The first trailer for The Boys’ college spinoff Gen V has arrived, and when it comes to the subversive superhero series’ requisite bloodlust, the new installment seems set to pass with flying colors. The clip opens with an introduction to Godolkin University, a self-described “safe space” for super-powered teenagers “to thrive.” The curriculum, however, appears to have a much more punitive approach to the classic pass-or-fail format with numerous shots revealing blood-soaked students, disemboweled security forces, and deadly clashes amongst classmates. At one point, Jaz Sinclair, as the show’s lead Marie Moreau, brushes off the unusual college trials, saying, “I’m superhuman, right? We’re made of steel.” Despite her heroic confidence, every moment surrounding the statement suggests otherwi...
The Pitch: Robert Kirkman, the comic book creator behind the monolithic The Walking Dead, also started a long running and much beloved superhero comic books series the same year as the zombie epic. This one, instead, takes a deep dive into the nuanced life of teenager-turned-superhero Mark Grayson. Mark is the son of Nolan and Debbie Grayson, he’s in high school, and riding the waves that most teenagers must endure: relationships, his first job, friendships, and school. The big difference with Mark, however, is that his father is the most powerful superhuman on the entire planet, Omni-Man. So, when Mark begins to develop his own powers, his life suddenly becomes a crash course on balancing his day-to-day and his own superheroics. Things take an even sharper turn, though, when a horrific mu...
The Pitch: Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was once a promising young woman in medical school, along with her best friend, Nina. When a traumatic event involving Nina resulted in her suicide, it left Cassie jaded and enraged at the system that would protect those that hurt her best friend. Because of this, Cassie dropped out of med school, took on a dead-end job at a coffee shop, and now spends her evenings dismantling the system one “Nice Guy” at a time. However, her plans for ruthless vengeance alter when she crosses paths with former classmate Ryan (Bo Burnham). “Toxic”: Writer and director Emerald Fennell’s auspicious feature debut serves as a scathing critique of rape culture and the privilege that protects it. To make the medicine go down easier, Fennell uses a bubble gum pop aesthetic, an e...
This review originally ran as part of our Fantasia Festival 2020 coverage. The Pitch: “The world is made of stories…” and they are left behind by the dead. Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown) is an aging mortician tasked with not only caring for the bodies of his recently deceased clients but for the stories of their deaths. These he collects and keeps in the massive library of his sinister and dilapidated mortuary. After officiating the funeral of a child, he meets Sam (Caitlin Custer), a young woman looking for a job. Her interview takes a turn for the macabre as she asks Montgomery to scare her with his tales, setting the stage for this spooky anthology. It was a Dark and Stormy Night… Set in the vague past, The Mortuary Collection feels like Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark for twenty-some...
This review is part of our Fantasia Festival 2020 coverage. The Pitch: “The world is made of stories…” and they are left behind by the dead. Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown) is an aging mortician tasked with not only caring for the bodies of his recently deceased clients but for the stories of their deaths. These he collects and keeps in the massive library of his sinister and dilapidated mortuary. After officiating the funeral of a child, he meets Sam (Caitlin Custer), a young woman looking for a job. Her interview takes a turn for the macabre as she asks Montgomery to scare her with his tales, setting the stage for this spooky anthology. It was a Dark and Stormy Night… Set in the vague past, The Mortuary Collection feels like Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark for twenty-somethings with a d...