Even without a bunch of movies coming to theaters, there are still many trailers to sort through. That’s why every now and then we put a trailer round-up together to call attention to some of the lesser known movies that might be worth seeking out. This time we’ve got a documentary about how difficult it is to get movies made, a dark comedy about a missing husband, another spin on the time loop formula, a prank gone horribly wrong, and more.
Clapboard Jungle
An emotional and introspective journey following five years in the life and career of an independent filmmaker, supported by dozens of interviews, posing one question: how does an indie filmmaker survive in the current film business?
Guillermo Del Toro, Richard Stanley, Barbara Crampton, Paul Schrader, Tom Savini, George A. Romero, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Michael Biehn, Frank Henenlotter, and many more filmmakers talk about how agonizing it can be to actually get movies made. As Del Toro says in the trailer, “Making movies is beautiful. Raising the money, selling them is horrible.” You’ll find out just how frustrating it can be in this documentary, which made festival rounds last spring, but is finally coming to digital and VOD on January 19, 2021.
A Nightmare Wakes
While composing her famous novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley descends into an opium-fueled fever dream while carrying on a torrid love affair with Percy Shelley. As she writes, the characters of her novel come to life and begin to plague her relationship with Percy. Before long, she must choose between true love and her literary masterpiece.
Much like Frankenstein itself, there have been a variety of approaches to the story of the classic novel’s author Mary Shelley. This one puts a gothic horror spin on the proceedings, but unfortunately it looks like it was shot through an Instagram filter, and the psychological horror of it all feels painfully derivative. But maybe that’s just me. We’ll find out when the movie arrives on Shudder starting on February 4, 2021.
Breaking News in Yuba County
After her husband goes missing, Sue Buttons (Allison Janney), an underappreciated suburban wife, gets a taste of being a local celebrity as she embarks on a search to find him. She quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops, criminals and local reporters all aiming to uncover the truth. After being overlooked for so long, Sue goes to exaggerated lengths to prolong her “15 minutes of fame” and keep the truth from coming out.
This movie has a solid ensemble cast that also includes Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Bridget Everett, Matthew Modine, Ellen Barkin, and more. But there’s something about this movie that feels like it was made for a bargain bin. It doesn’t look downright terrible, but it doesn’t feel like the tone works at all. Find out for yourself when the movie arrives in select theaters and on digital on February 12, 2021.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
Quick-witted teen Mark (Kyle Allen) is contentedly living the same day in an endless loop whose world, but his world is turned upside-down when he meets mysterious Margaret (Kathryn Newton) also stuck in the time loop. Mark and Margaret form a magnetic partnership, setting out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect. What follows is a love story with a fantastical twist, as the two struggle to figure out how – and whether – to escape their never-ending day.
Arriving in the wake of Palm Springs, this doesn’t feel like it’s quite as refreshing of a spin on the time loop premise, but it does have a certain indie charm and quirkiness about it. The trailer doesn’t tell us much about the story that unfolds between these two people stuck in a time loop, but if you’re a sucker for this kind of story, then you can seek it out on Amazon Prime starting on February 12, 2021.
The Sinners
Seven schoolgirls, part of a clique dubbed The Sins, become the lethal target of an unknown killer after a harmless prank goes horribly wrong.
This movie feels like it’s desperate to be both sexy and scary, but it just comes off like some kind of Marilyn Manson music video. While the concept of a group of teen girls who decided to terrorize a small religious town after being labeled after The Seven Deadly Sins is an intriguing one, it doesn’t appear to have been executed in a satisfying way. But if this trailer has you curious, you can watch it on VOD starting on February 19, 2021.
Adverse
Struggling to make ends meet, ride share driver Ethan (Thomas Ian Nicholas) learns his sister Mia is deep in debt to a sleazy drug dealer. When Mia goes missing, Ethan discovers that crime boss Kaden (Mickey Rourke) is behind the act, and to get close to him Ethan takes a job as Kaden’s driver. One by one Ethan hunts down members of Kaden’s crew to wreak bloody vengeance as he prepares to confront Kaden himself.
If the presence of Mickey Rourke wasn’t enough to clue you in to the kind of direct-to-video thriller we’re in for, the absolutely terrible punching sound effects will. Everyone seems to be phoning it in, except Thomas Ian Nicholas, who appears to have dropped the middle name as he desperately tries to become known for anything other than the American Pie franchise and Rookie of the Year. We have to give him credit for trying so hard, but this movie looks like a dud. Take your chances when this one arrives on DVD, VOD and digital on March 9, 2021.
The post Trailer Round-Up: ‘Clapboard Jungle’, ‘Breaking News in Yuba County’, ‘The Sinners’, ‘Adverse’ & More appeared first on /Film.
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