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Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round, the latest entry into the growing roster of dark and daring horror films, is heading to the American Film Market (AFM) thanks to Great Escape. Produced by renowned filmmaker Joe Swanberg and Yale Productions, this twisted sci-fi horror marks the feature debut of Aidan Leary and promises to deliver a mind-bending ride for audiences.

In what can only be described as an unsettling combination of Late Night with the Devil and Blue’s Clues, the film revolves around James Jensen, the host of a children’s show called Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round. However, beneath the playful songs and cheerful puppets, James begins to experience horrifying flashbacks to his repressed childhood memories. As the façade of his seemingly innocent TV show crumbles, James must confront his trauma while questioning whether his puppet co-stars are hiding far more sinister secrets. What’s more, there’s...

Exclusive: Ahead of the AFM, LA-based Great Escape is launching sales on horror film Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round, the first project on the Terror Town genre slate from producer Joe Swanberg and Yale Productions.

Michael Gilio, whose screenwriting credits include MGM’s Dark Harvest and Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, stars in the movie.

From first-time feature director Aidan Leary, the film will get its world premiere next month at the Leeds International Film Festival in the UK.

The synopsis reads: “Something really bad happened to James Jensen when he was a kid. While hosting the latest episode of his children’s series ‘Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round,’ his repressed memories begin to emerge, threatening his sanity, and possibly his life. Will Monkey and the Playground Pals help James recover his lost memories, or have they been withholding something from him all along? Where is the Post Lady hiding?...

Filmmaker Joe Swanberg was a major figure in the mumblecore film movement, and as the years have gone by he has also earned several credits in the horror genre, whether by taking acting roles in films like A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next, The Sacrament, and Blackout, or by directing the werewolf movie Silver Bullets and contributing a segment to the anthology film V/H/S. Now Swanberg has increased his number of horror credits by five, as Deadline reports that he has teamed with Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Entertainment to produce a slate of five horror films – all of which have already wrapped filming! Four of the titles are Helldorado, Kenneled, Yellow Eyes, and Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round. The fifth movie is currently simply known as the Untitled Jae Matthews Project.

Written and directed by Kansas Bowling (Cuddly Toys and the Troma release B.

Writer/director Noah Schamus takes us on a delightful but sharp-edged jaunt to Upstate New York with their sun-dappled and warmly directed buddy comedy, “Summer Solstice.” The film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as a trans actor tumbling through one dead-end audition after another, only to be jolted back to life by the sudden reappearance of a long-ago friend, the straight and cisgender Eleanor (Marianne Rendón). But Eleanor knew Leo before he began transitioning, a process Leo is still going through, much to his own social discomfort about revealing that. The unapologetically queer (and on all sides of the camera) “Summer Solstice” is wise and unsentimental in all the right places, even as its ending hits at a sweeter spot than the otherwise gently sardonic movie that comes before it.

“We’re looking for a transgender man or a transgender woman: Which one are you?” a tasteless casting director asks Leo...

The Sundance Film Festival is one of the most highly respected film festivals in the world, and while the horror genre generally doesn’t seem to receive as much respect as it deserves, horror has had a steady presence at Sundance over the years. In fact, just last year the Sundance horror line-up included the likes of Infinity Pool, Talk to Me, My Animal, and Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls. The Sundance 2024 line-up was revealed earlier today (you can see the list Here) – and there again a good number of horror movies included in the program.

Below you can take a closer look at some of the horror movies that will be showing at Sundance 2024, with images to go along with each one of them.

Of course, most of the horror can be found in the Midnight program:

I Saw the TV Glow / U.S.A. — Teenager...

More than two decades ago, Ginger Snaps,a modest, lycanthropy-themed horror film from Canada, hit the festival circuit, receiving solid critical notices, but limited returns at the box office. Thankfully, Ginger Snaps didn't disappear into obscurity like so many of its contempories horror-wise. Instead, it received a much-deserved second life on the home video format, impressing graduate students and horror fans alike with its subtext-rich narrative, carefully crafted characters, and knockout performances from its co-stars, Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle. Two sequels followed, but few films in or out of the horror genre since have explored its themes or ideas with similar depth or insight, though My Animal, Jacqueline Castel’s feature-length debut, might come closest. While Ginger Snaps tied female sexuality — and its first, hormonally driven expression — with lycanthropic transformation, the ‘80s-set My Animal connects lycanthropy...

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

Blood in the Snow Film Festival (Bits), a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian genre films, are pleased to announce the Blood in the Snow Film Festival is back for its 12th exciting edition fully in-person November 20th – 25th at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto presented by Super Channel.

Thrillers play a big part of the lineup this year with the festival feature opener Last County by Barret Mulholland and the World Premiere of Walking Supply from director Derek Barnes.

Other highlights include the highly acclaimed My Animal, from director Jacqueline Castel which recently won the Silver Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature at Fantasia and long time alumni Jesse Thomas Cook returns with The Hyperborean. Jesse’s last film to premiere at Bits in 2021, Cult Hero went on to be nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards.

Two short films that originally played at Bits before have been...

The gang at Blood in the Snow have announced the lineup for this year's edition. The festival is back to fully in-person at the Isabel Bader theatre here in Toronto. It will come with a packed program of short film blocks and some of the best feature films Canada had to offer this year.    We've talked about films like My Animal, The Hyperborean and The Last Video Store. New to our eyes are the thrillers Last County, Purgatory Jack and Walking Supply. Of specific interest to those interested in supporting indigenous filmmakers is the horror anthology, Tales From The Rez.    Tickets are on sale now! Blood in the Snow presented by Super Channel brings the festival back to horror fans from November 20...

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

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) leads the genre-bending werewolf movie My Animal, available now in select theaters and VOD, and the musically inclined actor also wrote and performed a new single “Wicked Animal” now available to stream.

The new single is available to listen to now, which Stenberg wrote, produced and plays everything on the track.

Stenberg says of the track in a press release, “I wrote this track from the bathroom of a hotel in a tiny town situated between mountains of snow in northern Ontario during the filming of our movie My Animal. Sometimes my costar Bobbi and I wandered up and down the icy block that made up downtown, but most of the time we found solace from the cold in our room together, singing on handheld karaoke mics. This song came from that place of deep isolation and playfulness.”

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel,...

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel, gives a new spin on the werewolf mythos in a sexual coming-of-age genre-bender.

The feature debut centers on a secret tryst between small town hockey player Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) and ice skater Jonny (Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Amandla Stenberg) that grows ever more dangerous thanks to a family werewolf curse.

My Animal premiered in select theaters on September 8 and will be released on Digital outlets on September 15.

Bloody Disgusting previously spoke with Castel about her debut out of Sundance, where the filmmaker broke down the werewolf metaphor and the symbolism behind her use of the color red. Ahead of its theatrical release, Castel shared the real-life chemistry between her leads for her twisted werewolf romance and how that translated to the screen.

Castel recalls how her casting fell into place, leading to a pair of leads who already had built-in chemistry.

Warning: Spoilers for My Animal.

My Animal is a horror romance film that explores the connection between LGBTQ+ romance and werewolf lore. The film follows the story of Heather, a teenager living with a family curse, and her relationship with ice skater Jonny. The transformation into werewolves in the film is symbolic of the violent growth and self-discovery experienced by young people within the queer community.

New horror romance My Animal made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available in select theaters. Slated for a digital release on Friday, September 15th, the film follows a teenager who is forced to live with a harrowing family curse that rears its ugly head every full moon. However, once she falls for an ice skater named Jonny, everything Heather has fought to keep hidden is at risk of being exposed.

My Animal is directed by Jacqueline Castel, with...

Award-winning director Jacqueline Castel combines werewolf mythology with themes of inheritance and self-acceptance in her visually stunning debut film, My Animal. The film immerses the audience in Heather's perspective and explores her complex relationships, including the growing romance with Amandla Stenberg's Jonny and the dysfunctional bond with her own mother. Castel's attention to detail and use of symbolism, such as a consistent color palette, heightens the emotional impact of the movie and creates a dreamlike experience for viewers.

Award-winning director Jacqueline Castel takes on her feature film debut in My Animal, a surprising werewolf movie that explores much more than the mythology at hand. Bobbi Salvör Menuez plays Heather, an outcast with a terrifying secret she must hide every full moon, whose life takes a sharp turn for the more romantic when she meets Jonny (Amandla Stenberg). The screenplay, written by Jae Matthews, is as much a meditation...

There are a lot of generic looking poster this month. I guess that’s what happens when the big names are all existing IP whether it be Robert McCall, Hercule Poirot, the Expendables, or the Nun. You don’t need to overspend on marketing when your target audience is already chomping at the bit.

So timing is perfect for the indies to swoop in with a stunner. Steal some eyes from Branagh’s mustache and Stallone’s airbrushed posse. I think many of the below do just that.

Eye contact

There’s a lot of text on P+A’s Fair Play––an interesting truth considering it’s a Netflix film and they often don’t worry about such things. It’s probably a case of contractual obligations wherein names must be sized according to a specific ratio when compared to the rest. It’s a shame either way since the...

**World Premiere – Sundance Film Festival 2023** “an impressive, confident feature debut for several key talents” – Hollywood Reporter “stylish, fascinating coming-of-age story” – Bloody-Disgusting “A sleek, sensuous debut” – Variety Paramount Global Content Distribution will release the horror, romance film My Animal in select Theaters on September 8, 2023 and on Digital September 15, …

The post My Animal **World Premiere – Sundance Film Festival 2023 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

The pumpkin spice flows free, and streaming services have begun to unveil their densely packed Halloween programming. That means the Halloween season is officially here, at least as far as horror is concerned. To help you prepare for the onslaught of horror, here’s a helpful Fall 2023 Horror Preview Guide.

It’s a densely packed slate this Halloween, and trust us, this is only the tip of the iceberg for what’s ahead. Expect plenty of surprise release announcements in store as more streaming services debut their seasonal releases, schedules, and beyond.

Here are 31 horror releases coming soon to help you get into the spooky spirit!

#ChadGetsTheAxe – September 1 (VOD)

Influencers get more than they bargained for in this horror comedy based on a short. The film “follows four social media influencers as they live-stream their trip to Devil’s Manor, the former home of a Satanic Cult. Things don’t go well.

The first trailer has been launched for the comedy horror ‘Zombie Town,’ based on the 2012 novel by ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Fear Street’ author R.L. Stine.

Amy (Madi Monroe) and Mike (Marlon Kazadi) uncover a centuries-old secret when they decide to watch an exclusive film reel. Before they know it, their town has been turned to the undead before their eyes. The duo must track down an infamous filmmaker (Dan Akroyd) and navigate a town of hungry zombies to break the curse before it’s too late.

Directed by Peter Lepeniotis, Chevy Chase, Henry Czerny and ‘Kids in the Hall’ veterans Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch also star.

Also in trailers – Love doesn’t run smooth in trailer for ‘My Animal’

The movie hits U.S. Cinemas on September 1st.

The post Dan Akroyd & Chevy Chase star in trailer for ‘Zombie Town’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Paramount has debuted a new trailer for the genre-bending supernatural love story ‘My Animal.’

Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.

Directed by Jacqueline Castel, the movie stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie & Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott and Stephen McHattie.

Also in trailers – “Tenacity is a superpower…” Michael Peña stars in trailer for ‘A Million Miles Away’

The film hits select U.S. cinemas in September 8th, followed by a digital release on the 15th of September.

The post Love doesn’t run smooth in trailer for ‘My Animal’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The horror romance My Animal – which stars Amandla Stenberg of Bodies Bodies Bodies (read our review of that one Here) and Bobbi Salvör Menuez of Nocturnal Animals (which we reviewed at This Link) – has been getting positive reviews and strong word of mouth from its festival screenings, and a wider audience will soon have the chance to see it. The movie will be receiving a limited theatrical release on September 8th, with a digital release following on September 15th. And with those dates drawing near, a trailer for My Animal has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

My Animal is coming our way from Paramount Global Content Distribution. The feature directorial debut of Jacqueline Castel, who was working from a screenplay by first-time feature writer Jae Matthews, the film is set in a small northern town and tells the story of Heather, an outcast teenage...

Bobbi Salvör Menuez (Euphoria) and Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) ignite in this genre-bending supernatural love story. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather's suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.    Jacqueline Castel's Sundance midnighter My Animal will arrive in select theaters on September 8, 2023 and on digital on September 15, 2023. Paramount is distribuing the slow-burn werewolf flick next month so they have sent along the official trailer and key art so you know what to look for.    My Animal stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie &...

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

"I'll be back before midnight, so..." Paramount Global has revealed an official trailer for a supernatural love story titled My Animal, from filmmaker Jacqueline Castel. This first premiered in the Midnight section of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at the Fantasia & Overlook Film Festivals. Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg ignite in this genre-bending horror film. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather (an outcast teenage goalie) is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny (a tormented figure skater), their connection threatens to unravel Heather's suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within (clearly it's a werewolf). "Beneath the surface of a harrowing family drama, a steamy teen romance, and a classic monster tale, Castel bolsters this genre gem with a tactile and emotional excavation of otherness." The cast includes Heidi von Palleske,...

Filmmakers love to use horny horror and genre metamorphosis for tales of eroticism or queer eroticism: hell, it works, and it’s often a beguiling mixture of moods, tones, and feelings in our nether regions. And that seems to be what filmmaker Jacqueline Castel is going for with “My Animal,” a surreal, erotic, romantic werewolf movie that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

Written by Jae Matthews, the film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez (from “Euphoria”), Amandla Stenberg (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”), Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie & Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott, and Stephen McHattie.

Continue reading ‘My Animal’ Trailer: Amandla Stenberg & ‘Euphoria’s Bobbi Salvör Menuez Star In A Trippy Lesbian Werewolf Romance at The Playlist.

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) leads the upcoming horror movie My Animal, which Paramount has announced today that they’ll be releasing this coming September.

First reported by Indiewire, My Animal premieres in theaters September 8 and will be released on Digital outlets on September 15. You can watch the official trailer below.

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel, has been rated “R” for: “Language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence.”

Amandla Stenberg stars in the upcoming horror movie alongside Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Stephen Mchattie, Heidi Von Palleske, Cory Lipman, and Joe Apollonio.

In the film…

“Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse...

A sexual awakening unlocks a supernatural curse in first-time filmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal,” starring “Bodies Bodies Bodies” breakout Amandla Stenberg and “Euphoria” alum Bobbi Salvör Menuez.

“My Animal” premiered at 2023 Sundance and follows an adolescent queer romance between a mysterious outsider and a burnt-out figure skater. The film was written by Jae Matthews.

Per the official synopsis, tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather (Menuez) is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny (Stenberg), their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.

Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie and Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott, and Stephen McHattie round out the cast. The horror-romance is produced by Andrew Bronfman and Michael Solomon, and is a Paramount Global Content Distribution release.

Director Castel called the film...

Quebec festival wrapped on August 9.

Talk To Me, the horror hit from Danny and Michael Philippou which has grossed more than $31m in North America and close to $50m worldwide, has been named best international feature in the 2023 Fantasia audience awards.

In other key awards Lee Sang-yong’s South Korean title The Roundup: No Way Out was named best Asian feature, while Shigeyoshi Tsukahara’s Japanese entry Kurayukaba earned best animated feature, and

Satan Wants You from Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor took the inaugural Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (narrative or documentary).

The full list of audience award winners appears below.

A couple weeks ago, the Fantasia International Film Festival announced the films that won jury prizes at the 27th edition of the show, which recently came to a close. Yesterday, our own Tyler Nichols shared his list of favorite films from this year’s Fantasia festival. Now Fantasia has unveiled the list of audience award winners, with wins going to films like Talk to Me, The Roundup: No Way Out, Kurayukaba, and Satan Wants You, among others. The full list can be seen below:

Best International Feature

Gold: Talk To Me

Silver: Late Night With The Devil

Bronze: Hundreds Of Beavers

Best Asian Feature

Gold: The Roundup: No Way Out

Silver: River

Bronze: Phantom (South Korea d. Lee Hae-young)

Best Animated Feature

Gold: Kurayukaba

Silver: The Concierge

Bronze: The First Slam Dunk

The Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (Narrative or Documentary)

Satan Wants You – This year’s...

The horror romance My Animal – which stars Amandla Stenberg of Bodies Bodies Bodies (read our review of that one Here) and Bobbi Salvör Menuez of Nocturnal Animals (which we reviewed at This Link) – will be receiving a limited theatrical release on September 8th, with a digital release following on September 15th. With those dates right around the corner, the ratings board at the Motion Picture Association has gone ahead given the film an R rating for “language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence“.

My Animal is coming our way from Paramount Global Content Distribution. The feature directorial debut of Jacqueline Castel, who was working from a screenplay by first-time feature writer Jae Matthews, the film is set in a small northern town and tells the story of Heather, an outcast teenage hockey goalie (Menuez), who falls for the town’s newcomer (Stenberg), an alluring but tormented figure skater.

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) stars in the upcoming horror movie My Animal, which was acquired out of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year by Paramount.

My Animal has been officially rated “R” this week for…

“Language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence.”

My Animal is the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel.

Amandla Stenberg stars in the upcoming horror movie alongside Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Stephen Mchattie, Heidi Von Palleske, Cory Lipman, and Joe Apollonio.

In the film…

“Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small northern town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The girls’ relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse that transforms her into a feral wolf under the full moon.

“Heather and Jonny’s secret...

Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have scotched plans to pick up a prestigious honor at Outfest, the Los Angeles Lgbtqia+ film festival, and it’s all down to the actors strike.

The Hollywood couple were to have accepted the James Schamus Ally Award at Outfest’s closing night on Sunday but cancelled because of the SAG-AFTRA walkout. The award, named for the co-founder and former CEO of Focus Features, recognizes McCarthy and Falcone’s support and advocacy for the Lgbtqia+ community.

“We understand that Melissa and Ben are unable to join us for our closing night due to the strike,” Outfest Executive Director Damien Navarro said in a statement. “We will miss them, as our closing night will be a wonderful celebration of our community.”

The festival wraps with a gala event at the Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, featuring a screening of Chasing Chasing Amy, a documentary that...

Amandla Stenberg has a couple of dates with Outfest next month.

First, the actress has been selected to receive the fest’s Platinum Maverick Award, an honor that “recognizes Stenberg’s artistry in film and music and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community.” Stenberg will take the stage to accept the prize during opening night festivities at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on July 13.

Two days later, on July 15, Stenberg will turn up alongside co-star Bobbi Salvör Menuez and their director Jacqueline Castel at L.A.’s Redcat for a showing of their film, My Animal, as a festival platinum centerpiece screening. The screening, which follows a debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, will be followed by a Platinum Alchemy Party and Music Showcase at 10Dtla, headlined by Madame Gandhi (who will receive a special award) and featuring such acts as Mega Bog,...

Musician Amandla Stenberg, Madame Gandhi to receive honours.

My Animal, Jacqueline Castel’s queer werewolf romance which premiered at Sundance, has been named the centrepiece screening at the 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival running July 13-23.

Outfest will honour actor, producer and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum Maverick Award at the opening night in recognition of her “artistry in film and music, and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community”.

Stenberg and Bobbi Salvör Menuez star in My Animal, which screens on July 15. That night Madame Gandhi will receive...

Today, Outfest announced the centerpiece events and special awardees that will headline the 41st Outfest Los Angeles Summer Festival presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America, taking place July 13 – 23 in venues around Los Angeles.

Outfest will honor actor, producer and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum Maverick Award, to be presented at the festival’s opening night celebration on July 13th at the Orpheum Theatre. The award recognizes Stenberg’s artistry in film and music, and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community. Stenberg will also appear alongside actor Bobbi Salvör Menuez and director Jacqueline Castel at the Redcat in downtown Los Angeles at Outfest’s July 15th Platinum Centerpiece screening of My Animal, the trio’s queer horror romance that world premiered earlier this year at Sundance.

Following the My Animal screening on July 15th will be the Platinum...

Outfest announced the upcoming Los Angeles Summer Festival’s events and special awardees, including Amandla Stenberg and Madame Gandhi. The event will take place July 13 – 23 around Los Angeles.

The events include a special centerpiece screening of Ira Sachs’ “Passages,” the documentary centerpiece with “Kokomo City” documentarian D. Smith, the U.S. centerpiece conversation with “Fancy Dance” star Lily Gladstone and director Erica Tremblay, the late night spotlight screening of “Down Low” starring Zachary Quinto, Lukas Gage, Simon Rex, Judith Light, and Audra McDonald and the Family Day celebration.

The festival’s honorees include Amandla Stenberg, who will be receiving the Platinum Maverick Award for their artistry, advocacy and activism. Stenberg will receive the award on July 13 at the Orpheum Theatre. After a screening of “My Animal” on July 15, there will be a music showcase that will present Madame Gandhi with the Platinum Alchemy Award and host musical acts Mega Bog,...

Lycanthropy serves as a metaphor for burgeoning queer desire in My Animal from director Jacqueline Castel. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a benchwarmer on her local hockey team and deals with an alcoholic mother at home. Adding to her misery is the fact that she’s confined to her quarters during each full moon due to a dangerous transformation occurring within her. She finally finds a salve in Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater who recently moved to town. Desperate to flee from her myriad problems, Heather hopes that Jonny will join her on the journey to society’s outskirts. Edited by […]

The post “My Techniques Are Intuitive”: Editors Marc Boucrot and Jacqueline Castel on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Lycanthropy serves as a metaphor for burgeoning queer desire in My Animal from director Jacqueline Castel. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a benchwarmer on her local hockey team and deals with an alcoholic mother at home. Adding to her misery is the fact that she’s confined to her quarters during each full moon due to a dangerous transformation occurring within her. She finally finds a salve in Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater who recently moved to town. Desperate to flee from her myriad problems, Heather hopes that Jonny will join her on the journey to society’s outskirts. Edited by […]

The post “My Techniques Are Intuitive”: Editors Marc Boucrot and Jacqueline Castel on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a hockey player with a troubled home life, becomes instantly drawn to figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) who’s just rolled into town. Despite being held captive in her own house during each full moon, Heather yearns to escape and have Jonny by her side. Teeming with queer sensuality and lust-fueled lycanthropy, director Jacqueline Castel’s My Animal injects originality into a classic monster mythology. Dp Bryn McCashin tells Filmmaker about lensing the film, which entailed frigid night shoots in Northern Ontario, Canada. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]

The post “It Was -30 to -40 Degrees Celsius for Most of the Shoot”: Dp Bryn McCashin on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a hockey player with a troubled home life, becomes instantly drawn to figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) who’s just rolled into town. Despite being held captive in her own house during each full moon, Heather yearns to escape and have Jonny by her side. Teeming with queer sensuality and lust-fueled lycanthropy, director Jacqueline Castel’s My Animal injects originality into a classic monster mythology. Dp Bryn McCashin tells Filmmaker about lensing the film, which entailed frigid night shoots in Northern Ontario, Canada. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]

The post “It Was -30 to -40 Degrees Celsius for Most of the Shoot”: Dp Bryn McCashin on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? My Animal was not an easy shoot—we shot nights in the dead of winter in an isolated community in Northern Ontario. While there were a lot of challenges, the biggest and most obvious crisis we faced as a team was a Covid shutdown that resulted in a two week suspension of the shoot. This was what I had feared the […]

The post “It Cost Us Nearly a Quarter of Our Budget To Be Shut Down for Two Weeks” | Jacqueline Castel, My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? My Animal was not an easy shoot—we shot nights in the dead of winter in an isolated community in Northern Ontario. While there were a lot of challenges, the biggest and most obvious crisis we faced as a team was a Covid shutdown that resulted in a two week suspension of the shoot. This was what I had feared the […]

The post “It Cost Us Nearly a Quarter of Our Budget To Be Shut Down for Two Weeks” | Jacqueline Castel, My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Stars: Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Stephen McHattie | Written by Jae Matthews | Directed by Jacqueline Castel

With her homelife hampered by an alcoholic mother and a hockey team who keeps her on the sidelines, Heather has a lot to grapple with — including the fact that she’s actually a werewolf. When she meets promising ice-skating star Jonny, Heather’s world turns upside down, willing to risk her own safety in the name of blossoming romance. As Jonny seems content to join her on the outskirts, Heather is left to battle the horrors that lie in wait within herself.

Werewolves… haven’t we seen them somewhere before? From Werewolf By Night to half of the cast of Twilight, it’s a trope film has visited countless times — and it could easily be argued that we don’t need to again. If a filmmaker is going to tackle one of the stereotypical genre cornerstones,...

This review originally ran January 23, 2023, in conjunction with the film’s US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

The collected “Discworld” novels by Terry Pratchett are so weird and so imaginative and so wry that very few filmmakers have ever seriously tried to adapt them. We’ve had one short-lived live-action series, one short film, a few animated mini-series and three ambitious live-action mini-series.

But feature films have eluded the dwellers of “Discworld” until just about — actually wait, let me check my watch here — now.

“The Amazing Maurice,” based on the 2001 children’s book “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,” features the voice of Hugh Laurie as the title character. He’s a cat who can talk in a world where cats don’t usually do that, even though magic is real, the living personification of Death walks among us and fairy-tale characters abound as well.

Then again, rats can’t talk either,...

Director Jacqueline Castel took on the werewolf myth at this year's Sundance Film Festival with the premiere of her feature film debut My Animal. Written by Jae Matthews (a fellow first-timer in the feature-length category), the supernatural story stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, a social outcast and aspiring goalie who must keep her animalistic family curse hidden from her small town. But beyond being a creature feature, My Animal is a meditative exploration of queer identity and young love in a world that fears the unknown.

Heather's world is turned upside down when the lovely figure skater Jonny (played by Bodies Bodies Bodies star Amandla Stenberg) moves to town, and the two teens begin to fall for one another. Their romance is set against the backdrop of Heather's difficult family life, ostracization at school, and the uncontrollable transformation that takes over her body as the full moon approaches. But...

More than two decades ago, Ginger Snaps,a modest, lycanthropy-themed horror film from Canada, hit the festival circuit, receiving solid critical notices, but limited returns at the box office. Thankfully, Ginger Snaps didn't disappear into obscurity like so many of its contempories horror-wise. Instead, it received a much-deserved second life on the home video format, impressing graduate students and horror fans alike with its subtext-rich narrative, carefully crafted characters, and knockout performances from its co-stars, Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle. Two sequels followed, but few films in or out of the horror genre since have explored its themes or ideas with similar depth or insight, though My Animal, Jacqueline Castel’s feature-length debut, might come closest. While Ginger Snaps tied female sexuality — and its first, hormonally driven expression...

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The examination of mother-daughter relationships has been a consistent theme throughout the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. From Birth/Rebirth, which scrutinized the extremes one would take for their child to Girl, which dissected overprotective parenthood, this year’s festival offered diverse storytelling with respect to motherhood. Alice Englert’s directorial debut, Bad Behaviour is another feature to add to that list. The dark comedy sees Jennifer Connelly as a co-dependent mother with an inability to manager her anger. Bad Behaviour had everything it needed to succeed, but the ridiculous script and fluctuating themes make it a dreadful experience in every sense.

Lucy (Connelly), a former child actress, seeks enlightenment from her spiritual leader, Elon Bello (Ben Whishaw). But before she joins him at a silent retreat in a beautiful mountain resort, Lucy informs her daughter Dylan (Alice Englert), a stunt person training for a dangerous fight scene. As she ventures off to the retreat,...

Concerns over theatrical viability and a public promise from streamers to avoid spending sprees left this year’s Sundance Film Festival light on big purchases and — for now — high on orphans.

While there were a few major acquisitions such as “Fair Play” and “Theater Camp,” there was a notable absence of lower-profile sales or smaller pickups, while several seemingly surefire titles were left waiting for a buyer. Titles like the Anne Hathaway/Thomasin McKenzie 1960s women’s prison melodrama “Eileen” and the Chiwetel Ejiofor/Emilia Clarke sci-fi drama “The Pod Generation” left the festival empty-handed.

Sources say that even Randall Parks’ well-reviewed directorial debut “Shortcomings” had trouble drumming up interest, partially because the film’s major screening reportedly conflicted with other big premieres. Jonathan Majors’ grim bodybuilder drama “Magazine Dreams” had its premiere undercut by controversy when jurors walked out over Marlee Matlin’s failed captioning device.

“One big question,...

Before it started, one question about this year’s Sundance concerned attendance: what happens when a more-expensive-to-attend-than-most festival, held in a cold place during winter’s peak at a high altitude, offers the option to stream the bulk of its titles online days later? Brand presence on Main Street appeared to be down (one out of five awnings rather than every single one), and P&i attendance seemed to be as well—but, for many there, the answer was jamming out endless viewings on their tablet or laptop between venturing out for select Irl screenings. Whatever those combined, not-yet-disclosed industry-plus-public streaming numbers were, they […]

The post Sundance 2023: 5 Seasons of Revolution, My Animal, Selected Shorts, The Tuba Thieves and Milisuthando first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Before it started, one question about this year’s Sundance concerned attendance: what happens when a more-expensive-to-attend-than-most festival, held in a cold place during winter’s peak at a high altitude, offers the option to stream the bulk of its titles online days later? Brand presence on Main Street appeared to be down (one out of five awnings rather than every single one), and P&i attendance seemed to be as well—but, for many there, the answer was jamming out endless viewings on their tablet or laptop between venturing out for select Irl screenings. Whatever those combined, not-yet-disclosed industry-plus-public streaming numbers were, they […]

The post Sundance 2023: 5 Seasons of Revolution, My Animal, Selected Shorts, The Tuba Thieves and Milisuthando first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Jacqueline Castel, award-winning director and screenwriter, returned to the Sundance Film Festival to premiere a new take on a classic werewolf tale in My Animal. The film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, the redheaded social misfit whose animalistic transformation during a full moon keeps her as a prisoner in her own life. The screenplay, written by Jae Matthews, focuses on the human elements of connection, sexuality, and freedom. Though these themes elevate this lopsided screenplay to a film worth watching, the limitations are hard to ignore. My Animal, despite all the efforts from Castel’s direction, is bogged down by its snail-like pacing and uneventful genre-blending.

Heather, a teenager struggling against the constrictive forces in her small town life in Canada, longs to escape her stifling family dynamic. Her mother, Patti (Heidi von Palleske), is a longtime alcoholic whose condition affects the entire family dynamic. Then, there’s the...

My Animal Image: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival With most of the big premieres behind it, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival shifts into a lower gear ahead of its final day on January 29. Those who still have snow boots on the ground are packing multiple screenings into each day, joined by...

Star Wars intriguing The Acolyte series, which is said to delve deeper into the world of the Sith, always had its eyes set on The Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg for the lead role of the Disney+ show. Stenberg famously played the very important role of Rue in the first The Hunger Games movie. At just 13 years of age, Stenberg gave an emotional performance as the tragic young character, with Rue's shocking death setting up the future rebellion of the Districts through Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen. Now, Stenberg is set to join another major franchise as the lead character of The Acolyte.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stenberg confirmed that Star Wars' The Acolyte was created around her decision to star in the series. The High Republic-set The Acolyte series produced concept art with Stenberg as its main character before even approaching the actress, showing the faith...

Indisputably the best female-centric werewolf movie shot in Canada since Ginger Snaps (2000) — admittedly not the most competitive of fields — sensual queer horror story My Animal marks an impressive, confident feature debut for several key talents. First and foremost, debutante director Jacqueline Castel, already an experienced short film and music video helmer who has collaborated with David Lynch and John Carpenter, imbues this first-feature script by Jae Matthews with a woozy, dreamy, retro sensibility. (Matthews is also half of the electronic band Boy Harsher along with Augustus Muller, who contribute a very John Carpenter-esque soundtrack of sustained drones and bass-heavy humming.)

Altogether, the team creates a richly hued setting for the young but in some ways more seasoned leads. Bobbi Salvor Menuez (I Love Dick) stars as a lovelorn teen-wolf living in the sticks who looks at Amandla Stenberg’s (Bodies Bodies Bodies) figure skater with the kind of longing you...