The Forbidden Play
J-horror die-hards will be pleased to see the return of Ringu and Dark Water director Hideo Nakata with The Forbidden Play, a supernatural haunt about a young woman being terrorized by the ghost of a colleague’s recently deceased wife. Although the cast is yet to be announced, the Toei-produced film is currently in post-production and set for a 2023 release.
The Pack
Alexander Skarsgård makes his directorial debut in The Pack, a thriller in which he co-stars with Florence Pugh as crew members of a documentary whose highly celebrated Alaskan expedition unravels at an awards ceremony. 30West finances and jointly represents US sales with CAA Media Finance while The Veterans launch international sales.
The Blackening
After a stellar reception at its TIFF Midnight Madness premiere, Tim Story's The Blackening, a slasher comedy that finds a group of African American friends taking a deadly Juneteenth weekend trip to a cabin in the woods, is set for release by Lionsgate International.
The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Reportedly in turnaround from Paramount Pictures, Black Bear International has launched talks on the Guy Ritchie/Jerry Bruckheimer attached, wartime spy thriller, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, set to star Henry Cavill and Eiza Gonzalez. The film will detail Winston Churchill's covert efforts to defeat the Nazis.
Immersion
In addition to The Forbidden Play, those clamoring for the glory days of J-horror also have Ju-On: The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu's new film to anticipate. Immersion, also produced by Toei, tells the tale of a virtual reality research facility on a remote island undergoing a series of bizarre deaths seemingly at the hand of a vengeful ghost.
While I haven't caught too many Shimizu films in the last decade, 2019's visually stunning Suicide Forest Village proved the director is still a force with which to be reckoned. Immersion is expected to hit Japanese screens in the summer of 2023.
Borderline
Margot Robbie’s ever-interesting LuckyChap Entertainment has a recently-completed comedy/thriller in the market called Borderline, produced by Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara, Hadeel Reda, and Brian Duffield. Borderline follows a romantic sociopath who breaks out of a mental institution and into the house of a 90s pop star. The black comedy stars Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, and Eric Dane. Radiant Films International and CAA Media Finance jointly represent US rights.
Sand And Stones
What would an AFM slate be without at least one Nicolas Cage film? This year, we have Sand And Stones, a post-apocalyptic romp that sees Cage fighting for his life and the lives of his two sons from vicious nocturnal monsters in a sparsely populated future. Highland Film Group takes on the film’s worldwide rights.
The Fight Machine
Raven Banner has sold the rights to their latest ass-kicker, The Fight Machine, to RLJE Films. The film stars Greg Hovanessian and Dempsey Bryk (alongside Michael Ironside) as two Joes whose lives literally collide when they come mano a mano into the world of illegal bare-knuckle boxing.
“The Fight Machine is a savagely smart fight film and we’re thrilled to once again partner with our friends at Raven Banner to bring this film to audiences,” said Mark Ward, chief acquisitions officer of RLJE Films.
Satanic Hispanics
Epic Pictures is the lucky caretaker of the Fantastic Fest premiere anthology hit, Satanic Hispanics, which, in addition to boasting one of the subgenres’ best titles, also hosts new horror shorts from five of today’s leading Latino filmmakers: Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Eduardo Sanchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero & Alejandro Brugues.
Silent Kill
Thankfully, Jean-Claude Van Damme is still at it, this year in collaboration with writer/director Anthony Hickox (Hellraiser III). Their new film, Silent Kill, follows the misadventures of four mercenaries who bury a hidden treasure in the Congo with the intention of retrieving it three years later. Their best-laid plans are of course thwarted by insane destiny as the former partners-in-crime wind up fighting for their lives.
With Van Damme and Joram Moreka producing, alongside executive producers, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Ovidiu Toma, and Bradly Gentz, principal photography is set to begin in early 2023.
Andrea Iervolino, the executive handling worldwide sales, calls the film an “adrenaline-fueled movie that starts fast and never takes its foot off the gas pedal. It's Van Damme doing what everyone loves watching him do.”
Lion Girl
Celebrated Manga artist Go Nagai is getting an English-language live-action adaptation of his post-apocalyptic superhero, Lion Girl, a Yakuza fighter badass, protecting Earth's survivors in the year 20XX from hungry mutants, dressed in a warrior's lion mask and a metal bikini. Sign me up!
Night of the Bastard
Time will tell if I actually enjoy this film, but at this juncture, I can at least attest that Night of the Bastard has my favorite film title at AFM. That alone is enough to earn its way onto my personal watchlist, but the film's pretty-damn-good official synopsis definitely helps.
It reads: ‘’After an injured young woman takes refuge in his secluded home, a gruff recluse must fight off a bloodthirsty cult and an insatiable sorceress to save both of their lives. A battle to survive becomes a gripping race against the clock to escape a perverse ritual of blood and flesh.’’
The film, brought to the market by MPI Media Group, will premiere online and in select theaters in February 2023.
