This March looks to be another good month for horror, with the theatrical releases of the sci-fi horror thriller Ash and the horror comedy Death of a Unicorn. Also joining the March lineup is the horror flick The Rule of Jenny Pen, and IFC Films has released a new teaser trailer to get people talking and excited about the upcoming movie.
Coming from IFC Films and Shudder, The Rule of Jenny Pen premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, in September 2024, and was later screened at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain in October of that year. Now, it's about to be available for a wider audience with its U.S. theatrical release on Friday, March 7, 2025. Like many other movies, it's based on another piece of work. It's a feature adaptation of New Zealand author Owen Marshall's short story of the same name.
James Ashcroft co-wrote the screenplay with...
Coming from IFC Films and Shudder, The Rule of Jenny Pen premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, in September 2024, and was later screened at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain in October of that year. Now, it's about to be available for a wider audience with its U.S. theatrical release on Friday, March 7, 2025. Like many other movies, it's based on another piece of work. It's a feature adaptation of New Zealand author Owen Marshall's short story of the same name.
James Ashcroft co-wrote the screenplay with...
- 03/02/2025
- di Crystal George
- 1428 Elm
Taki Rua Productions' Strange Resting Places is not resting in 2009 and is continuing with the success it has enjoyed in recent years. Written by Paolo Rotondo and Rob Mokaraka, the play is crafted from contemporary storytelling, personal experience and extensive research, with music and comedy in Maori, Italian and English and some hilarious and moving characters. Before heading off on an international adventure it returns to Wellington from 16 March (for one week only) shining a light on the complex emotional bonds of New Zealand's wartime history and the three universals that Maori shared with the Italians: whānau, food and song - not to mention wily cunning, a love of vino and a passion for the ladies.
- 05/02/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Film review: 'The Ugly'
It's always nice when a film comes along that succinctly reviews itself.
Take, for example, "The Ugly", a most unpleasant, heavy-handed psychological thriller that wears its obvious, stitched-together influences -- "The Silence of the Lambs", "Night of the Living Dead" and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" come immediately to mind -- like a blood-spattered quilt.
It might have made half-decent camp, but first-time feature writer-director Scott Reynolds has evident auteur aspirations that keep spoiling the potential fun.
As a result, "The Ugly" lacks any kind of inspired through-line that would earn it the kind of theatrical cult following it is seeking. Expect a hasty trip to the video counter, where it can take its place alongside the titles it tried so hard to emulate.
Reynolds' flashback-happy story is set in the creepy, near-empty mental hospital that is home to Simon Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo), a baby-faced serial killer whose best friend has always been his straight razor.
Enter Dr. Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs), a psychiatrist whose unorthodox methods and short skirts have often put her in the news for winning clemency for some of the biggest murderers around. As she begins to systematically chip away at Cartwright's tortured past -- under the watchful, sinister eye of resident psychiatrist Dr. Marlowe (Roy Ward) -- she slowly becomes caught up in the killer's psychoses and is ultimately haunted by his demons.
A protege of fellow New Zealand-bred filmmaker Peter Jackson -- whose earlier works, particularly "Dead Alive" and "Bad Taste", can be added to the influence pile -- Reynolds does have a quirky visual sense that's big on jittery jump cuts, flickering fluorescent lighting and washed-out exposures, effectively creating a squirmy mood. His writing is another story, populated by characters who would have been more at home in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and cliche-ridden situations that wish to be taken seriously.
Maybe next time he'll leave the annoyingly derivative stuff behind and tell a story that's as interesting as some of his technical ideas. Meanwhile, genre fans will be sticking to the real thing.
THE UGLY
Trimark Pictures
Director-screenwriter: Scott Reynolds
Producer: Jonathan Dowling
Director of photography: Simon Raby
Editor: Wayne Cook
Production designer: Grant Major
Music: Victoria Kelly
Color/stereo
Cast:
Simon Cartwright: Paolo Rotondo
Dr. Karen Schumaker: Rebecca Hobbs
Evelyn Cartwright: Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Dr. Marlowe: Roy Ward
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Take, for example, "The Ugly", a most unpleasant, heavy-handed psychological thriller that wears its obvious, stitched-together influences -- "The Silence of the Lambs", "Night of the Living Dead" and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" come immediately to mind -- like a blood-spattered quilt.
It might have made half-decent camp, but first-time feature writer-director Scott Reynolds has evident auteur aspirations that keep spoiling the potential fun.
As a result, "The Ugly" lacks any kind of inspired through-line that would earn it the kind of theatrical cult following it is seeking. Expect a hasty trip to the video counter, where it can take its place alongside the titles it tried so hard to emulate.
Reynolds' flashback-happy story is set in the creepy, near-empty mental hospital that is home to Simon Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo), a baby-faced serial killer whose best friend has always been his straight razor.
Enter Dr. Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs), a psychiatrist whose unorthodox methods and short skirts have often put her in the news for winning clemency for some of the biggest murderers around. As she begins to systematically chip away at Cartwright's tortured past -- under the watchful, sinister eye of resident psychiatrist Dr. Marlowe (Roy Ward) -- she slowly becomes caught up in the killer's psychoses and is ultimately haunted by his demons.
A protege of fellow New Zealand-bred filmmaker Peter Jackson -- whose earlier works, particularly "Dead Alive" and "Bad Taste", can be added to the influence pile -- Reynolds does have a quirky visual sense that's big on jittery jump cuts, flickering fluorescent lighting and washed-out exposures, effectively creating a squirmy mood. His writing is another story, populated by characters who would have been more at home in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and cliche-ridden situations that wish to be taken seriously.
Maybe next time he'll leave the annoyingly derivative stuff behind and tell a story that's as interesting as some of his technical ideas. Meanwhile, genre fans will be sticking to the real thing.
THE UGLY
Trimark Pictures
Director-screenwriter: Scott Reynolds
Producer: Jonathan Dowling
Director of photography: Simon Raby
Editor: Wayne Cook
Production designer: Grant Major
Music: Victoria Kelly
Color/stereo
Cast:
Simon Cartwright: Paolo Rotondo
Dr. Karen Schumaker: Rebecca Hobbs
Evelyn Cartwright: Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Dr. Marlowe: Roy Ward
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 15/05/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. non si assume alcuna responsabilità per il contenuto o l’accuratezza degli articoli di notizie, dei tweet o dei post del blog sopra riportati. Questo contenuto è pubblicato solo per l’intrattenimento dei nostri utenti. Gli articoli di notizie, i tweet e i post del blog non rappresentano le opinioni di IMDb e non possiamo garantire che le informazioni ivi riportate siano completamente aderenti ai fatti. Visita la fonte responsabile dell’articolo in questione per segnalare eventuali dubbi relativi al contenuto o all'accuratezza.