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It’s 1918, and we find ourselves on a remote farm in rural Texas. A young woman named Pearl lives here with her family, going about her daily chores while dreaming of a life beyond the isolated fields that surround her. Her husband is away fighting in the Great War, while her days are spent taking care of the household under the watchful eye of her stern mother.

Pearl finds an escape each week when the traveling picture show rolls into town. On the silver screen, she sees vibrant tales of romance and adventure that kindle a flame of ambition within her. She yearns to be one of those dazzling stars that fill the cinema with color and light, to perform for adoring crowds and experience a joy her current circumstances can hardly provide. But dark forces also stir inside Pearl, unfelt urges that trouble even her innocent soul.

Playing the role is Mia Goth,...

After the 1970s grit of X and the Technicolor sheen of Pearl, Ti West and cinematographer Eliot Rockett turn to the 1980s with MaXXXine. Shot with the same combo of Sony Venice and Vantage MiniHawks, the L.A.-set story finds adult actress Maxine Minx’s big break into mainstream films curtailed by a series of giallo-esque murders. With the movie freshly out on VOD, Rockett spoke to Filmmaker about the concluding chapter in the trilogy. Filmmaker: Ti talked in an interview about how MaXXXine is his first film shot in L.A. despite living there for 20 years. X and Pearl were both […]

The post “You Don’t Have a Lot of Control Over a Head Exploding”: MaXXXine Cinematographer Eliot Rockett first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

After the 1970s grit of X and the Technicolor sheen of Pearl, Ti West and cinematographer Eliot Rockett turn to the 1980s with MaXXXine. Shot with the same combo of Sony Venice and Vantage MiniHawks, the L.A.-set story finds adult actress Maxine Minx’s big break into mainstream films curtailed by a series of giallo-esque murders. With the movie freshly out on VOD, Rockett spoke to Filmmaker about the concluding chapter in the trilogy. Filmmaker: Ti talked in an interview about how MaXXXine is his first film shot in L.A. despite living there for 20 years. X and Pearl were both […]

The post “You Don’t Have a Lot of Control Over a Head Exploding”: MaXXXine Cinematographer Eliot Rockett first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

“MaXXXine,” the third film in writer/director Ti West and producer/actress Mia Goth’s “X” trilogy, is now in theaters. From the ’70s set “X” to the 1910s of “Pearl” and now the ’80s of “MaXXXine,” one of the defining characteristics of the trilogy is how they adopt the look and filmmaking style of the genre of the films they are emulating. Cinematographer Eliot Rockett, a long-time West collaborator who shot all three films, told IndieWire the roots of this approach pre-dated 2022’s “X.”

“This started back with ‘House of the Devil,’” said Rockett, referencing the 2009 horror film he shot for West. “We were trying to make a movie that felt not just like a period, but the whole thing felt more like an artifact from that time.”

With “X,” West wanted to make his first slasher film in the spirit of 1970s films like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” in...

Ti West’s time-jumping trilogy of Texas-fried serial killer shenanigans concludes with 2024’s Maxxxine. Leaving behind the 1970s porn shoots and 1930s stag loops for 1980s peep shows, Maxxxine is still firmly planted in West’s Adults Only world of bodies and body parts. It’s as gory as the two films that came before it and as referentially obsessed, for better or worse. We all got a kick of out X‘s Texas Porn Star Massacre but dear Body Double (1984) fans, get ready to eat up what Maxxxine is serving to you on a blood-stained silver cocaine platter.

Set in the VHS dominated world of Hollywood’s underbelly, Maxxxine sees X‘s Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) clawing and scratching and auditioning her way to stardom in 1985. Naturally, her biggest hurdle is breaking out of the world of Adult Film into “legitimate” movies. That’s easier said than done (obviously...

Ti West's pulpy 1980s sequel Maxxxine lets Mia Goth be a fucking star. The third film in West’s X trilogy is a sinful sendup to Regan-era Satanic Panic protests against Hollywood, aligning Maxine Minx’s Tinsletown escapades with the Night Stalker’s crime spree. Influences from Italian giallos to Jack Shoulder’s Los Angeles setups create an A+ aesthetic, the same as VHS-era “Video Nasties” paranoia, but adversely, certain themes are never fully incorporated. Maxxxine strikes its poses, cracks some skulls, and gets unexpectedly goofy, yet its pastiche sometimes feels skin-deep. West tries to have it all between Maxine’s crescendo, knife-to-throat depravity, and filmmaking commentaries, only to undersell competing features due to overstuffed ambitions.

The year is 1985. Women are being slaughtered in Los Angeles by a serial killer at large, and Maxine Minx couldn’t care less. She’s focused on one goal: graduate from adult pictures to Hollywood stardom.

A24 has dropped the brand new trailer for writer-director Ti West’s, MaXXXine, the third installment of the X film series.

In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

Starring Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, with Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon, check out the first look now.

The X series includes an original film, its prequel, and now its star-filled sequel.

Writer-director Ti West (The House of the Devil) followed-up to his hit slasher movie X, with Pearl in 2022. Revisiting the unforgettable character Pearl, the film was about the obsessive old voyeur who relentlessly stalked Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx character across the Texas farm that Pearl never managed to escape. Played in the...

In its first season, HBO’s “Perry Mason” received Emmy and ASC award nominations for David Franco’s exquisitely atmospheric cinematography, which avoided the desaturated look so common to period shows and evoked the 1930s by referencing early color still photography. One might have thought it would be difficult to improve upon the look established by Franco and alternating cinematographer Darran Tiernan, but the new season of “Perry Mason” that premiered March 6 is even more vivid and involving thanks to slight changes in color and a more subjective approach to the camerawork.

When the gritty origin story of Erle Stanley Gardner’s defense attorney premiered in 2020, cinematographer Eliot Rockett was one of its fans. Now, he joins the series — along with showrunners Jack Amiel and Michael Begler — for Season 2, lensing the premiere and alternating subsequent episodes with Tiernan and John Grillo. “I thought the first season was great, so there...

Everything Everywhere All at Once won big at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, taking home seven awards out of eight nominations. The only award it didn’t win was, interestingly enough, one it did win, as Ke Huy Quan beat Jamie Lee Curtis in the Best Supporting Performance category.

Here are the winners of winners of the 38th Independent Spirit Awards:

Movies:

Best Feature:

Bones and All

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Our Father, The Devil

Tár

Women Talking

Best Director:

Todd Field, Tár

Kogonada, After Yang

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Halina Reijn, Bodies Bodies Bodies

Best First Feature:

Aftersun

Emily the Criminal

The Inspection

Murina

Palm Trees and Power Lines

Best Lead Performance:

Cate Blanchett, Tár

Dale Dickey, A Love Song

Mia Goth, Pearl

Regina Hall, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal

Jeremy Pope,...

The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Hasan Minhaj, took place on Saturday, live from the beach in Santa Monica, California. The annual awards ceremony was live-streamed on IMDb’s YouTube page, plus additional social platforms, including Film Independent’s YouTube channel.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” led this year’s nominations with a total of eight and swept up seven awards. Following close behind was Cate Blanchett’s “Tár” with seven nods and “Aftersun” with five. Meanwhile, “The Bear” topped the television categories.

Read More: Before Oscars, ‘Everything Everywhere’ Sweeps Spirit Awards

The 2023 Spirit Awards marks the show’s first time highlighting gender-neutral categories. In other words, Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh were up against Paul Mescal for lead performance. This year’s recipient of the Robert Altman award went to “Women Talking”, in which the award was given to the film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

‘Aftersun’ wins Best First Feature, ‘Joyland’ Best International Film.

A24’s Everything Everywhere All At Once has dominated the 2023 Spirit Awards, claiming seven of the eight awards it was nominated for including film, director for the Daniels, and lead and supporting performance for Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, respectively.

As awards season nears its climax, the madcap multiverse adventure heads into next weekend’s Oscars as the clear frontrunner for major honours after a triumphant Saturday evening under the traditional Film Independent tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

This follows major wins at three of the four US...

The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards were dominated by the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which led all films this year with eight nominations and a won a total of seven prizes, including best feature. Close behind were Todd Field’s “Tár” with seven noms (it won for best cinematography) and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” with five (it won for best first feature). All three movies picked up Oscar nominations this year, with “Everything Everywhere” also leading the Academy Awards pack with a total of 11 nominations.

While last year’s Spirit Award winner for best feature, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” did not go on to land an Oscar nomination in the same category, the 2021 winner, Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” repeated at the Oscars and took home the best picture prize.

This year’s Spirit Award nominees were highlighted by gender neutral categories, meaning Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh faced off...

The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards are being handed out Saturday, March 4, from Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA in a show hosted by comedian Hasan Minhaj. Much as it paced the Oscar nominations, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” leads the way among all film nominees with eight Independent Spirit noms, including Best Feature and honors for director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), lead performance (Michelle Yeoh), supporting performance (Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan) and breakthrough performance (Stephanie Hsu). Todd Field’s “TÁR” earned seven nominations, including director and screenplay (Field), lead performance (Cate Blanchett) and supporting (Nina Hoss). “Aftersun” scored five bids.

Scroll down to see the Indie Spirit Awards winners list live as it happens today. We’ve also included the complete roster of nominees in every category.

Besides “Everything Everywhere” and “TÁR,” the film competing for top feature are “Our Father, the Devil,” “”Bones and All” and “Women Talking.

It's that time of year again for Fangoria's anticipated Chainsaw Award nominations for horror movies and terrifying television, and we have a look at the full list of nominations, including Ti West's Pearl, Jordan Peele's Nope (leading with 10 nominations), and the second season of Don Mancini's Chucky TV series:

Press Release: Fangoria and Fangoria Studios have released their 2023 Chainsaw Award nominations, which recognizes outstanding achievements in horror film and television. Since 1992, the Chainsaw Awards have honored top achievements in the horror genre, with past recipients including Wes Craven, George A. Romero, Lupita Nyong’o, Anthony Hopkins, and Elisabeth Moss.

“Nope,” written and directed by Jordan Peele, leads the pack with ten nominations including Best Wide Release Movie and Best Director. Other nominees include “Barbarian,” “Pearl,” “Hellraiser,” “Chucky” and “Yellowjackets.” Fangoria has also introduced two new categories this year: Best Short and Best Cinematography.

Editor-in-chief of Fangoria Phil Nobile Jr. states,...

On Friday, Fangoria and Fangoria Studios released their 2023 Chainsaw Award nominations, which recognize outstanding achievements in horror film and television. First established in 1992, the Chainsaw Awards honor works and artists in a genre frequently overlooked by traditional organizations and critics groups. Past recipients include Wes Craven, George A. Romero, Lupita Nyong’o, Anthony Hopkins and Elisabeth Moss.

“Nope,” Jordan Peele’s follow-up to “Us,” received the most nominations of any film in Chainsaw Award contention, with 10 nominations including best wide release movie and best director. Other nominees include “Barbarian,” “Pearl,” “Hellraiser,” “Chucky” and “Yellowjackets.” Fangoria also introduced two new categories this year: Best Short and Best Cinematography.

Founded in 1979, Fangoria has become one of the most influential horror brands in the genre, living up to its moniker as “First in Fright.” At one time the only place on newsstands where fans could read about the world of contemporary horror, Fangoria...

Harry Shum Jr. and Michelle Yeoh in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (Photo credit: Allyson Riggs)

Everything Everywhere All At Once tops the list of 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees, earning eight nominations including Best Feature, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Lead Performance (Michelle Yeo), Best Breakthrough Performance (Stephanie Hsu), and two in the Best Supporting Performance category. Director Todd Field’s Tár, starring Cate Blanchett as a world-renowned composer whose life is falling apart, followed with seven nominations including ones for Field and Blanchett.

The 2023 awards will mark the first time Film Independent has switched the performance categories to gender-neutral. The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards also introduces a new category: Best Breakthrough Performance.

“We couldn’t be more honored to celebrate this year’s exciting film nominees,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “As the Film Independent Spirit Awards evolve with our changing industry,...

Celebrating its 38th edition, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have unveiled their 2023 nominations, with the Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once leading the pack with eight nominations while Todd Field’s TÁR secured seven. Along with those two, rounding out the Best Feature nominations were Bones and All, Our Father, the Devil, and Women Talking. Elsewhere, some of our favorites of the year––including Aftersun, Murina, The African Desperate, The Cathedral, After Yang, All That Breathes, Saint Omer, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed––were recognized.

Check out the nominations below ahead of the March 4 ceremony.

Best Feature (Award given to the producer)

Bones and All

Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang

Our Father, the Devil

Producers: Ellie Foumbi,...

This year's Film Independent Spirit Awards – the 38th — announced their nominations. And it's shaping up to potentially be a very good ceremony for Everything Everywhere All At Once, TÁR, Women Talking and more.

The awards will be handed out on 4 March, though other details are in flux: broadcast for the last few years on us cable channel IFC, the ceremony's organisers are currently looking for a new TV home. Still, the celebration of indie movies will go ahead as planned.

And while the Indie Spirits don't tend to be a huge Oscar indicator, we'd expect at least a few of the nominees to also show up on the Academy Awards nominations list, to be announced on 24 January.

Check out the full Indie Spirit nomination list below…

Best Feature

Bones And All

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Our Father, The Devil

TÁR

Women Talking

Best First Feature

Aftersun

Emily The Criminal...

Despite their dissimilar filmographies, I have great affection for both the arthouse friendly A24 and the drive-in exploitation of American International Pictures. That’s why I’m such a sucker for the story behind the making of A24’s Pearl, which follows Aip’s old philosophy that if you’re going to go to the trouble of hauling a cast and crew out to a remote location, you might as well make two pictures while you’re there. Pearl began life in a New Zealand hotel room in October of 2020. While in a government-mandated two-week quarantine ahead of making the 1970s-set horror film X, writer/director […]

The post “Either It Blows Up or It Doesn’t”: Dp Eliot Rockett on Pearl first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Despite their dissimilar filmographies, I have great affection for both the arthouse friendly A24 and the drive-in exploitation of American International Pictures. That’s why I’m such a sucker for the story behind the making of A24’s Pearl, which follows Aip’s old philosophy that if you’re going to go to the trouble of hauling a cast and crew out to a remote location, you might as well make two pictures while you’re there. Pearl began life in a New Zealand hotel room in October of 2020. While in a government-mandated two-week quarantine ahead of making the 1970s-set horror film X, writer/director […]

The post “Either It Blows Up or It Doesn’t”: Dp Eliot Rockett on Pearl first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

“Pearl” was reviewed by TheWrap out of the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

Ti West’s “Pearl” is an oddity amongst horror sequels and prequels.

The fact of its existence is not the remarkable part. What’s actually extraordinary is that “Pearl” is more than just a fantastic prequel: it successfully illuminates and recontextualizes its predecessor, dramatically improving a film that was already acclaimed to begin with.

“Pearl” is a prequel to West’s retro slasher “X,” which takes place in the 1970s and follows a group of independent filmmakers who rent a cabin on a farm from an elderly couple. Their mission is clandestine, to secretly film a pornographic movie starring Maxine Minx under the farmers’ noses. But when they’re not having spirited debates about sex-positivity, they’re getting murdered one-by-one by Pearl (also played by Goth), an old woman who longs for her sexual prime.

Also Read:

Ti West...

Something’s not quite right with Pearl, who wields a pitchfork less like a tool than a sex toy when tending the family farm. Such macabre behavior will come as no surprise to fans of Ti West’s “X,” who met the character in her advanced years, horny and homicidal, killing the amateur adult film crew staying on her property, then feeding their pieces to a grateful alligator. West wrapped that early-2022 horror offering with a trippy teaser for “Pearl,” a stand-alone origin story rendered in the style of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. The trailer suggested something practically avant-garde, with a dance scene, dream sequences and a super-saturated color scheme, but the reality is more mundane than A24 audiences have come to expect.

Whereas “X” unspooled like a backwater “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” homage with a lascivious Russ Meyer streak, this turns out to be a fairly straightforward cross between...

Click here to read the full article.

Ti West’s wickedly entertaining X, released earlier this year, transplanted the small cast and crew of a low-rent 1970s Los Angeles porn production to Texas Chainsaw Massacre territory, then unleashed an unsuspected evil on them. Its film-within-a-film, bump-and-grindhouse gambit doubled the exploitation fun while subverting norms of female sexuality, upending the male gaze and resurrecting that most lurid throwback, the deranged nymphomaniacal hag. Rewinding six decades, Pearl stokes more dreams of stardom only to dismantle them pitilessly, meaning someone’s going to pay in blood.

If the resulting series of kills stints on imagination and lacks much of a genuine scare factor, the prequel’s retro stylings are a treat. The saturated colors of cinematographer Eliot Rockett’s visuals practically leap off the screen and the big surging sounds of Tyler Bates and Tim Williams’ old-school orchestral score signal high drama and danger from the start.

“The story can’t just change midway through,” exclaims a pretentious adult film director incredulously in X. It certainly can in a Ti West horror film, where one of the joys is often the shift from the methodical pace of the opening to the blood-drenched mania of the finale. Set in 1979, X finds a group of ambitious but inexperienced filmmakers heading to a remote Texas farm with dreams of making the next Debbie Does Dallas. However, the troupe fails to inform their hosts – an elderly couple who rent the crew their bunkhouse – about the purpose of their visit, […]

The post “Ninety Percent of the Lighting Was Done Pretty Much How You Would’ve Done It in 1979”: Cinematographer Eliot Rockett on the Period Horror Film X first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

“The story can’t just change midway through,” exclaims a pretentious adult film director incredulously in X. It certainly can in a Ti West horror film, where one of the joys is often the shift from the methodical pace of the opening to the blood-drenched mania of the finale. Set in 1979, X finds a group of ambitious but inexperienced filmmakers heading to a remote Texas farm with dreams of making the next Debbie Does Dallas. However, the troupe fails to inform their hosts – an elderly couple who rent the crew their bunkhouse – about the purpose of their visit, […]

The post “Ninety Percent of the Lighting Was Done Pretty Much How You Would’ve Done It in 1979”: Cinematographer Eliot Rockett on the Period Horror Film X first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

X Trailer — Ti West‘s X (2022) movie trailer has been released by A24. The X trailer stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, and Scott Mescudi. Crew Ti West wrote the screenplay for X. Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe created the music for the film. Eliot Rockett crafted the [...]

Continue reading: X (2022) Movie Trailer: Jenna Ortega & Mia Goth shoot a film at a Secluded Farm in Ti West’s Horror Film...

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.

****

124: (Tie) Inside (À l’intérieur)

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury

Written by Alexandre Bustillo

2007, France

Four months after the death of her husband, a pregnant woman is tormented by a strange woman who invades her home with the intent on killing her and taking her unborn baby. This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and...

Choosing my favourite horror films of all time is like choosing between my children – not that I have children, but if I did, I am sure I would categorize them quite like my DVD collection. As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. Also, it was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried. I based my list taking into consideration three points:

1- Technical accomplishments / artistry and their influence on the genre.

2- How many times I’ve revisited the films and how easily it makes for a repeated viewings.

3- Its story, atmosphere and how much it affected me when I first watched them.

Finally, there are many great films such as The Witchfinder General, The Wickerman and even Hour Of The Wolf that won’t appear here. I...

The Innkeepers

Directed by Ti West

Written by Ti West

2011, USA

The Innkeepers is yet another prime example that no other director today does horror quite like Ti West. Truly an original, West, who works on miniscule budgets, avoids the need to cram his features with grand ideas, and instead maximizes every opportunity that his resources allow. His latest, The Innkeepers, is a re-imagination of classic horror tropes: If The House of the Devil was his love letter to early ’80s horror, then The Innkeepers might be his homage to Roman Polanski. And while his cinematic influences are clear, The Innkeepers might just be his most original film to date. Like all of his previous work, The Innkeepers is a slow-burn, but this time around his film is made up of two distinct genres – horror and comedy. While the opening statement of this review may seem extremely positive, The Innkeepers...

What’s the scariest film you’ve seen recently? Chances are it won’t be terrifying as Ti West’s retro shocker, The House of the Devil. On a scale of 1 to 10, House, rockets through the barometer into the stratosphere and splatters mercury all over your face, poisoning you. That’s quite a claim to make, no? Sure, but it might be true. You’ll have to watch it and find out…if you can handle it!

From its funky opening credits to its gloriously gory finale, it announces itself as one of the most beautifully orchestrated horror flicks for a very, very long time. Starting out as a well-measured pastiche of those late 70s and early 80s grotty-looking frighteners, it settles down into a Hitchcock-like suspense, and only really unravels in its last reel, when nerve-shredding tension is replaced with weirdness and gore.

But then again, the build up has been so painstakingly executed,...

Release Date: October 30 Director/Writer: Ti West Cinematographer: Eliot Rockett Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Greta Gerwig Studio/Run Time: Magnolia Pictures/93 mins. The devil’s in the details of this modern horror classic The House of the Devil isn’t just a movie: it’s an experience. It joins the league of Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen as one of the most diabolical entries in the modern horror library. And as you can probably guess, it’s also batshit scary....

From its synth-heavy opening song and freeze-frame-filled beginning credits, Ti West’s The House of the Devil is a loving, respectful ode to the horror films of the 1970s and '80s. But don’t expect to get a warm, fuzzy feeling from all that affection; The House of the Devil is a gory, eerie film that doesn’t follow the templates set up by recent remakes of period favorites such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and My Bloody Valentine. Instead of repackaging a familiar tale for contemporary audiences, director Ti West’s film revisits the era in a surprisingly fresh and authentic way.

Bearing a striking resemblance to Suspiria-era Jessica Harper, newcomer Jocelin Donahue plays Sam, a New England college student desperate for rent money so she can escape her roommate from hell. When she sees ads for a babysitter around campus, she thinks she may have found her salvation.

House of the Devil Directed by Ti West **** New York horror director Ti West (The Roost, Trigger Man) makes it clear in his new project The House of the Devil, that he is a fan of the conventions of 1980s horror. House of the Devil hearkens back to the days of late 70s grindhouse cinema, complete with a synthesized rock soundtrack (one of the best soundtracks to any horror film), a freeze-frame opening credit sequence marked with yellow title cards and a cast that includes Mary Woronov (Silent Night, Deadly Night) and horror veteran Dee Wallace-Stone (The original Hills Have Eyes, The Howling) who makes a small cameo. Set in 1982, House stars Samantha (Jocelin Donahue [1]), a college student preparing to move into an apartment with her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig [2]). In need of money to facilitate the move, Samantha responds to a babysitting gig for the Ulmans (Noonan, Woronov). You've...

The director Jean-Luc Godard once said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun. The House Of The Devil (now showing as part of the Tribeca Film Festival) demonstrates that in the right hands, all you need to make a horror movie is a girl and a house. As he did in his debut feature The Roost, filmmaker Ti West takes a simple situation and spins tension out of it through careful craft that’s worth more than any amount of Avid-assisted editing and computer-generated flash.

The house in question belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov), but they don’t enter the picture for a little while. West spends the first act letting us get to know his heroine Samantha (the instantly appealing Jocelin Donahue), a student at a suburban college who has just moved into her own apartment...

MPAA ratings: Dec. 17, 2008 The following feature-length motion pictures have been reviewed and rated by the Classification and Rating Administration pursuant to the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program. Each of the designated ratings is defined as follows under the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program.

G -- General Audiences. All ages admitted.

PG -- Parental Guidance Suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG -13 --Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

R -- Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Nc-17 -- No One 17 And Under Admitted.

Film Distributor Reason Rating Dragon Hunters

Peace Arch Entertainment Inc.  Rated for some scary images, fantasy action and language.

PG Eleven Minutes

Regent Releasing Llc.

Rated for language.

R Faith Like Potatoes

Worldwide Spe Acquisitions Inc. Rated for some thematic material, an accident scene, mild language, and brief smoking. PG

Feast 3

Genius Products Rated for...

Moving, thought-provoking and inspiring, the excellent documentary "Family Name" was one of the highlights of the opening weekend of Los Angeles' Outfest '97.

The debut of Alabama-born filmmaker Macky Alston is a multiracial odyssey through more than 150 years of family history that will leave few viewers unaffected.

Winner of the Freedom of Expression prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, "Family Name" was screened Saturday on video for an enthusiastic audience at the Directors Guild of America. In the well-crafted film, Alston tenaciously pursues unpleasant facts about his slave-owning ancestors and connections with blacks both living and dead who share his last name.

For a September run at New York's Film Forum and other theatrical engagements down the road, prints will be employed of the project, filmed on 16mm stock.

A spring playdate on PBS has already been set, and through rigorous self-promotion, the filmmakers are reaching out to gay and ethnic audiences with their challenging, uplifting experience.

With a camera crew and an agenda, expecting to find guilty whites and angry blacks with strong reactions to the practice of slaves assuming the last name of their owners, gay-rights activist Alston is surprised when few of his own relatives can provide details about the family's mid-19th century history in North Carolina. His grandmother and others are either secretive or reluctant to discuss details of a time when the Alstons owned large tracts of land and many slaves.

Through relationships with two black Alston families, the filmmaker finds out many startling facts and learns things about his own behavior that speak volumes about being gay in the 1990s. But the people he encounters -- including a courageous black classical musician and his son; the aging descendants of a well-respected black minister; and his own religious but tolerant father -- are living links in an ongoing saga that in many ways illuminates the vibrant social history of our country.

Emotions run high as Alston examines his own motivations and acts upon desires to use his acquired knowledge for some good.

A climactic concert given on a plantation, commencing with the ringing of the old "slave bell," and Alston's meeting with a contemporary, HIV-positive black also preoccupied with family history are healing moments that make for mighty stirring cinema.

From uncovering overgrown gravestones to searching through public records, "Family Name" is never dull. It even has a shocking finale that in no way diminishes the film's impact, but it does prove how risky to one's self-image are such feverish, well-intentioned explorations of the past.

FAMILY NAME

Opelika Pictures

Director Macky Alston

Producer Selina Lewis

Executive producer Nicholas Gottlieb

Associate producer Jennifer Chaiken

Narration written by Macky Alston, Kay Gayner

Director of photography Eliot Rockett

Editors Sandra Marie Christie,

Christopher White

Music Camara Kambon

Running time -- 89 minutes

No MPAA rating...