NEON at CinemaCon: Everything We Learned From the Presentation
Day two of CinemaCon is here, and it’s starting with announcements from NEON. Beginning with a new spine-tingling trailer for the upcoming horror film Hokum introduced by star Adam Scott, it quickly took off from there. Director Boots Riley’s upcoming film, I Love Boosters, was also given a new trailer, with Riley appearing alongside star LaKeith Stanfield to introduce the trailer.
NEON continually proves that it is the little company that could, and its current slate shows that its drive, determination, and commitment to work with quality filmmakers pays off. The films coming out this year are bold, scary, and all have something to say.
Hokum
We caught Hokum at South by Southwest this year, and it is not an understatement that writer-director Damian Mc Carthy has provided a scarier follow-up to his already unsettlingly terrifying film, Oddity. With Hokum, you are immersed in a world of folkloric horror set perfectly against the dreary backdrop of late-October Ireland.
Hokum follows novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott), who retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes. While there he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.
Hokum releases in theaters on May 1.
I Love Boosters
Another SXSW favorite for us, fans of Boots Riley’s maximalist, surrealist take on everyday life will not be disappointed by his newest offering, I Love Boosters. Talking to Variety about his inspiration for the film, Riley said, “The stories I told in that song happened in the early ’90s. Folks who bought from boosters were actually setting the trends. Styles from Black neighborhoods ended up being part of the marketing for these brands. So I was thinking about that, but I was also thinking about the idea of creativity under a system where survival isn’t guaranteed. Survival isn’t only just food and shelter. Survival is being able to help create the world around us.”
I Love Boosters follows a group of shoplifters let by Corvette (Keke Palmer) who take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven (Demi Moore). Boosters is a film that stretches past what we believe the limits of film could be, which is Riley’s intention. It is bright, it is wild, and it is unabashedly unique.
The film also stars Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Will Poulter, and Don Cheadle.
I Love Boosters releases in theaters on May 22.
Leviticus
Leviticus is the feature directorial debut from writer-director Adrian Chiarella. Premiering at Sundance Film Festival this year, Leviticus is a queer story about religion, desire, and what it means to face dangers when they come from within.
Set in an isolated, conservative Christian community in regional Victoria, Australia, the story follows Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen). As they begin to explore their budding sexuality, they are caught by a local pastor, who, in an attempt to “cure” them, subjects the boys to a religious conversion ritual. However, the ritual goes horribly wrong and accidentally releases a violent, malevolent entity, which takes the form of the person its victims desire most. For Naim and Ryan, it is each other.
Leviticus releases in theaters on June, 19.
A Place in Hell
CinemaCon was treated to the first footage of this thriller by writer-director Chloe Domont. Introduced by stars Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones via a video message which follows two women at a high-profile criminal law firm. When a cutthroat lawyer (Williams) is on the verge of making partner, she is threatened by the hiring of a new lawyer (Edgar-Jones), who will be replacing her. What follows is a rivalry that escalates into a battle for control that neither women can win.
The film also stars Andrew Scott.
A Place in Hell releases in theaters on Christmas Day.
Hope
NEON very recently acquired this South Korean title from the writer and director of The Wailing, Na Hong-jin. Featuring Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender as aliens, Hope looks like A Quiet Place got an upgrade. The first look given to CinemaCon gave attendees was, to put it bluntly, crazy.
Set in the remote village of Hope Harbor, near the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). When a tiger is suspected to have appeared and local police chief Bum-seok is alerted, it throws the community into chaos. What begins as a local emergency soon spirals into a deeper, more terrifying mystery, one that forces the town’s residents to confront the unknown
Hope is coming soon.
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