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Following its rip-roaring success at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment is delighted that the British horror comedy Members Club will be available on UK Digital Platforms from 21st October.

Written and Directed by Marc Coleman, Members Club stars a host of British talent including Dean Kilbey, Perry Benson, Barbara Smith, Juliet Cowan, Mark Monero, Steve Oram, David Schaal, Alan Ford, Liam Noble as well as Peter Andre.

Wet Dreams, a middle-aged male stripper group, have hit rock bottom. After a string of disastrous gigs, the gang considers disbanding. Alan, the group’s happy-go-lucky front man, takes over the business and books the boys a lucrative and mysterious gig in rural Essex. But when the group arrive at the desolate club, their night quickly takes a dark turn when they find themselves tangled up in a plot to raise a murderous 16th century witch from the dead.

Also, check out...

Kill List Ben Wheatley returns to the small screen this month with Channel 4 zombie comedy series, Generation Z. Here’s a trailer:

Kill List director Ben Wheatley is about to television with this autumn’s Generation Z, which Wheatley has written and directed for Channel 4.

According to the British Comedy Guide, the series is a horror satire which pits a group of small-town teenagers (the gen-z of the title) against a horde of toxin-infected, rabid pensioners. It’s a little bit like Rabid Grannies, then, but with a distinctly political, post-austerity, post hope-for-the-future spin.

As the synopsis points out, it’s about “the increasingly stark divisions between generations,” and depicts “a modern Britain at war with itself. Sounds good!

The cast is itself a platter of multi-generational comedy talent. Elder states-people of telly Sue Johnston (The Royle Family), Anita Dobson (EastEnders) and Robert Lindsay (Citizen Smith) are joined by...

The HBO series Industry returns for a third season on Aug. 11, with Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington joining the cast. The series follows a cast of characters caught up in the cutthroat world of high finance in London as they determine whether they will thrive or crumble under the pressure.

Rick and Morty: The Anime will be available on Max this month for fans looking for something to tide them over until Rick and Morty season 8.

Another notable new release this month is the documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes. Formulated with newly recovered interviews and unprecedented access to the actor’s personal archive, this documentary claims to be Elizabeth Taylor’s story from her perspective.

Here’s everything coming to HBO and Max in August.

HBO and Max New Releases – August 2024

August 1

3 Days to Kill (2014)

A Bigger Splash (2016)

Amelie (2001)

Arthur (2011)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Blackthorn (2011)

Brick Mansions (2014)

Down Terrace (2010)

Forever My Girl...

‘Grips, twists, jostles and pokes… queasy hints of Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity, Kill List and Peep Show… punchy, funny, scary… a fantastically unnerving location’

★★★★

The Guardian

‘A smart, funny and genuinely spooky movie’

The Times

‘The script is witty, the cast are simply terrific… a spiky, intelligent little throat-grabber’

Time Out

Say your prayers as writer-director Elliot Goldner’s chiller The Borderlands is set to strike fear into your very soul, as this acclaimed British horror classic comes to Limited Edition Blu-ray from Second Sight Films. The brand-new set comes complete with a host of fascinating special features, it is also available in a Standard Edition Blu-ray.

When frequent strange happenings are reported at a thirteenth century church in rural Devon, a small team of Vatican investigators are sent in to try and demystify the unusual goings on… But what they discover is more disturbing than they could ever imagine.

Britain’s contributions to the cinematic form have been vast and glorious. Aardman Animation. Alfred Hitchcock. Olivia Colman. 007. High up that list, too, is the British gangster movie – sure, America may often get the genre limelight with classics like Goodfellas, The Godfather trilogy, and Scarface, but nobody does dark, gritty, violent, and darkly humorous quite like the British. You certainly wouldn’t catch football-hardman-turned-movie-hardman Vinnie Jones rolling down the street with some poor geezer’s bonce trapped in his car window anywhere else, that’s for sure!

And so, with tracksuits on, geezer nicknames doled out, and knuckles dusted, Team Empire assembled a list of the very best British gangster movies ever made. From comedy classics, to bruising turn-of-the-century tales of brutality and crime, to contemporary subversions of the genre formula, we’ve covered all bases. These are films of culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an 'ot dog,...

Without a doubt Ben Wheatley is one of the most interesting filmmakers of our time with a diverse collection of work to his name.

The film that started it all, Down Terrace, celebrates its 15th anniversary with a screening at this years’ Glasgow Film Festival with Ben in attendance for a Q&a session. We sat down with Ben to reflect on his feature debut, the experience of a self-funded film and some of his upcoming projects including Normal with Bob Odenkirk.

You can listen to the full interview below:

The post Ben Wheatley on Down Terrace’s 15th Anniversary at Glasgow Film Festival, self-funding the film, Normal with Bob Odenkirk & more appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The Brit crime comedy “Down Terrace” was a hit with critics back in 2009. Made on a shoestring budget and shot over a little more than a week, it was lapped up for giving a uniquely dark and hilarious twist to the standard gangster flick while adding splashes of U.K. kitchen-sink social realism into the mix. The film also set up its director Ben Wheatley — making his feature debut after years working on TV, commercials and shorts — for cinematic greatness.

Fifteen years on and Wheatley has more than staked out his territory as one of the U.K.’s most exciting — and unexpected — filmmakers. After landing “cult director” status thanks to his “Down Terrace” follow-ups — the gritty psychological horror “Kill List,” murderous black comedy “Sightseers” and trippy period feature “A Field in England” — he then upped the stakes (and A-list stars) with J.G. Ballard adaptation “High Rise” (starring Tom Hiddleston...

Exclusive: UK outfit Lightbulb Film Distribution has picked up Canadian revenge-thriller The G.

Written and directed by Karl R. Hearne, the film stars Dale Dickey. The pic will receive its UK premiere on February 29 at the Glasgow Film Festival. Synopsis reads: A mysterious older woman seeks revenge on the corrupt legal guardian who destroyed her life.

Lightbulb acquired both Uki and Anz rights. Level Film will release the pic in Canada.

“We are delighted to have acquired The G following its recent world premiere at Tallinn Black Nights. Karl is a visionary filmmaker, a new voice in elevated-genre, and we’re excited to be on this journey with him,” said Sales & Acquisitions Director Peter Thompson.

Writer and director Karl R. Hearne added: “We’re very excited about Lightbulb taking our film into the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. This film is a winter...

​​Viggo Mortensen To Attend Glasgow Film Festival

Filmmaker ​​Viggo Mortensen is among the guests set to attend this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. Mortensen will take part in a live ‘In Conversation’ session at Glasgow where he will discuss his life and career followed by the UK premiere of his new Western The Dead Don’t Hurt. The film stars Mortensen alongside Vicky Krieps, Danny Huston, and Scotland-born actor Solly McLeod. Filmmaker Ben Wheatley will also attend the festival for a screening of his debut feature, Down Terrace, followed by a Q&a session. Glasgow opens February 28 with the UK premiere of Rose Glass’ latest Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart.

Chris Young To Head Sean Connery Talent Lab

The UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) has hired Scottish film producer Chris Young to lead the Sean Connery Talent Lab as part of the expansion of Nfts Scotland. The...

Streaming

Taiwanese streamer Catchplay has added its original series “Not a Murder Story” to its available lineup in Indonesia. The eight-part series combines a gripping criminal thriller narrative with an exploration of greed and deception.

The story revolves around Dong, an aspiring actor who finally gets an opportunity to become famous and successful, but wakes up one day next to a dead woman. Dong cannot recall the events of the previous night, cleans up and stages a crime scene as if it were a botched robbery, but he inadvertently leaves traces. As the police investigate the apartment block, it becomes clear that all the residents have hidden secrets and a motive for murder.

“Not a Murder Story” is written and directed by Ko Chen-Nien and features Taiwanese stars Liu Kuan-Ting, Gingle Wang and Sonia Sui.

It debuted on Catchplay+ last week with the first two episodes immediately available and others uploading every Wednesday.

Rose Glass’s romantic thriller Loves Lives Bleeding is set to open the 20th edition of Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) on February 28.

The UK filmmaker’s follow-up to Saint Maud stars Kristen Stewart as a gym owner who falls for a bodybuilder with criminal connections. The A24 feature will receive its UK premiere at Glasgow following its debut at Sundance earlier this month.

John Archer’s documentary Janey, about Scottish stand-up comedian Janey Godley as she embarks on her final tour following a terminal cancer diagnosis, will close the festival on March 10.

Gff has secured eight world premieres (see below...

This month marks four years since it was announced that Ben Wheatley, whose latest film Meg 2: The Trench is in theatres now (you can read our review at This Link and check out our interview with Wheatley Here), would be writing, directing, and executive producing Generation Z, a “hilarious, frightening, and political” series that would consist of six hour-long episodes that would “mix flesh-eating zombies into a story that satirizes how Brexit has divided the UK.” That project didn’t make it into production because of the pandemic shutdown… but now it has been revived, and Wheatley has confirmed that it’s going to be his next project!

During an appearance at an Empire VIP screening of Meg 2: The Trench, Wheatley said (with thanks to Fangoria for the transcription), “What I’m doing next is six hours for Channel 4, [a] TV series, a horror-based thing […] In the same...

Ben Wheatley is one of the most unpredictable filmmakers working today. He impressed with his feature debut, the darkly funny "Down Terrace," but took a huge leap when he decided to blend two quintessential British genres, crime flicks and folk horror, with the terrifyingly brilliant "Kill List." Wheatley could've hightailed it for Hollywood on the strength of the latter, but he had different priorities. He bounced from the psychedelic horror of "A Field in England" to an effective adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian "High-Rise" to the pitch-black shoot-em-up "Free Fire." He subsequently took a crack at Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," and while he couldn't quite place his distinctive stamp on the material (which Alfred Hitchcock aced with David O. Selznick hanging over his shoulder in his 1940 Best Picture winner), you had to admire his ambition.

Wheatley is an undoubtedly gifted filmmaker, but, film to film, I can't...

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ looks for piece of the action.

Shark sequel Meg 2: The Trench is the first major challenger to the Barbenheimer supremacy, opening in 544 cinemas at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend.

Meg 2 will look to challenge both its Warner Bros stablemate Barbie, and Universal’s Oppenheimer, while benefitting from the surge in audiences those titles have brought in the past fortnight.

The first title, 2018’s The Meg, started with £3.7m also in early August; and ended on a sharp £15.9m.

Jason Statham returns for the sequel, which sees a research team encounter multiple threats...

Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 movie The Meg (watch it at This Link) delivered on its promise of being a “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” adventure – and now director Ben Wheatley’s sequel Meg 2: The Trench is set to reach theatres on August 4th. In a newly released featurette, which you can watch in the embed above, Wheatley says his intention with this film was to make a supercharged sequel with bigger creatures and bigger action… and judging by the footage on display in the featurette, it definitely looks like this follow-up has a change of being better and more exciting than its predecessor.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

Jason Statham is back in...

Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link), is set to reach theatres on August 4th – and while this sequel will feature multiple giant sharks, those aren’t the only prehistoric creatures that will be rampaging across the screen. In fact, a newly released promo, which you can check out in the embed above, says that this time “the Megs are just the beginning”. One of the other giant creatures we’ll be seeing in Meg 2: The Trench is an octopus, and you can get a glimpse of some giant octopus action in this promo, including a moment where the octopus gets in a fight with a Meg! A moment that brings to mind the 2009 classic Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris,...

Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link), is set to reach theatres on August 4th – and with that date right around the corner, Warner Bros. has unveiled a new poster for the film… one that features multiple sea creatures lurking beneath unsuspecting swimmers. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

And if that one doesn’t handle your craving for new Meg 2 promotional art, maybe one of these new posters will:

#Meg2 Meg 2 releases posters for IMAX、Cinity、中国巨幕、Dolby、MX4D and Wanos pic.twitter.com/hNu7MXFPvp

— Meg 2: the trench (@Latteeaaee) July 17, 2023

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired...

Last week, Warner Bros. unveiled the trailer for Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link). If that trailer left you wondering if the sea creature mayhem of this film was going to boost it into the R rating territory, you can stop wondering. Because it hasn’t. Just like The Meg, Meg 2: The Trench has earned a PG-13 rating. The Motion Picture Association ratings board has given it a PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

Jason Statham is back in the lead...

Last month, attendees at CinemaCon – including JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray – had the chance to watch the first trailer for Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link). Now those of us who weren’t at CinemaCon get our chance to watch the trailer, which is now online. Check it out in the embed above!

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

Jason Statham is back in the lead as rescue diver Jonas Taylor and is joined in the cast of the sequel by returning co-stars Cliff Curtis, Shuya Sophia Cai, and Page Kennedy, as well as...

The Warner Bros. presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, is currently in progress, and as part of the presentation they showed attendees the first trailer for Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link).

JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray was in attendance to see the trailer, and this is what he had to say about it: “First trailer: We see footage of The Meg killing dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Looks much more expensive than the last movie. Jonas (Jason Statham) is sent into the trench the deal with whatever creature is down there – which of course is The Meg! Wu Jing, from Wolf Warrior, is a co-star. This version of The Meg is bigger because it’s an Apex predator. It escapes The Trench and starts eating people.

A number of great movies are leaving HBO Max at the end of March, so it’s time to prioritize these titles in your queue. Filmmaker James Gunn’s sequel/soft reboot “The Suicide Squad” will depart the streaming service on March 22 after first hitting HBO Max the same day it was released in theaters back in 2021. Similarly, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was whisked away on March 1 after also getting a day-and-date release in 2021 (sorry/not sorry if you missed it).

You also only have until March 7 to stream “Just a Boy From Tupelo: Bringing Elvis to the Big Screen,” a short documentary on the making of the Oscar-nominated biopic “Elvis.”

Other noteworthy films leaving HBO Max this month include “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Contagion,” the extended version of “Dances with Wolves,” “Ghostbusters,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Love & Basketball” and “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

There’s nothing quite like when HBO is airing one of its trademark watercooler-worthy dramas weekly. Thankfully, we’ll get to it experience exactly that and more on HBO Max in March 2023.

The big ticket item on HBO Max this March is undoubtedly Succession Season 4 on March 26. Part prestige drama and part screwball comedy, Succession is about as fun a watch as they come. Season 4 of the series about egregious wealth will find the Roy siblings reeling after trying and failing to take down their father, Logan (Brian Cox).

HBO Max’s other major TV option this month is another weekly release from HBO. Matthew Rhys returns as the titular lawyer in Perry Mason Season 2 on March 6. Season 1 of this period piece reboot flexed the classic TV character’s detective skills. From the look of the trailer, it seems as though this is the year Perry makes his name in the court room.

10 films on the list for low-budget independent films.

Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams’ documentary Rebel Dykes and Ryan Andrew Hooper’s comedy-thriller The Toll are among the 10 titles longlisted for the Discovery award at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Six documentaries make the list, including Annika Ranin and Sean Fee’s Boarders, following a group of British skateboarders on their journey towards the sports Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. Ranin and Jasmin Morrison are also on the longlist for breakthrough producer, announced as part of the new talent selection earlier this month.

Further documentaries include Celeste Bell and Paul Sng...

(Interactive chart with estimates below)

This week, Neon released its Covid-inspired horror film In The Earth, directed by Ben Wheatley. Written across 15 days last August, the movie follows a scientist and a park scout in the midst of a pandemic. Their journey into a forest becomes imperiled as they find their environment shifting before them.

In The Earth opened in 575 runs in 128 markets over a 21 day window. Despite its lackluster 40% audience rating on Rt, Earth made a strong showing –especially considering these times – in the specialty box office, grossing $506K through the weekend.

Gunda was also another notable Neon debut. Directed by Russian documentary filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky, the film follows the daily lives of a pig, two cows, and a one-legged chicken. Gunda is shot in black-and-white and features no dialogue. Joaquin Phoenix is tagged as an executive producer.

Though only making five runs in three markets,...

Welcome back, Weird-as-fuck Ben Wheatley. We’ve missed you.

Since Down Terrace, the 2009 blend of Sopranos-style gangster saga and kitchen-sink drama that remains one of the strongest debut films in a decade, the British director has fashioned himself as a purveyor of oddball genre mash-ups, combining elements that go together like peanut butter and peyote. What if a hitman thriller took a detour into Wicker Man territory? (2011’s Kill List.) What if a daffy, misfits-in-love rom-com doubled as a portrait of serial killers? (2012’s Sightseers.) What if a tale...

10 titles have been selected for the latest list.

The British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) has selected 10 titles for its Raindance Discovery Award longlist, including several that received recognition in last week’s lists.

Eva Riley’s sibling drama Perfect 10 is on the list, adding to its selections on four lists last week for debut director, debut screenwriter (both for Riley), breakthrough producer (Jacob Thomas) and twice in most promising newcomer (Frankie Box and Alfie Deegan).

Also selected on its fifth list is Rene van Pannevis’ crime drama Looted. van Pannevis was longlisted for debut director, and for debut screenwriter...

In today's Horror Highlights: The first photo and details on Ben Wheatley's latest horror movie, news of Cult of Dracula moving to Source Point Press, an announcement of the New York City Horror Film Festival going virtual, the programming lineup for Drafthouse's Night Creatures, and an interview with Don’t Look Back composer Chris Thomas!

Neon Wraps Ben Wheatley's Horror Film In The Earth: "Neon today announced that Ben Wheatley has written and directed the horror film In The Earth, starring Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, and BAFTA Award Winner Reece Shearsmith. Andy Starke produced for Wheatley and Starke’s Rook Films alongside Tom Quinn and Jeff Deutchman who executive produced on behalf of Neon. In Ben Wheatley’s rising career of studio tent pole franchises like The Meg 2 and In The Earth marks a return to his genre roots akin to his groundbreaking Kill List. The film...

British director Ben Wheatley blends horror, action, and dark comedy in cinematically compelling ways. Wheatley usually works closely with his wife Amy Jump, who has written most of the screenplays for her husband's movies. The pair have made quite a few visually stunning and shockingly violent features together.

Related: Armie Hammer's 10 Best Movies (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Wheatley's career has come a long way since he released his directorial debut, Down Terrace, in 2009. From cults to gangsters to drug-addled soldiers, Wheatley explores the darkest recesses of humanity. His latest venture, Rebecca, is a Netflix remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring Armie Hammer and Lily James. It is slated to be released on October 21, 2020.

‘Bait’, ‘A Bump Along The Way’ among 16 titles selected.

Mark Jenkin’s breakout hit Bait and Shelly Love’s pregnancy drama A Bump Along The Way are among the 16 titles longlisted for the Raindance Discovery award at this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).

The 16 films will be whittled down to five nominated titles by Bifa voters and announced next week (Oct 30) alongside the other Bifa nominations.

Other longlisted films include Good Posture, the directorial debut of actor Dolly Wells starring Grace Van Patten and Emily Mortimer; Pink Wall, the first feature film from Weekend and Downton Abbey actor Tom Cullen; and Mari,...

Well now. The Tomb Raider sequel just got very interesting. Very interesting indeed. Alicia Vikander reprising her role aside, Deadline is reporting that British horror auteur Ben Wheatley has been hired to direct the sequel.    Known by and large for directing small and edgy thrillers and horrors with bleak humor this would mark Wheatley's first forray into big budget tentpole spectacle. Not that we question whether he can do it, it just seems to go against the brand that we have come to love since his feature film debut in 2009, Down Terrace.    Apart from that more good news is that Wheatley's frequent writer Amy Jump is on board to pen the script. Perhaps...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

UK, France shoot set for summer.

Kristin Scott Thomas has joined Lily James and Armie Hammer and will play Mrs Danvers in Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca adaptation for Working Title and Netflix.

Wheatley will direct Daphne du Maurier’s celebrated Gothic novel based on a screenplay by Jane Goldman. Production is scheduled to start in the UK and France this summer

Rebecca tells of a woman who arrives at Manderley, her new husband’s family estate on the bleak English coast. Once there, the young bride finds herself battling the memory of her husband’s first wife, the mysterious Rebecca,...

Stars: Neil Maskell, Sura Dohnke, Marvin Maskell, Nicole Nettleingham, Doon Mackichan, Bill Paterson, Hayley Squires, Mark Monero, Richard Glover, Sudha Bhuchar, Vincent Ebrahim, Sinead Matthews, Sarah Baxendale, Charles Dance, Joe Cole, Peter Ferdinando | Written and Directed by Ben Wheatley

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead follows in the stead of Ben Wheatley’s previous directing efforts, in particular his 2013 black and white acid trip exploit A Field in England, in the case of releasing his picture simultaneously on both demand and a limited cinematic release. However this may alos just be his unsung masterpiece in a filmography that continues to evoke a grand sense of evolution with each entry and distinctive palette, which reinforces Wheatley’s stunning artistic ability with every and any angle.

Wheatley’s latest is a somewhat ironic variation of his first cinematic feature in Down Terrace and his breakout action hit of 2016, Free Fire - with the...

Jane Goldman to adapt Daphne du Maurier gothic classic.

British genre auteur Ben Wheatley has signed on to direct a new version of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic classic Rebecca for Working Title and Netflix with a starry cast attached.

Lily James, who earned strong reviews for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, will star alongside Armie Hammer, who can be seen in awards season contender On The Basis Of Sex.

Jane Goldman, whose recent credits include the Kingsman series and X-Men: First Class, is handling writing duties on the time-honoured story about a young bride plagued by the ghost...

“Reboot” is a word bandied about so much in the film industry these days that its meaning has become entirely elastic, referring to anything from a sequel to a remake to a mildly delayed franchise chapter. A lo-fi, high-volume original character piece from Ben Wheatley, “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead” is none of these things — and yet, in the sense that a reboot describes a freshly started system following technical complications, it feels like one for this genre-roaming writer-director. After mixed returns for the dizzy formal chaos of his J.G. Ballard adaptation “High-Rise” and the vapid shoot-’em-up varnish of “Free Fire,” Wheatley’s restless study of a dysfunctional family reunited for a prickly New Year’s Eve party is a back-to-basics affair that rewardingly sets him back in the seasick domestic space of his debut “Down Terrace,” albeit with words as its only weapons this time.

Working without his usual writing partner Amy Jump,...

Kill List director says the edit is progressing rapidly on mysterious new film.

Ben Wheatley travelled to a snowed-under Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) this weekend to take part in an in-conversation event about his career so far.

The Free Fire and Kill List director has an affinity with Gff, which has screened every one of his films since his 2009 debut Down Terrace. “The audience here is fantastic, they’re super smart, and the programming is really adventurous,” he told Screen at the event.

Wheatley could attend the event because he has already delivered a first cut of Colin You Anus,...

A British micro-budget nerve-jangler that keeps viewers guessing to the final frame, The Ghoul is a noir-flavored mood piece with grand ambitions beyond its minimal means. It marks the feature debut of actor-turned-director Gareth Tunley, known for his roles in Ben Wheatley’s early films Down Terrace and Kill List, with which it shares a certain threadbare retro-horror aesthetic. Wheatley is credited as executive producer here, while the cast and crew include several of his regular collaborators, notably co-star Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Prevenge) and editor Robin Hill.

Currently playing in British theaters after picking up positive festival buzz, The Ghoul also has...

The festival has seen UK and global premieres for the likes of Pulp Fiction, Christopher Nolan's Memento, and Ben Wheatley's Down Terrace...

The following is excerpted from a chapter in film critic Adam Nayman’s new book “Ben Wheatley: Confusion and Carnage,” which is now available.

“Nobody fucks with you like [Ben] Wheatley,” wrote Cinema Scope’s Robert Koehler in a dispatch filed from Cannes in 2012, the year that “Sightseers” premiered in the Director’s Fortnight and shifted the critical perception of its director to a global figure. If Cannes is historically the proving ground for auteur directors, then the presence of “Sightseers” on the Croisette suggested that Wheatley was emerging from his niche as a UK genre specialist. For Koehler, “Sightseers” was one of the titles at Cannes that seemed “eager to play outside boundaries within which most of the other films were all too willing to contain themselves.”

Trying to break away from the everyday—or, put another way, the search for transcendence—is the secret theme of “Sightseers,” a film that,...

Stop us if you've heard this one before: A group of criminals meet up for a gun deal. It goes bad – very bad. And the rest of the story, you ask? "Doesn't matter!" Martin Scorsese exclaims, laughing. "You don't need it. We're beyond that now." The burly, bearded man sitting next to him – British director Ben Wheatley – wholeheartedly agrees. "There's only, like, 12 characters in this movie anyway," he adds. "There are no twists, because it's either going to be that one or that one or that one. So what's the point?...

We recommend titles that influenced Ben Wheatley and more.

With his sixth feature, Ben Wheatley finally has a wide release in America. Free Fire might be his most accessible movie yet, consisting a single location and pretty much just one long action sequence. It’s basically a 90-minute third act without the first two acts getting in the way. Also it features Oscar winner Brie Larson, and who doesn’t like watching her act?

If you like what you see, then you’ll want to discover Wheatley’s other work, starting with the small crime film Down Terrace, which kicked off his career. I also recommend the following dozen movies, some of which are direct influences on Wheatley, others being similar kinds of films, and then just whatever else I had determined worthy.

The Truce Hurts (1948)

Ben Wheatley loves Tom and Jerry cartoons and has cited them as an influence on his latest movie. I...

A wise man once said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun. British filmmaker Ben Wheatley doesn't let his entry in the tough-guy canon tweak that formula per se – he just ups the ante substantially on the second part. Set in a Seventies Boston of mile-wide lapels and John Denver 8-tracks, this high-concept, high-caliber crime thriller maneuvers a handful of round-the-way hoods, a couple of Ira gents (Cillian Murphy, Michael Smiley), some dapper arms dealers (Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Babou Ceesay) and their...

Make a high rise in the industry (or on your own) with this advice.Ben Wheatley directing ‘High-Rise’

One of the most exciting filmmaking careers to watch right now is that of Ben Wheatley. He directed his first feature, 2009's Down Terrace, relatively late in life but has made up for it ever since. His latest, Free Fire, is his sixth movie in about eight years, and in that time he’s also directed music videos, episodes of Doctor Who, and shorts, including a bit for the anthology horror film The ABCs of Death.

His movies don’t lack in quality for being so many in quantity, either. Some are better than others, yet none of them has really been negatively reviewed, and he maintains a fanbase among the film geek crowd that almost gets to celebrate him annually at Fantastic Fest given his consistent output. Want to know how he does it? Below...

Chicago – One of the more lovely examples of pure cinema – if that description can be given to a film with nearly constant gunplay – is in the upcoming release of “Free Fire.” Director Ben Wheatley (“High-Rise”) constructs a dark and funny scenario within one room, and fills it with symbolism and homage to other movies.

Set in 1978, the story was based on an article that Ben Wheatley read about Irish gun runners during the Ira conflict. His writing partner Amy Jump, who is also his wife, concocted a narrative that had the gun deal go bad. What follows is a shoot out that lasts in real time over the 80 minutes it takes place. With outrageous asides, pitch black comedy and some of more creative violence this side of Quentin Tarantino, “Free Fire” takes its place as one of the best films, so far, in 2017.

Armie Hammer and Ben Wheatley On Set...

Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England and High-Rise – five films that are all provocative, haunting and a little bit crazy in their own unique way. The common thread coursing through each of those features is, of course, British auteur Ben Wheatley, who returns later this year with the ferocious Free Fire.

Directing from a script he wrote alongside Amy Jump, Wheatley’s latest (greatest?) creative venture imagines a scenario in which a shady arms deal goes south – and fast. Housed up in a decrepit warehouse in 1970s Boston, the two gangs are comprised of Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Kong: Skull Island star Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Noah Taylor, Sam Riley, Michael Smiley and Jack Reynor, though it isn’t long before the bullets fly and the bodies fall.

Set to Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” – how very apropos – today’s new, international trailer is an exciting tease of...

Arrow Films has acquired UK, Us and Canadian rights to Gareth Tunley’s debut feature The Ghoul, ScreenDaily reports . Tunley, who has previously acted in Down Terrace and Kill List, wrote and directed the British psychological thriller. Tom Meeten, previously known for comedic work such as in Paddington, plays a more serious lead role, as a detective going undercover to therapy sessions who […]...

Ben Wheatley executive produced Gareth Tunley’s debut feature which was Bifa nominated and premiered at Lff.

Arrow Films has acquired UK, Us and Canadian rights to Gareth Tunley’s debut feature The Ghoul.

The film, which world premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and later played at Film4’s Film Fear in Manchester, is produced by Primal Pictures.

Tunley, who has previously acted in Down Terrace and Kill List, wrote and directed the British psychological thriller. Tom Meeten, previously known for comedic work such as in Paddington, plays a more serious lead role, as a detective going undercover to therapy sessions who starts to question reality and fantasy.

The cast also features Alice Lowe (Sightseers), Dan Skinner (High-Rise), Geoff McGivern (Grantchester), Niamh Cusack (Testament Of Youth), Rufus Jones (Bill) and Paul Kaye (Game Of Thrones).

The film was nominated for the Discovery Award at the 2016 BIFAs.

Francesco Simeoni, director of Content...

With a handful of today’s tentpole directors getting plucked from relative obscurity, it often means missing out some of the more interesting fare they might have produced had they not been given the jump at a big blockbuster. With that said, thankfully we’ve had the opportunity to see Ben Wheatley‘s talent grow in the last few years. After jumping on the scene with Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers, and A Field in England, he’s recently transitioned to higher-profile ensembles with High-Rise and Free Fire. For his next film, he’s now jumping into studio territory.

According to Deadline, he’ll be working for Warner Bros. on an adaptation of Frank Miller and Geof Darrow‘s comic book Hard Boiled. As both writer and director, he’ll adapt the three-issue series, which debuted back in 1990 and tracked an insurance investigator in a dystopian Los Angeles who comes...

Editor’s Note: After a two-week vacation break, we are back with an expanded selection to catch up on what we missed! Enjoy below.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

13th (Ava DuVernay)

Humanity gave birth to inequality. The American experience is rooted in institutionalized racial inequity. Our forefathers came to this nation either by choice or by force. Once here, this distinction coalesced into a convoluted caste system driven by notions of survival and supremacy,...

The upcoming “Trespass Against Us” starring Michael Fassbender is an odd one to try and easily categorize. The tagline — Blood Is A Brutal Bond — suggests a grimy picture, but according to our review from Tiff, the film lies somewhere between “Down Terrace,” “Captain Fantastic,” and “Vanishing Point.” And we’re always up for the unexpected, so this is shaping up to be a treat for the fall season.

Continue reading Blood Is A Brutal Bond In First Trailer For ‘Trespass Against Us’ Starring Michael Fassbender at The Playlist.

After releasing a divisive apocalyptic romp with High-Rise and the upcoming rip-roaring Free Fire, writer-director Ben Wheatley is also trying on a different hat. He’s executive produced Gareth Tunley‘s directorial debut The Ghoul, which has now received a first trailer.

Also penned by Tunley — who has directed a few short films as well as being in front of the camera for a number of Wheatley’s own projects — the thriller looks to be a mind-bending, twisting journey through the psychological underbelly of the U.K.

As noted below in an extended synopsis, Tunley looks to be paying homage to British genre-blenders that have blazed a cinematic trail before him such as Wheatley himself — largely with Kill List and Sightseers — as well as Nicolas Roeg.

See the trailer below.

Low budget Brit thriller, The Ghoul is an atmospheric slow-burn crime film more interested in psychology and the occult than in solving crimes.