Movies
Now That You’ve Seen ‘Silent House’, What Did You Think?
Open Road’s Silent House, the remake of the Uruguayan film La Casa Muda, opened on Friday and pulled in around $7 Million at the North American Box Office.
That’s not an amazing number, but then again the production cost of the film was under $1 Million so it’s possible it will still make its money back after P&A expenses (depending on what those are). I personally thought Elizabeth Olsen gave a remarkable performance. It’s entirely up to her to carry this “real-time” supernatural thriller and she more than pulls it off with an intense, layered performance. While the film isn’t perfect, I thought it had a fair share of impressive elements and was able to pull off some nice moments of terror.
Also, Nikki Finke thinks that La Casa Muda, was actually shot in one take (“the original was an impressive one-shot movie [i.e. one continuous take])“. It wasn’t. She also believes that the reason Silent House didn’t do better was that, “their remake stitches together several sequences and is only made to look as if it’s a one-shot pic. A backlash ensued since genre movie fans take their horror seriously.”
While I respect the opinion of anyone who didn’t like the film, directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau were very upfront that the film is actually comprised of 8-9 takes. No one was really hiding anything. I suspect if you didn’t go see the film it was for entirely different reasons than the ones that Finke outlined. It’s kind of strange having a non-genre fan put words into your mouth isn’t it?
What did you think of the film? Click here to write your own review. Also, if you didn’t go, let us know why in the comments.
Movies
‘Boorman and the Devil’ Documentary Trailer Chronicles Complicated Relationship with ‘Exorcist II’
Critically acclaimed documentary Boorman and the Devil chronicles how one of the world’s greatest filmmakers made one of the most hated movies ever: Exorcist II: The Heretic. A new trailer highlighting some of the troubled production woes has arrived.
Boorman and the Devil opens at The Quad in NYC on August 28 before opening wider in various cities on September 4, including: Los Angeles, Columbus, Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and more.
After the success of Point Blank and Deliverance, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, The Exorcist. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history. A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career… but to be an artist is to be a risk-taker.
Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.
“I am beyond thrilled that Yellow Veil has come on board to help us share this story with a larger audience,” said director David Kittredge. “Like myself and the rest of our team, they’re huge cinema-lovers. It’s so exciting that a film which is not only a love letter to John Boorman, but also to ambitious filmmaking, will be handled by people who share the same passions that our team shares.”
“I first saw the film at an early festival screening and the post-screening buzz was just electric. Everyone was loving Boorman and the Devil,” added Yellow Veil co-founder Justin Timms. “To be able to team up with David and the filmmaking team on this release is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait to spread that post-screening electricity with audiences across the country.”
Boorman and the Devil is produced by Kittredge’s Triple Fire Productions, Travis Stevens (Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes) of Snowfort Pictures, and Jim Fall (The Lizzie McGuire Movie), with Alan Koenigsberg of Milton Ventures Media serving as co-producer.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “Boorman and the Devil goes above and beyond to be the definitive text on Exorcist II. This documentary will delight horror and Exorcist fans alike, but it also provides incredible insight for anyone who is just marginally interested in film production.”