, ‘The Serpent’, 'Insidious', 'Leprechaun', 'The Possession', 'Yes Man'
Hulu - ‘28 Days Later’, ‘A Simple Plan’, ‘The Abyss’, ‘Bug’, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, ‘Chappaquiddick’, ‘The Dead Zone’, ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘Die Hard: With a Vengeance’, ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’, ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’, ‘Hancock’, ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, ‘Mad Max’, ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’, ‘Motel Hell’, ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, ‘Platoon’, ‘The Sandlot’, ‘Shrek 2’, ‘The Sum of All Fears’
Shudder - ‘Creepshow (Season 2)’, ‘Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula’, ‘Night of the Lepus’, ‘The Haunting of Julia’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’, ‘The Val Lewton Collection’
HBO Max - ‘All Is Lost’, ‘Barbarosa’, ‘Black Dynamite’, ‘Blindness’, ‘The Bodyguard’, ‘Boogie Nights’, ‘Caddyshack’, ‘The Collection’, ‘Dante’s Peak’, ‘Dark Shadows’, ‘Dead Silence’, ‘Dirty Harry’, ‘Ghost Rider’, ‘Goodfellas’, ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III’, ‘The Mask of Zorro’, ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’, ‘My Super Ex-Girlfriend’, Primal Fear’, ‘Red Dawn’, ‘Risky Business’, ‘Space Jam’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning’, ‘White Noise’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘Brüno’, ‘Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter’, ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, ‘Head of State’, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘Inception’, ‘Lords of Dogtown’, ‘Minority Report’, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, ‘My Cousin Vinny’, ‘Shaft’, ‘Shooter’, ‘Unhinged’
Disney+ - ‘The Island at the Top of the World’, ‘Third Man on the Mountain’, ‘The Last Ice’, ‘The Big Year’, ‘Night at the Museum’, ‘Caravan of Courage’, ‘Star Wars: Ewoks’, ‘Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars’
