Room – 93%

The film that brought Brie Larsen to fame and an Oscar, Room is the story of Joy and Jack, a mother and son. Joy has been held in captivity for seven years by a person known as Old Nick, her five-year-old son only knowing the confined space of the room they are held in. The film explores what happens as Joy tries to explain to Jack that the outside world they see on television is real and that the situation they are in is a very bad one.

Saint Maud – 93%

Seen by many as one of the great horror films of recent years Saint Maud is the story of a very religious nurse hired to care for the cosmopolitan and sophisticated former dancer Amanda. It is not long before Maud’s extreme religious ideas clash with the freer lifestyle enjoyed by Amanda and we realise Maud is not just religious but prepared to do terrible things as part of her beliefs.

First Reformed – 94%

A highly critically acclaimed film, First Reformed stars Ethan Hawke as Reverend Ernest Toller, a minister of a small – but historic – church, Toller is struggling with his own faith and the future of his church while trying to offer support for his congregation. After a woman asks Toller to speak to her husband, whose behaviour increasingly causes for alarm, he agrees to help and becomes more involved in the family.

De Palma – 95%

This is a documentary by Noah Baumbach on Hollywood legend Brian De Palma, director and writer of films like Carrie, Snake Eyes and The Untouchables. This is an extensive conversation with De Palma himself and archive footage from his films, he talks about filmmaking, the difficulties of working with companies to make films and film censorship in America.

Amy – 95%

A heartbreaking documentary about singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse looking at her life both before and after she became famous as well as looking at her addiction issues and how those issues were handled by the media and what impact this had on her. The film captures a lot of the highs and lows of Winehouse’s life but what is perhaps the most striking is reviewing the media speculation on her life and the outright bullying that came with it – Amy Winehouse became a constant punchline to tv hosts, comedians and more, with no consideration given to how this would impact her and those around her.

Everything Everywhere All At Once – 95%

The newest entry on the list is the uncategorisable, undefinable and perhaps un-reviewable Everything Everywhere All At Once. This is a film so brilliant and bizarre that a whole article just reviewing this one film would be insufficient let alone a collection of reviews. The film is a martial-arts blockbuster romantic-comedy avant-garde sci-fi family drama and one of the most enjoyable films of recent years.

Menashe – 96%

Menashe is a comedy-drama about a recent widower, Menashe, trying to raise his son in New York. As Menashe is part of the Orthodox Jewish community the rabbi insists his son lives with his aunt and uncle, as a single-parent family cannot possibly raise a child (in the eyes of the rabbi). Menashe is clearly a devoted and caring father who throughout insists he knows what is best for his family, and for his son. This film is almost entirely in Yiddish, with only a few instances of characters speaking in English.

The Florida Project – 96%

The Florida Project is a comedy-drama about a struggling mother and daughter, living in a motel, a stone’s throw from Disney World. There is a near-constant contrast between the financial difficulties of the family and a titanic symbol of American culture and success, indeed, the motel is called The Magic Castle, to either evoke the theme park or trick unsuspecting tourists that it is the Magic Kingdom of Disney fame. The daughter, six-year-old Moonee, is left to her own devices as her mother works and she spends time with other guests and the area around with motel manager Bobby as a protective figure to the various children.

First Cow – 96%

A film set mainly in 1820s America with a plot revolving around the first cow of a tiny town, two men, chef Cookie and Chinese immigrant Lu, concoct a money-making scheme where they will steal the milk from the cow to make cookies and other treats. Their idea is very successful with the small and isolated town lacking just about everything cookies are a luxury that everyone wants but they both know this is a serious crime and inevitably things become more complicated. The film is a sad but loving tale of the friendship between Cookie and Lu, as well as the impossibility of a poor person to better themselves without breaking the law.

The Farewell – 97%

The Farewell is based on the true life experiences of director and writer Lulu Wang; Billi is an aspiring Chinese-American writer living in New York and finds out that her grandmother, Nai Nai, still living in China, only has a few months to live. The family have made the decision to not tell Nai Nai and let her live her life unaware of the terminal diagnosis, and arrange a large family gathering in China. Billi’s family suspect she will turn her Nai Nai the truth and much is made of the different cultural norms in China and America, Billi feeling like her Nai Nai has a right to know the truth versus her family’s idea that they can spare their beloved relative fear and suffering.

Lady Bird – 99%

Already considered one of the great coming of age movies Lady Bird is an emotional and hilarious film and goes through many of the typical teenage dramas everyone goes through. The film was written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her first major directorial role and with a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes and five Oscar nominations, she probably considers it a successful first outing.

On The Seventh Day – 100%

Despite having a truly spectacular 100% score from Rotten Tomatoes this is not a particularly prominent film. A 100% score means that all of the thirty critics listed on the site reviewing the film gave it a positive review. On Rotten Tomatoes The Godfather has four critics willing to damn that film and no one said anything bad about On The Seventh Day. The film is a story about a young undocumented immigrant, Jose, in America who as well as working as a delivery worker plays on an amateur football team and with the championship coming up, Jose’s boss insists he works that day. The film takes place during the seven days between Jose learning his boss wants him to work and the championship game as he tries to work out what he should do.

Also Read: The Unlikely Success of A24

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Antebellum (21^st August)

With a cast headlined by Janelle Monáe, Antebellum looks at a modern author, Veronica, who becomes trapped in a reality-based around slavery. Will she be able to figure out what has happened to her and escape before it’s too late? Many modern horror films have dealt with issues of race (see Get Out & Us) and Antebellum looks to specifically address issues regarding past and present treatment of people of colour in potentially really interesting ways by having a plot based around a modern woman forced to feel the hardship of slavery. If handled right Antebellum could not only be scary but prove again that horror is fertile ground for thought-provoking examinations of real social issues.

The New Mutants (28^th August)

The New Mutants is a spinoff of the X-men series. Focusing on five teenagers with mutant powers imprisoned in a facility against their will. The new mutants must come to terms with their dark pasts and fight their way out of captivity. Initially set to release in early 2018, New Mutants’ release date has changed many times since then. With reshoots also taking place to make the film scarier. With it finally set to release in August many are curious to see the result of the long-delayed film. And while the film may not justify the wait, the idea of a superhero horror film with a talented cast that includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton; Alice Braga and directed by The Fault in our Stars‘ Josh Boone is just too intriguing to resist. Hopefully, the upcoming film will at least be an entertaining attempt to do something different.

Relic (5^th October)

This Australian film is about a family that begins to have their home haunted in a way that feels like a manifestation of their grandmother’s dementia. Relic has received many good notices since its premiere at Sundance. Many reviews praised the performances of leads Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote, and Robyn Nevin and the film’s slow-burning suspenseful nature. Reviews also compared the film to both Hereditary and The Babadook meaning that it could have a very divisive reception. But if the scares are built-up right, with suspense rather than shock in mind, and the characters are written and performed well, we could have another modern Aussie horror hit on our hands.

Cordelia (23^rd October)

Coming to us from TV and film director Adrian Shergold (director of Pierrepoint: The Last Hang Man); written by and starring Antonia Campbell-Hughes. Cordelia is a British horror film about the titular character who lives in a flat with her twin Caroline. Cordelia was once an up and coming actress but suffered a traumatic experience that changed her. She now seems to have recovered but when her sister and her boyfriend leave her, the trauma threatens to resurface. Boasting a cast that includes Michael Gambon and Johnny Flynn and a trailer rife with quietly unsettling imagery. Cordelia bears the hallmarks of being a potential spooky surprise.

Saint Maud (23^rd October)

The feature debut from Rose Glass follows Maud, a very religious nurse who becomes obsessed with saving her patient from damnation. With solid critical reviews, some disturbing trailers, and A24, which has produced some of the most disturbing horror films of the last decade, backing it, Saint Maud looks set to be another creepy home run for A24.

So while we may not be seeing the release of every big horror film we wanted in 2020, horror fans still have plenty of upcoming releases to look forward to. Let me know what horror films you’re looking forward to down below.

Also Read: The Best of Blumhouse

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Now with Scream 5 being announced, it seems like a good time to ask what will be coming from the new movie? What the franchise mainstays have been up to? As well as reflect on the series as a whole and ask if Scream’s return is good or bad?

Scream 5: What to expect

Currently, details about Scream 5 are thin. Apparently, the films plot, “will follow a woman returning to her hometown to try to find out who has been committing a series of vicious crimes.”

However Scream 5 will mark a huge departure for the franchise, as writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven won’t be involved. Instead, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett who made the well-reviewed Ready or Not and the poorly received Devils Due will be directing. And Guy Busick (who wrote Ready or Not) and James Vanderbilt (whose credits include Zodiac and the Amazing Spiderman series) will be writing.

David Arquette is returning as Dewey Riley but it’s currently unknown if Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox will return as Sidney Prescott and Gail Weathers (Campbell is apparently in talks to appear, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed). Which could leave the series without two of its main stars.

Where are they now?

So, what have the series regulars been up to since Scream 4?

Series creator Kevin Williamson has created several original TV shows including The Following and Stalker. And has adapted several pre-existing properties for the small screen. Including continuing to write for Vampire Diaries; creating Time After Time and Tell Me a Story.

David Arquette remains a prolific actor, with starring and supporting roles in a variety of cult projects. Such as the film Bone Tomahawk and tv shows like Creepshow. Neve Campbell has continued with a steady workload. Starring in the likes of Skyscraper and lending supporting turns to the likes of House of Cards, while also focusing on raising her two children. And Courteney Cox has been very busy since Scream 4. She released her directorial debut Just Before I Go in 2014. She continued her starring role in Cougar Town until 2015. Produced several projects, through her production company Coquette Productions (including Cougar town, Just Before I Go and Celebrity Name Game) and solo (recently producing 9 months with Courteney Cox and the upcoming Last Chance U). And coupled with being an activist and a parent it would be understandable if Cox is too busy to return.

And Wes Craven sadly passed away in 2015. Scream 4 was his final directorial credit.

Can Scream maintain its power?

But is it possible for Scream to hold up in today’s world? Unfortunately, the series’ diminishing returns indicate that a new Scream won’t perform well.

The original Scream was a hit, making $173,046,663 worldwide. It also received critical and audience praise for its ridiculing of slasher tropes. Scream 2 focused on slasher sequel trappings, more elaborate death scenes, bigger body count etc. and while still a hit, it wasn’t as big as its predecessor, making $172,363,301. This entry received critical praise, but audiences were more lukewarm. Scream 3, the supposedly final entry (written by Ehren Kruger but still directed by Craven), which took broader shots at movie trilogies made $161,834,276 and was hated by audiences and critics. Scream 4, released 11 years later, parodied horror remakes while being more of a soft-reboot. With the surviving original cast members teaming up with younger leads. It was more well-received by audiences and critics than Scream 3 (Williamson returned as the writer) but only took $97,231,420. A series low.

Truthfully, Scream has done everything it can with its premise. It’s parodied slasher movies, their sequels, their supposed concluding chapters, and even the soft-reboot before its modern popularity with the likes of Halloween (2018). A full-on reboot with new leads is all that’s left. But by bringing Arquette’s Dewey back, Scream 5 doesn’t seem to be doing that. Also, full-fledged slasher films aren’t as prominent anymore. And with the likes of A24 and Blumhouse delivering horror films that play with conventions and audience expectations in a more effective and braver way (tackling race relations, religion, and more), a new Scream film wouldn’t offer much new. Lastly, it doesn’t seem respectful to continue on without Wes Craven. He was the man who directed every franchise entry. And without him, the franchise should be left in peace.

Conclusion

But those are just my thoughts. What do you think about the Scream 5 news? Please let me know.

Also Read: What Happens To Your Brain When Watching A Horror Film

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In 2013, Wang found out her grandmother (her Nai Nai) had Stage 4 Lung Cancer and was given three months to live. Her family decided not to tell Nai Nai she was sick, something that is relatively common in China, as a way to spare her the pain of knowing that her life was ending. Instead, they staged a ruse wedding as an excuse for everyone to travel home, to Changchun, and say goodbye. 

The Farwell is introspective and layered with a beautifully melancholic score by Alex Weston and gorgeous cinematography by Anna Franquesa Solano. It is a rich meditation on culture, family values, the familial bond, mortality, morality, truth, and pain. It features a cast of talented actors, who imbue the family at the centre of the story with nuance and complexity, led by a dazzling Awkwafina as Billi, a Chinese-American woman who acts as a stand-in for Wang. 

As Billi returns to China she is forced to confront the parts of herself that have shifted since she left when she was six-years-old. It was a move that left her feeling disjointed. In China, she feels American, she speaks a language she can’t read and every so often doesn’t understand certain words or phrases. In America, she feels lonely. Her family and her happiest memories are from her childhood in Changchun. She feels as if her connection to her home is dwindling, fizzling out before her eyes. The house she lived in was sold, her Nai Nai’s old house is long gone since the neighbourhood was renovated, and she lost her Grandfather when she was younger and was unable to attend his funeral. When she hears Nai Nai’s diagnosis, she fears she’ll lose her too and her connections to her childhood, and to China, will be severed for good. 

Billi wants this visit, the one that might be her last with Nai Nai, to mean something but she’s not sure it can if Nai Nai doesn’t know the truth. In western culture, we are obsessed with knowing everything, obsessed with the truth no matter how much it hurts. We cannot conceive, even for a second, that knowing it all might not be in our best interests. We have difficulty embracing the mere idea of collectivism, as our identities are often built around the western ideal of individualism and our societies exist around the self, our histories are built on it. We live our lives within family units and social groups but ultimately we live for ourselves, first and foremost, but The Farwell lays out its delicate counter-argument. 

‘In the East, a person’s life is part of a whole,’ Billi’s uncle reminds her, that Chinese culture and family values differ significantly from her American ones. It is then, their final act of kindness, of love, to carry the emotional burden of illness for a family member. To let them live their final few months without that knowledge, without the emotional weight of such news. As the old phrase goes: what we don’t know can’t hurt us. Or, as Billi’s mother says, ‘When people get cancer they die… it isn’t the cancer that kills them, it’s the fear.’ 

The Farwell is not unaccompanied this year either, as 2019 has been a busy year for directors exploring their personal histories, with the past two months alone seeing the release of Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory and Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir. Yet, even in a somewhat crowded field, Wang’s film feels distinctly unique. It’s deeply particular and has emotional heft that writhes beneath the surface. The evocations of childhood, Billi’s grandfather, and her inner conflicts are exquisitely drawn yet Wang deftly weaves in moments of comedy that are tender, perfectly contrasting the sombreness of the occasion – often boldly directly juxtaposing the two. 

The Farwell is uprooting in the best ways. It modifies your thought process, dissects your preconceived notions and challenges you to let them go. It’s quiet and looming, with each character being worthy of their own two-hour film to see how they respond to the lie. The Farewell is the kind of film that demonstrates what cinema can be (powerful, moving, and specific) especially when diverse creators are able to handle their own stories, ones they draw from personal experience. It’s clear that Wang is a bold cinematic voice, one that has something distinct and nuanced to say, with a long career ahead of her. So, rather ironically, The Farewell feels like a significant arrival. 

Rating: (5 / 5)

The Farewell is in cinemas nationwide on the 20^th September.

Also Read: The Unlikely Sucess of A24

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The Odd Beginning

The first film the company produced was A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III back in 2013 and seems to be as odd as the title suggests. It’s not a film I’ve seen but it starred Charlie Sheen, who to put it mildly, is not the most reliable of actors. The film has an IMDb rating of 4.8 and an appallingly low score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes and had a near-universal drubbing by film critics. The film did not lack for talent, directed and written by Roman Coppola, and aside from Sheen featured Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Patricia Arquette but seems to have not been a good film. I can’t help but feel it was a mistake to cast Sheen, who according to distribution executive, Nicolette Aizenberg, didn’t show up to the premiere. Sheen landed this role after his very public firing from Two and a Half Men. So an inauspicious beginning but it didn’t hold them back for long.

The Founders

Co-founder Daniel Katz already had a lot of experiences in the film industry, being the head of the film-finance division of Guggenheim Partners (they have lots of money and invest in stuff). Katz was involved in Zombieland, The Social Network and the Twilight franchise, showing a grasp of everything from cult hits, critical smashes and hugely successful franchises.

David Fenkel’s background is a little odd, before A24 he was a co-founder of Oscilloscope Laboratories, a film production and distribution company. The other co-founder was Adam Yauch best known as a member of The Beastie Boys and as can be imagined it was an odd company. If you google Oscilloscope the little blurb beneath the website says that only work in the film industry to raise money for their time machine. Similarly interested in independent film, Oscilloscope Laboratories has not shared the runaway success of A24.

Three Important Films

I am going to look at three key films in A24’s story, Spring Breakers, Hereditary and Moonlight. Spring Breakers is often seen as the start of their success, a very unusual film that tested very badly with audiences and that no one thought would succeed. Not only was the film a huge success it helped make their name. A24 were the distributors of this film, rather than the production company, making the notorious “Consider This Sh*t” Oscar campaign for James Franco.

Second, we have Hereditary. a film considered one of the best horror movies of recent years and said by at least one critic to be this generation’s The Exorcist. It is A24’s second most financially successful film. And it is one of the most unnerving films I have ever seen and in the era of horror film franchises and endless jump scares it felt new and original.

Finally, Moonlight. This is not A24’s only Oscar success but winning the 2017 Best Picture award was incredible. For a company that makes – relatively – small films winning that Oscar is probably the clear sign that they’ve made it. Moonlight was adored by critics and because of its subject matter of huge cultural importance. It also won two other Oscars that year, for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali and was nominated for five more. You could say Moonlight won the Oscars that year.

The Secret Of Their Success

An article in GQ interviewed many of the directors, writers and actors A24 had worked with and the founders received nothing but praise. Again and again, the message seems to be – these guys are not in it for the money. Now I personally don’t believe anyone who runs a company can completely shut out financial concerns, but it does seem like they think the best way to be successful is to let talented filmmakers do what they want to do. Their most financially successful film is the still the very niche Lady Bird which made around $50,000,000 and with IMDb estimating the budget at $10,000,000 that is a very successful film. While to many pretentious indie film fans – i.e. me – the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig was something very special it was hardly a sure-thing success. Another success story was The Witch (estimated budget of 3,500,000 box office of $25,000,000) and while it is a great film it must have been a hard film to pitch. It’s the story of one family, living alone in the 1630s while odd things, possibly magical/satanic things, happen around them but maybe nothing happened at all.

This strategy is by no means always going to be successful. A Glimpse Inside The Mind of Charles Swann III was directed by Roman Coppola, a long-time collaborator of Wes Anderson and clearly someone with a lot of talent but the film was a failure. And we can all think of pet projects of extremely talented people that go completely off the rails.

I think the surest sign of their success is that I would go to see a film purely based on it was made by them and I can think of no other studio where that is true. A24 is becoming synonymous with brilliant and original films.

Also Read: The Formula for a Successful Film

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