Wes Smoot 1/25/23 Wes Smoot 1/25/23

M. Night Brings Terror Back To The Big Screen With Knock At The Cabin

From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her two dads are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.

Knock at the Cabin – In Theaters February 3

Wes Smoot 7/30/22 Wes Smoot 7/30/22

FILM REVIEW: Will THEY/THEM make you a convert?

By Arnold Wayne Jones

THEY/THEM -- Pictured: (l-r) Cooper Koch as Stu, Anna Lore as Kim, Monique Kim as Veronica, Quei Tann as Alexandra, Austin Crute as Toby, Darwin del Fabro as Gabriel, Theo Germaine as Jordan -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/Blumhouse)

The genius of Jordan Peele’s Get Out was his brilliant conceit to disguise a social satire about race behind the genre of a horror film. Peele set up his audience to expect racism, then masked it with a facade of woke tolerance, where gaslighting rises to the level of psychological torture. Of course, the pitfall of that idea is, it is lightning in a bottle: Once you figure it out as an artist, the audience figures it out, too, and it’s hard to revisit that trough again. (Once The Sixth Sense gave us its twist, could anyone ever do “he was dead all along” and not come off as derivative?)

They/Them has to confront a similar anxiety of influence: It’s basically the queer version of Get Out, and once I tell you that, can you really be surprised?

THEY/THEM -- Pictured: (l-r) Theo Germaine as Jordan, Austin Crute as Toby -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/Blumhouse)

On the surface, at least, it does a pretty good job of creating that off-balance atmosphere: A busload of queer teens of all identities reluctantly arrive at Camp Whistler, what purposes to be a “gay conversion” camp – a phrase so full of repugnance it’s difficult to imagine anyone except the most extreme of homophobes being comfortable saying those words. The camp’s owner is Owen, played by the appropriately reptilian Kevin Bacon, an actor who effortlessly can seem creepy, menacing and friendly almost entirely by the context you put him in. Owen’s welcome speech makes it sound like this is not a conversion camp at all, but a journey of self-discovery: He’s tolerant of the trans-identifying Jordan (Theo Germaine), he avoids bible-thumping and constant indoctrination, he seems kinda hip. It throws off the campers, some of whom want to be there for their own sakes, not their parents.

THEY/THEM -- Pictured: (l-r) Carrie Preston as Cora Whistler, Anna Chlumsky as Molly, Boone Platt as Zane, Kevin Bacon as Owen Whistler -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/Blumhouse)

But the reality is very different, and underneath we see the hypocrisy and the tension. We know something is afoot; you can’t have seen a horror movie, especially one set at a summer camp, and not be attuned to the tropes of the suspicious handyman, the strange shapes and sounds in the dark, the vulnerability of the shower cabin…. Not to mention the seemingly unrelated but bloody murder in the opening scene. Writer-director John Logan hits these touchstones like a batter hitting each bag as he’s rounding the bases, which is what you want in a genre film, but maybe not so much in a revolutionary issue drama where tropes become cliches. Logan is one of the most respected screenwriters in Hollywood (Gladiator, Hugo, The Aviator) but this is his debut as a director, and his inexperience shows. The performances are perfunctory and the visual adequate and underlit. The film gets stuck in the Sunken Place and struggles to get out to assert an identity of its own.

THEY/THEM -- They/Them Premiere Event on July 27, 2022, at Studio 525 in New York City -- Pictured: Theo Germaine -- (Photo by: Astrid Stawiarz/Peacock)

But is it fair to compare – or at least, as long as you can enjoy a film on its own, does it matter that it doesn’t rise to the level of a genre-defining modern classic? Well, sorta. The similarities are so obvious (a lead character named Jordan? Peele’s last film was Us and now we have They/Them?) it seems to invite comparisons. Do I respect applying the thoughtfulness of Get Out to a gay theme? Sure, despite how humorless and preachy it gets by the end. But as a slasher film, They/Them is clunky and uninspired. I wouldn’t check into this camp.

THEY/THEM -- They/Them Premiere Event on July 27, 2022, at Studio 525 in New York City -- Pictured: (l-r) Matt Strauss, Chairman Direct-to-Consumer & International; Jason Blum, CEO Blumhouse; Quei Tann, John Logan, Writer/Director/EP; Darwin Del Fabro, Anna Lore, Kevin Bacon, Cooper Koch, Theo Germaine, Hayley Griffith, Monique Kim, Austin Crute -- (Photo by: Astrid Stawiarz/Peacock)

They/Them premieres Aug 5 on Peacock.

Wes Smoot 6/23/22 Wes Smoot 6/23/22

PEACOCK RELEASES NEW TEASER FOR ORIGINAL FILM THEY/THEM

Peacock releases new trailer for They/Them (or more appropriately They Slash Them) by award-winning screenwriter John Logan’s in his directorial debut from Blumhouse. They/Them will premiere exclusively on Peacock Friday, August 5, 2022.

This slasher horror film stars Kevin Bacon as Owen Whistler, the creepy owner and director of Whistler Camp, a conversion therapy retreat for LGBTQIA+ youth. This week of programming promises to offer guests the opportunity to “help them find a new sense of freedom”, but as the camp’s methods become increasingly more psychologically unsettling, the campers must work together to protect themselves. Audiences can expect thrills and chills from this queer-horror slasher flick as things go from bad to worse when an unidentified axe murderer starts claiming victims.

They/Them also stars Anna Chlumsky, Carrie Preston, Theo Germaine, Quei Tann, Austin Crute, Monique Kim, Anna Lore, Cooper Koch, & Darwin Del Fabro.

Wes Smoot 5/12/22 Wes Smoot 5/12/22

They Slash Them! Peacock and Blumhouse Welcome You to Whistler's Camp August 5

THEY/THEM -- Pictured: (l-r) Darwin del Fabro as Gabriel, Austin Crute as Toby, Cooper Koch as Stu -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/Blumhouse)

Peacock announced today its new original film THEY/THEM, pronounced “They-slash-Them,” from Blumhouse will premiere Friday, August 5. The LGBTQIA+ horror film, formerly known as ‘Whistler Camp,’ is a queer empowerment story set at a gay conversion camp.

“THEY/THEM has been germinating within me my whole life. I've loved horror movies as long as I can remember, I think because monsters represent 'the other' and as gay kid I felt a powerful sense of kinship with those characters who were different, outlawed, or forbidden,” said writer and director, John Logan. “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates queerness, with characters that I never saw when I was growing up. When people walk away from the movie, I hope they're going to remember the incredible love that these kids have for each other and how that love needs to be protected and celebrated.”

“Original films will be an integral component of Peacock’s content offering, and we are thrilled to partner with Blumhouse on THEY/THEM streaming exclusively this summer,” said Val Boreland, Executive Vice President, Content Acquisition, NBCUniversal Entertainment, Television and Streaming. “The film is not only entertaining and thrilling, but also empowers its audience with its message of acceptance in a way that only a creator like John Logan could imagine and then bring to life.”

THEY/THEM is produced by Blumhouse. The film is created, written, and directed by three-time Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan (Skyfall, Gladiator, The Aviator), marking his directorial debut and serving as an executive producer on the film. Kevin Bacon (You Should Have Left, City On a Hill), Scott Turner Schofield (Euphoria; The Craft: Legacy), Howie Young (Mission: Impossible III, Hit and Run), and Jon Romano (Firestarter (2022), Vengeance) also serve as executive producers. Jason Blum (Get Out, The Invisible Man) and Michael Aguilar (Penny Dreadful, Kidding) are producers.

THEY/THEM -- Pictured: (l-r) Monique Kim as Veronica, Anna Lore as Kim -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/Blumhouse)

Wes Smoot 3/15/22 Wes Smoot 3/15/22

The True Story Behind Addison Heimann's 'Hypochondriac'

By Alex Gonzalez

When director and screenwriter Addison Heimann went home at Christmas time three years ago, he saw his mother experiencing a manic episode. Having dealt with his mother’s bipolar disorder since he was 12 years old, Heimann had grown numb to her outbursts, smoking weed to cope with the emotional fallout. When we went back to LA, he began to experience physical manifestations of his childhood trauma.

Heimann’s latest film, Hypochondriac, which made its SXSW debut this past weekend, tells the story of a Hispanic potter who loses function of his body as a result of childhood trauma. The film is largely inspired by Heimann’s own experience with his mother.

“In the first scene, his mother almost killed him in a state of psychosis,” Heimann tells Unleashed LGBTQ. “Now he's in the 30s, living his best life, when his mother starts coming back into his life by leaving these very mysterious voicemails. At the same time, he gets injured at work, and the two events kind of conflate together.”

Heimann experienced a similar breakdown three years ago, following his Christmas visit home. Upon his return to LA, Heimann experienced multiple ailments, including nausea, dizziness, head fog, and arm tingling.

“I did this smartest thing I've ever done in my life,” Heimann says sarcastically, “I visited Dr. Google, which, you know, is accurate and doesn't make anything up. WebMD is our friend, right? Dr. Google told me that I was dying of ALS. My friend's brother had just died of ALS, and I suffer from intrusive thoughts and OCD. I latched on to that immediately, and no one was going to tell me otherwise. I was convinced that this was happening.”

At the time, Heimann was working as an assistant at a production studio. Determined to prove to himself that he wasn’t dying of ALS, he tried to carry heavy objects up multiple flights of stairs, performing functions outside of his job description. He later developed a repetitive strain injury in his arms.

To combat the pain, Heimann did “the dumbest and most LA thing” he’s ever done, and scheduled a holistic massage.

“After that session, my tendons would swell,” Heimann recalls, “to the point where it's too painful to lift a fork, too painful to shave, I can't type, I can't text, I can't do anything. My arms basically lose function.”

This was the beginning of a three-month recovery journey for Heimann, spending 12 hours a day on the couch, browsing Netflix. He would later develop a knee injury while using a stationary bike.

He eventually began physical therapy, and once he got to the point where he could lift five pounds, he felt his mental state improving. This improvement was short-lived, as the head fog, nausea, and dizziness returned. He spoke with his aunt, who is a doctor, and she told him he may have multiple sclerosis.

Heimann then put out calls and emails to several neurologists, to no avail.

“Nobody could see me for like, three months, and I was like, ‘Ok well, I'd rather know if I'm dying now,’” Heimann recalls. “I found a neurologist who had just opened up and she was like, ‘Tell me what's going on.’ I just send her my dissertation of everything that's going on. I was just like, ‘You know what, I haven't told anybody the whole story. I'm just going to fucking do it.”

Fortunately, the neurologist took him seriously. Heimann successfully scheduled an appointment for an MRI test on his muscles, the results of which proved surprising.

“I get all the results back,” Heimann says. “They come back clear, and all my symptoms go away.”

Heimann still deals with the trauma of his mother’s violent outbursts every day of his life, but credits the support of his community for helping him get through it.

With Hypochondriac, Heimann hopes viewers will feel encouraged to ask for and accept help.

“This is the story of how I got from the worst possible time in my life to accepting help,” Heimann says. “I don't know what exists after that. All I know is that we're always going to carry our stuff with us but it's manageable. There are going to be hiccups and slips along the way. But as long as we keep our community together and push forward, we’ll be ok.”

Hypochondriac will screen Tuesday, March 15 at 3:15 PM and Thursday, March 17 at 9:45 PM in Theatre D at Alamo Drafthouse Lamar