Lovecraft's Picks for Tribeca 2013

Tribeca 2013 started yesterday (and runs until the 28th), and for those of you who do not know, the Tribeca Film Festival was co-founded by Robert DeNiro in response to the attacks on NYC on September 11^th, to aid the recovery of the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. That’s all fine and dandy, what I really care about is the tasty selection of horror films that are being screened, some of which I have been very excited about for quite a while. There are some classics, and of course, there are some brand new ones and I’m going to share my list of movies that you should be on the look-out for.

Title: Mr. JonesDirector: Karl Mueller
Writer(s): Karl Mueller
Producer(s): Ross M. Dinerstein, Jamie Carmichael (Executive), Angela Sostre (Line)
Starring: Sarah Jones, Jon Foster, Mark Steger

The synopsis according to Tribeca is as follows: “Scott is a filmmaker in need of inspiration. After he and girlfriend Penny move into a desolate house, hoping to make a creative breakthrough, their lives spiral downward. Then they discover their neighbor, the elusive Mr. Jones. Famous for his haunting sculptures, Mr. Jones has remained a mystery to the world. Scott and Penny, convinced that they have found the perfect film subject, sneak into his workshop, only to realize that their curiosity may have chilling consequences. Who is Mr. Jones?”

I have been extremely interested in this one as there has been almost nothing, and I mean nothing, out there in terms of trailers/one sheets/promo photos, etc. There’s nothing that peeks my interest in a project more than that. We’ve gotten an awesome one sheet, and I’m honestly very excited to see the reviews that start coming out of Tribeca.

If you’re at Tribeca you can catch Mr. Jones at the following times:

Tomorrow, 4/19 at 8:30 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 4
Saturday, 4/20 at 11:30 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 4
Wednesday, 4/24 at 9:00 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 7

Title: RazeDirector: Josh C. Waller
Writer(s): Robert Beaucage, Kenny Gage (story), Josh C. Waller (story)
Producer(s): Zoe Bell, Kenny Gage, Andrew Pagana, Josh C. Waller, among others
Starring: Zoe Bell, Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms, Sherilyn Fenn, Doug Jones and Bruce Thomas

Oh how I love Zoe Bell. She was a complete badass in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, and she’s back with Tracie Thoms in what is described as “a terrifying world of savagery in which nothing is what it seems”. Stoked.

Here’s Tribeca’s review: “When Sabrina is mysteriously abducted, she finds herself in an underground lair, forced to do battle with other innocents for the amusement of unseen spectators. Each of these reluctant warriors has something to lose, but only one will remain when the game is done. Violent and relentless, Raze takes its video game aesthetic to the deepest and darkest places, rarely surfacing for air.”

I’ve been seeing things floating around the cyberworld about this one for a few months, and I’ve been excited about it due to Zoe Bell alone. I loved Death Proof and we get to see a whole slew of familiar faces in this one, for fellow fans of the film. We’ll also be see Traci Thoms and Rosario Dawson. Another huge perk for me, is Miss Sherilyn Fenn of Twin Peaks fame. Didn’t I just say that there’ll be a ton of TP goodness on this blog?

To speak for a few minutes about the film itself, I love the story. It sounds fresh and familiar at the same time. Getting to see some brutal fight scenes will be oh so satisfying, and we all know that Zoe Bell is going to be tearing through these poor unsuspecting girls like there’s no business. Sign me up, I can’t wait.

Here are the screening times:

Sunday, 4/21 at 9:30 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 6
Monday, 4/22 at 10:30 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 9
Friday, 4/26 at 11:30 PM – Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 4

Title: V/H/S/2 (Originally titled S-VHS)Director: Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard
Writer(s): Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard
Producer(s): Roxanne Benjamin, Gary Binkow, Kyle David Crosby, Brad Miska, Jamie Nash
Starring: Kelsey Abbott, Hannah Al Rashid, Devon Brookshire, Samantha Gracie, L.C. Holt, Hannah Hughes

For those who have not seen it yet, V/H/S  is a great found footage/anthology film that came out last year. It’s a Bloody-Disgusting Selects film, and the segments were directed by some of the best in the business. I’m very excited that V/H/S/2 is out and is making it’s rounds at Tribeca, I can’t wait to see it myself.

Here’s the Tribeca synopsis: “Two investigators tracking the disappearance of a student break into an abandoned house to find a collection of VHS tapes strewn around an ominous, flickering AV setup. Each unmarked cassette reveals traces of the paranormal, the flesh-eating undead, evil alien invaders and an apocalyptic vision of hell on earth. Drawn closer to the warbling static, the obsessed trespassers fall prey to the unforeseen doom of the inhabited home.”

We see the return of several directors from the first film, as well as several new ones, some new to the genre, others are quite the veterans (Eduardo Sanchez of The Blair Witch Project). I do think the one I am most excited about though is Adam Wingard. He did, what is being called the best horror film of the year (even though it was initially released in 2011), You’re Next, another one that I am incredibly excited about due for limited release in August of this year.

Once again, the screenings:

Sunday, 4/21 at 10:00 PM – AMC Loews Village 7 – 2
Wednesday, 4/24 at 10:00 PM – AMC Loews Village 7 – 2
Friday, 4/26 at 9:00 PM – AMC Loews Village 7 – 1

And that’s it for this installment. Beetlejuice and The Birds will be showing at the Tribeca Drive-In as well, which promises to be a fun time and there are quite a few other horror movies that look pretty promising, you’ll just have to find them yourselves.

Until next time…

-Rg Lovecraft