One of the more widely-praised festival hits from the past few years is director Adam Wingard’s horror film You’re Next.  Matt had very positive things to say about the pic in his review from the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, and now Lionsgate has finally slated the film for release later this year.  The story centers on a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by murderers sporting some incredibly creepy animal masks.  The studio released a fantastic first trailer for the pic last month, and it now looks like they’re taking their marketing campaign to the streets.  Hit the jump to see images of You’re Next‘s poster takeover.

Continuing our coverage from this year’s CinemaCon (the yearly Las Vegas convention for theater owners), we’ve got some more posters/displays.  In this batch, you can check out the first poster for One Direction‘s movie This is Us, and we’ve also got posters for Shawn Levy‘s The Internship, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s This is the End, You’re Next, Smurfs 2, The Heat, Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, and more.  Hit the jump to check them out.

The first trailer for director Adam Wingard‘s horror film You’re Next is now online.  The story centers on a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by masked murderers.  Their only hope is Erin (Sharni Vinson), a girlfriend of one of the family members. I really dug the flick when I saw it at TIFF 2011, and I’m excited that it’s finally coming out.  The trailer feels a tad on the generic side, but it doesn’t give away too much, and I like the use of Lou Reed‘s “Perfect Day”.

Written by Simon Barrett, You’re Next also stars Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Barbara Crampton, Wendy Glenn, Margaret Laney, Rob Moran, and Nicholas Tucci, and Ti West.  The film opens August 23rd.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Lionsgate has begun to promote their upcoming horror flick, and they’re wisely seizing on one of the film’s most iconic aspect: the masks of the three killers.  Each killer wears a different mask, and so Lionsgate is releasing three teaser posters.  Today, we’re happy to premiere the teaser poster for the lamb mask.  The poster also asks “Did you remember to lock your door?”, and I did not, so that was a very helpful reminder.  People who have seen the movie will also note to cover their windows, stay low, and learn as many survival tactics as possible.

Hit the jump to check out the cool teaser poster, and click on the respective links for my positive review from TIFF 2011, my interview with star Sharni Vinson, and my interview with director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett.  Be sure to keep an eye out for the first trailer on Thursday, March 28th.  The film also stars AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Barbara Crampton, Wendy Glenn, Margaret Laney, Rob Moran, Joe Swanberg, Nicholas Tucci, and Ti West.  You’re Next opens August 23rd.

Back in 2011, I caught You’re Next at the Toronto International Film Festival.  I really dug the film, and I’m glad that it will finally hit theaters later this year.  The plot centers on a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by masked murderers.  Their only hope is Erin (Sharni Vinson), a girlfriend of one of the family members.  The film also stars AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Barbara Crampton, Wendy Glenn, Margaret Laney, Rob Moran, Joe Swanberg, Nicholas Tucci, and Ti West.

The movie recently played to an enthusiastic crowd at SXSW 2013, and I got the chance to sit down with Vinson and talk about the flick.  We discussed how festival audiences have responded to the film, turning the “survival girl” into “survivalist girl”, her eagerness to do her own stunts, and more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  You’re Next opens August 23rd.

Back in 2011, I caught You’re Next at the Toronto International Film Festival.  I really dug the film, and I’m glad that it will finally hit theaters later this year.  The plot centers on a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by masked murderers.  Their only hope is Erin (Sharni Vinson), a girlfriend of one of the family members.  The film also stars AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Barbara Crampton, Wendy Glenn, Margaret Laney, Rob Moran, Joe Swanberg, Nicholas Tucci, and Ti West.

The film recently played to an enthusiastic crowd at SXSW 2013, and I got the chance to sit down and discuss the movie with director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett.  We talked about writing a strong female character from the inside-out, designing the creepy and iconic masks worn by the killers, shooting carefully inside of a historic mansion, and more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  You’re Next opens August 23rd.

Just last week the official lineup for the upcoming 2013 SXSW Film Festival was announced, and today the fest has unveiled its lineups for the midnight and shorts categories.  While films like Before Midnight, Much Ado About Nothing, Evil Dead, and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone will screen in the film festival’s other sections, the midnight lineup includes films like Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, the anthology sequel V/H/S/2 (which recently changed its title from S-V/H/S), and the much buzzed-about horror pic You’re Next.  Hit the jump to take a look at the full lineup.

We previously brought you release dates from Disney’s slate of 2013 films and today we have Lionsgate’s line-up. The next year will include a new installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise with Texas Chainsaw 3D, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to action in a leading role with The Last Stand, three films involving Tyler Perry and, of course, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. One guess as to which film will be the biggest win for Lionsgate next year. Hit the jump to see the whole schedule with release dates, posters and synopses. 

V/H/S is the latest release to capitalize on the found-footage craze. The anthology film is structured around a group of criminals who are hired to break in to a desolate house and retrieve a mysterious videotape. When they arrive at the house they find the owner dead in his recliner, facing a stack of TVs and a massive pile of videotapes. In order to locate the correct video they begin watching the tapes one by one, each being a segment in the film. These shorts include new interpretations on a monster, a masked stalker, a killer in the woods, a ghost story and some good ol’ Satanists; effectively providing a snapshot of the horror genre. V/H/S is directed by Adam Wingard, Ti West, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg, and newcomers Radio Silence.

During the press conference for the film, I was able to sit down for a one on one phone interview with writer Simon Barrett, who provided the script for the segment “The Sick Thing that Happened to Emily when she was Younger” and the wrap-around story “Tape 56”. During the interview we discussed his thoughts on the distant release scheduled for You’re Next, what we can expect from The ABCs of Death, and what’s wrong with studio horror today. Hit the jump for the full interview.

V/H/S is the latest release to capitalize on the found-footage craze.  The anthology film is structured around a group of criminals who are hired to break in to a desolate house and retrieve a mysterious videotape.  When they arrive at the house they find the owner dead in his recliner, facing a stack of TVs and a massive pile of videotapes.  In order to locate the correct video they begin watching the tapes one by one, each being a segment in the film.  These shorts include new interpretations on a monster, a masked stalker, a killer in the woods, a ghost story and some good ol’ Satanists; effectively providing a snapshot of the horror genre.  V/H/S is directed by Adam Wingard, Ti West, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg, Glenn McQuaid and newcomers Radio Silence.

During the press conference for the film, I was able to sit down for a one on one phone interview with Adam Wingard, director of the wrap-around story “Tape 56”.  During the interview we discussed his approach to the found footage subgenre, the benefits of collaborative filmmaking, and taking a break from horror for Dead Spy Running.  In addition, we also talked about You’re Next, The ABCs of Death, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

One of my favorite films from last year’s Toronto Film Festival was Adam Wingard’s home-invasion horror flick You’re Next.  The story is about a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by masked murderers.  Their only hope is Erin (Sharni Vinson), a girlfriend of one of the family members and the best home defender since Kevin McCallister.

Last year, after a bidding war with Summit, Dimension, CBS Films, and FilmDistrict, Lionsgate acquired the flick and I’ve just exclusively learned they’ve scheduled an August 23, 2013 release date.  While that’s still many months away, over the next year as the studio ramps up promotion, we’re going to be covering this movie like it’s the last film on Earth.  Trust me, You’re Next needs to be on your radar.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review and you can hit the jump for some images.  Again, You’re Next hits theaters August 23, 2013.

Well, folks, it’s over:  another year, another week-long cavalcade of awesome at Fantastic Fest.  This year’s lineup included some big name movies (Melancholia, Take Shelter), some smaller ones (You’re Next, Extraterrestrial), and some complete unknowns (Zombie Ass, A Boy and His Samurai), as well as some truly amazing, non-screening events.  Who won awards at this year’s Fantastic Fest, and what were the highlights of the week?  Find out after the jump, folks.

I am in no way surprised that Adam Wingard’s home-invasion horror flick You’re Next found a distributor.  Everyone I spoke to at TIFF dug the flick and I agreed with them.  The story is about a family reunion that turns deadly when the family becomes targeted by masked murderers.  Their only hope is Erin (Sharni Vinson), a girlfriend of one of the family membes and the best home defender since Kevin McCallister.  You’re Next is set to play at Fantastic Fest and I have a feeling it will go over huge.  But if you weren’t at TIFF and won’t be at Fantastic Fest, you’ll still have a chance to see the flick in the not-too-distant future.  Heat Vision reports that Lionsgate has acquired the film for $1 to $2 million after a bidding war with Summit, Dimension, CBS Films, and FilmDistrict.  That’s impressive considering that the film reportedly cost less than $1 million to make.

Now the challenge is selling it.  The movie has no stars and it’s to replicate a midnight movie vibe with the general public.  Hopefully Lionsgate can seize on a smart marketing campaign because this is a flick that deserves to be seen in a theater with a crowd.  If you want to check out some images from the film (they’re not too spoiler-y), hit the jump.

The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close.  We covered the hell out of it and we’ve got loads of interviews still to post.  Today, TIFF announced the winners in three award categories for Canadian films and the winners of the Cadillac People’s Choice Awards.  Nathan Morlando’s crime drama Edwin Boyd (pictured above) won Best Canadian First Feature Film, Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar picked up the award for Best Canadian Feature Film, and Ian Harnarine’ Doubles With Slight Pepper was awarded Best Canadian Short Film.  As for the Cadillac People’s Choice Awards, Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? won the top prize, Jon Shenk’s The Island President won in the documentary category, and Gareth Evans’ The Raid picked up the award for The Cadillac People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award.

Hit the jump for the full press release along with a list of all the films that were sold to distributors.  Keep in mind that just because a film didn’t sell during the festival, that doesn’t mean it won’t be picked up for distribution in the near future.

Adam Wingard’s You’re Next is the home invasion horror sub-genre played to near-perfection.  Through a terrific blend of setting, characters, pacing, and creative kills, Wingard delivers a horror film that even non-horror fans can enjoy.  The film falters slightly when it offers more information than necessary, but you’ll suspend your disbelief for the fun, thrills, and excitement you’ll get in return.