gerontophilia is a 2013 canadian romantic comedy film directed by bruce labruce and written by labruce and daniel allen cox .

it was screened in the vanguard section at the 2013 toronto international film festival .

described as a gay harold and maude , the film follows lake , a young man who takes a job in a nursing home and develops a romantic and sexual attraction to mr. peabody , a senior citizen resident in the facility .

unlike most of labruce 's earlier films , gerontophilia is not sexually explicit ; instead , labruce chose to adapt his traditional themes of sexual taboo into a film more palatable to a mainstream audience .

gerontophilia ( film )

gay film director bruce labruce is to shortly start production on his next film , gerontophilia , from 1976 productions and new real films .
gerontophilia transparently takes place in the streets of montreal and at various locales in niagara falls .
this makes it just the topic to be tackled by canadian director bruce labruce in his latest film gerontophilia , which is being screened during this year’s london lgbt film festival .
called the original film his favourite film of all time , he believes the sequel to be the worst film ever made .
toronto – toronto filmmaker bruce labruce ’s gerontophilia , about a young man with a fixation on older men , has received a greenlight .
referred to the film as
the largest turkey
and
the most reviled film .
moreover , gerontophilia is distributed in a number of other countries and is available on netflix ( and our local library – go check it out ) .
the canadian delegation will also include bruce labruce , who presented his film gerontophilia in the venice days section in 2013 . this time , the renowned director will preside over the jury of the competitive sidebar .
nicolas comeau at 1976 productions and jennifer jonas and leonard farlinger from new real films are to produce gerontophilia , which received financing from telefilm canada and sodec .
the new film tells the story of “lesbian separatist essentialist terrorists . ” the film is entitled the misandrist .
stated that the film was
a strong contender for the title of worst film of all time .
recent works such as gerontophilia and pierrot lunaire are currently making their rounds on the international film festival circuit , and director bruce labruce’s provocative and highly sexualized work continues to garner awards worldwide . with or without the sex .
for having the most razzies earned by a single film and is the only film to win every possible award .
he defines gerontophilia as “ lolita in reverse . ” by definition the title of the film would be the love of old persons . this is precisely 18 - year - old lake’s ( pierre - gabriel lajoie ) fetish .
by the standards of provocateur bruce labruce , »gerontophilia« comes across as a rather mild and harmless film , indicating accessibility for new audiences who perhaps would shy away from his earlier work , which has previously included hardcore gay pornography . in »gerontophilia« labruce focuses on subject matter that few other directors have worked with before , successfully downplaying the taboo elements and making it a soft and quite unique story of love .
several of the cast members also lamented their involvement in the film . despite being the film ' s leading actress ,
premiere were so angry at the film that they threw their promotional copies of the film ' s soundtrack at the screen .
, and certainly the worst .
shoard also described the film as
less a film than an appetite suppressant .
destroyed bollywood ' s greatest film
and acknowledged that some
consider it the world ' s worst film .
all of his features , including his latest ( and most mainstream ) work “gerontophilia , ” will be screened in a retrospective at the museum of modern art running thursday through may 2 . “gerontophilia” will be in theaters may 1 . in a phone interview from toronto , mr . labruce discussed five films that he found most inspiring . here are excerpts from the conversation :
labruce mentioned that gerontophilia has had both critical and box office success outside of canada , particularly in france . this may be because the film is partially in french and also deals with taboo subject matter ; french cinema is not shy of sexual taboos .
, who appeared in the original film and returned for the remake , later admitted that the film was
a mistake .
nda : gerontophilia is maybe going to be distributed in italy next spring , but is maybe condemned to be seen only into the homosexual associations and lgbt film festivals if we’re not having a radical change in the common sense around sexual freedom in our country .
british film historian i . q . hunter included it in his list of candidates for
the worst british film ever made .
gerontophilia portrays an 18 - year - old man working in a nursing home and developing a deep emotional attachment to an over - medicated old man , before both escape on a road trip across canada .
gerontophilia can be described as the gay harold and maude . we are thrilled to be involved with this production and have the opportunity to bring bruce labruce to a wider audience ,
andrew noble , vp of distribution at filmoption international , the canadian distributor of the film , said .
on feb . 25 , several of us began at be catering for a delicious dinner . we then held a screening of labruce’s newest feature film gerontophilia ( 2013 ) at market hall , and dr . ger zielinski ( researcher at the frost centre ) facilitated a q & a with the director .
“ gerontophilia can be described as the gay harold and maude . we are thrilled to be involved with this production and have the opportunity to bring bruce labruce to a wider audience , ” andrew noble , vice president of distribution at filmoption international , which will release the film , said in a statement .
support abel ferrara’s new film “siberia” starring willem dafoe by donating to . . .
. the film currently has a 32 % rating on review website rotten tomatoes .
called it
. . an abysmal little wet fart of a film .
) sued to remove the footage . the film was a critical failure , with
said it claims the title of
worst israeli film and most amusing .
, and the film was nominated for four more razzies , including worst picture .
called it
definitely one of the worst atrocities ever committed to film .
the film failed to make a huge profit and was demolished by the critics .
, who also wrote the screenplay and has a minor role in the film .
as one of the candidates for
the worst british film ever made .
was slammed by almost all critics for being the worst film ever .
the lowest scored film review in the publication ' s history at that time .
summed up reviews of the film under the title
me - ouch .
) as contenders for the title of the
worst film in history
.
caligula
by christopher armstead film critics united . retrieved 10 january 2014 .
gerontophilia embraces the secrets of our human nature , whether audiences have the stomach to acquiesce or not . our own fetishes are indeed worshipped , almost treated with religious reverence at times . throughout the film , we find young lake experiencing deep , religious connections with his own sexuality and frequently suffering the consequences of doing so .
while gerontophilia hints at serious issues in the way we treat our senior citizens , it keeps things light - hearted , with the high camp of lake’s über - feminist girlfriend and his alcoholic mother providing the laughs . after all , just because we are watching a film about old people doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it .
french - american film with a $ 45 million budget , but the final result was critically derided . most of the hype revolved around the film ' s star ,
. . . is going to set the course of british film - making back 20 years . it is not only the worst british film produced in this country since
noting the film ' s negative reception , peretti went on to argue :
by universal consent , it is the worst film ever made in the uk .
tony ward in the 1996 film
hustler white ,
directed by bruce labruce and rick castro . the film referenced billy wilder ' s
sunset boulevard .
clocking in at just under 90 minutes , director bruce labruce weaves a moving tale that grips the audience for the full ride . an interesting departure from his past works , gerontophilia proves labruce can deliver provocative storylines and introduce mainstream audiences to sexual taboo .
wishing to obtain a 1970’s feel , bruce labruce shot the entire film with a set of prime lenses from the 1970’s . he also discovered an abandoned chinese senior centre that was built in the early 1970’s in toronto . this provided the perfect location for the cour de couer senior care facility in the film gerontophilia , as much of the structure , colours , and architectural details were already in line with the director’s vision .
reviewed at venice film festival ( venice days ) , aug . 28 , 2013 . ( also in toronto film festival — vanguard . ) running time : 82 min .
a bound man while clips from various classic films play onscreen . the film was initially
could very well be the best film ever made about a mutated catfish .
placed the film on a list of the 100 worst ideas of the 20th century .
the film currently has a 0 % rating on rotten tomatoes out of 13 reviews .
stated that the film displayed
all the revered hallmarks of hilariously bad filmmaking .
described the film as
an exasperating farce containing not one single , solitary laugh .
the next morning labruce hosted a seminar at traill college . the visit was capped with another fantastic meal , this time courtesy of the trend . the screening and seminar were extremely engaging and audiences hopefully learned much about gerontophilia and labruce’s decades - long career .
what started as a series of fun filmmaking projects in the late 1980s has now grown to mainstream proportions with gerontophilia . during the post - film q & a , labruce described his desire to work in the mainstream while also maintaining themes he has been exploring throughout his oeuvre , such as homosexual desire , fetishes and anti - sexual identity politics .
shot in 1956 , the film was not released until 1959 because of difficulty in finding a distributor . it has played at the new orleans worst film festival . in 1994 ,
writer marc weinberg and leonard maltin criticized the decision to shoot the film in live action .
was ripa di meana ' s directorial debut , she has not made another film since .
as one of the candidates for the title of
worst british film ever made .
included the film on its list of hollywood ' s top 5 worst movies ever made .
said
it is perhaps the most incompetent and least funny comic film ever made .
) ( march 23 , 2004 ) .
welch fleshes out worst in film
.
film review : run for your wife the independent ( london ) , 30 january 2015 .
writer - director denis côté’s film offers an oxymoronic parable that’s been utilized countless times by cinema .
. it ' s still his best film . sunday has a special screening of the 1997 comedy
initial reception , notes it was
unanimously dubbed ' the worst film ever made ' .
calls it
far too entertaining to be considered as the very worst film ever made .
received universal panning by critics and has been called the most critically panned norwegian film in history .
daniel p . franklin , politics and film : the political culture of film in the united states . lanham , rowman and littlefield , 2006 , isbn 0742538095 , ( p . 203 ) .
proclaimed the film to be
the absolute nadir of pornography , period . not just batman - themed pornography . all pornography
, deriding its
obese redneck
cast as rendering the film
film critic jeffrey lyles voiced similar hatred , claiming that the film
isn ' t just one of the worst comic book films , it ' s one of the worst films ever made .
s pop culture critic , called the film
the best ed wood movie ever made . . . a film so mind - blowingly horrible that it teeters on the edge of cinematic immortality .
it would have been nice if the film had surrendered to its lunacy more blatantly , more carelessly .
labruce’s films have screened at several world film festivals , including sundance , berlin , toronto and locarno .
as a
hilariously awful gangster film . . . one of the worst films ever made .
deserves a sacred place among their most treasured artifacts
, naming it the worst film of 1991 .
, the film ' s distributor , refused to allow any early press - screenings for movie reviewers .
offer stated in 2004 that
almost 100 , 000
dvds of the film had been sold .
remarked ,
this is a serious contender for the title of the worst film ever made .
le jour et la nuit
, pire film de l ' histoire . . . vraiment ?
critics pan
worst film ever
sky news , 23 february 2004 . retrieved 11 october 2013 .
fifa film ' united passions ' one of worst in u . s . box office history
clearly a departure from past works such as no skin off my ass and super 8 ½ , labruce used gerontophilia to foray into the mainstream by simply eliminating the pornographic aspect of his story and still maintaining the provocative and sexual narratives for which the director is best known . gerontophilia follows the journey of lake , a young french canadian man who makes a sexual self - discovery . our flawed hero is perceived as pure and innocent , yet like all of us , he still has natural sexual impulses and of course , fetishes . lake is a gerontophile , a young person who is sexually attracted to the elderly .
as the one film
so nuts it has to be seen to be believed
out of the company ' s entire catalog , saying it was
only for the truly jaded adult film viewer
.
was said by one critic to be
the worst film ever made by a director of genius
.
stated the film was
surely one of the worst films ever made in israel , or beyond .
and instead labeled the film
anti - porn
, asking
how else do you categorize an adult film that completely and utterly fails to elicit even the minutest amount of arousal in its viewers ?
.
also called it the worst film ever made , saying that much of it was
beyond belief .
despite the vicious reviews , the film ' s reputation improved over time . in fall , 2012 , the
. the film is also criticized for its nonsensical plot , badly written dialogue , and crude special effects .
was directed by aune sand . the film follows different couples and their love stories around the world , in
leslie halliwell , john walker , halliwell ' s film guide . harperperennial , 1996 ( p . 1119 )
the worst film in history ? studio briefing , february 21 , 2013 . retrieved february 13 , 2015 .
cam archer ' s wildly underrated wild tigers i have known .
that film is properly rated , which is to say , not at all . the worst of art school and film school mashed into one .
bogdanovich , who was also the screenwriter , sent press releases to newspapers across the country apologizing for this film .
earned some prerelease controversy after gore vidal , who had written the script , distanced himself from the film . when
stated that it is
[ c ] onsidered by many to be the worst film of the 1990s
.
better camerawork and a lower gross - out factor than usual seem to have taken the oomph out of bad boy bruce labruce , whose “gerontophilia” sports a great title and a funny opening before going all limp . generally the crown prince of taboos , labruce is only mildly outre in this story of a young man unexpectedly discovering [ … ]
labruce stated in addition to wanting to work in the mainstream , he thought to also make a distinctly canadian film .
eventually , the film garnered so much hate that boorman disowned it . in an interview with bob mccabe for the book
, claimed he had the film made to show macarthur ' s spirituality and connection to god and the japanese people .
claimed that
time has not improved this film ' s reputation as being one of the worst ever made .
said
there ' s virtually nothing to laugh at in this film , and too much of everything else .
was featured in first place . the reviewer , pollyane lima e silva , called the film
a shame .
wrote ,
you could run this film backward , soundtrack included , and it would make no less sense .
is about a group of potato delivery men . the film received strongly hostile reviews from the british media . reviews claimed
one of the two most nauseous films ever made . . . a masterclass in film - making ineptitude .
; the film won worst picture and ram kapoor , saif ali khan and riteish deshmukh shared the worst actor award .
it ' s refreshing to see labruce and cox encourage viewers to go out and do things without fear of being abnormal , or going against societal norms .
gerontophilia
feels like a kinder , gentler film than one might expect from labruce , a filmmaker whose provocations are typically more sexually explicit , and way more humorously alienating . but
gerontophilia
is enjoyable because it has softer edges that do nothing to diminish its hard core . it ' s an inclusive comedy that is also radical in its insistence that you don ' t need to distinguish between what your head and your groin want . labruce and cox don ' t baby their viewers , and they don ' t pander to their expectations . instead , they expect their audience to be mature enough to accept that our idiosyncratic hang - ups are what make us human
the daughter of canadian film director gail harvey , katie boland was born in toronto , ontario . growing up in the midst of the film industry , she knew at an early age that she wanted to be an actor . . . .
described the film as a
. . vapid mess that can only serve those incapable of understanding what cinema is ,
and considered it able to
. . compete for the title of worst film in cinema history and win !
still a queercore punk at heart , labruce recently followed gerontophilia with a screen adaptation of arnold schoenberg’s pierrot lunaire . modified to add a transgender element to the work , labruce changed the lead role of pierrot to a trans - man . once audiences recover from the initial shock of creative liberties , they discover the german melodrama is still buried deep within the work .
in this genre film , a romantic comedy unfolds as lake begins a relationship with 82 - year - old melvyn peabody .
that has nothing to do with the remainder of the movie and does not fit anywhere into the film ' s chronology .
film review stated ,
the most to be said for him is that he has not stinted on the gore .
, which resembles brooklyn ' s coney island . the film was billed as the first
monster musical
, beating out
roger ebert wrote of this film ,
i can ' t imagine who would want to subject themselves to this movie .
( quite a feat in itself ) , it is a thoroughbred contender for the crown of worst film ever made .
. . . was directed by michael winner and despite the glittering cast , was possibly the worst film ever made .
launched in june 2014 , gay essential is the world’s largest gay themed film blog promoting new and rare features . i am helped by some amazing writers and we also cover film festivals in the uk and usa . we are 100 % independent , without advertising or funding by film distributors . help to keep gay essential independent by purchasing our merchandise get ( gay essential tees )
leonard maltin noted ebert ' s comments in his review and offered that the film was
low points for all concerned .
. critic bill chambers stated it was ,
possibly the worst film ever made and surely the worst sequel ever made .
doesn ' t really work on any level
and the film and its production
constitute a boondoggle of landmark proportions .
michael dequina of urltoken also panned the film , claiming that it was
the best bad filmmaking hollywood has to offer .
, reviewing the film for his
my year of flops
series , stated ,
all films require suspension of disbelief .
and like its predecessor , it received negative reviews from film critics , earning 0 % positive rating on review website rotten tomatoes .
, in this film , which he called
. . . one of the worst movies in the history of cinema !
several critics noted the irony of the film ' s depiction of blatter as an anti - corruption campaigner . paul field of the
, the film currently holds a score of 1 out of 100 , based on 9 critics , indicating
overwhelming dislike
.
. wish he still made movies like that . sunday has one more douglas sirk film for the month , with 1955 ' s
after spending decades shocking audiences with provocative and sexually charged arthouse films , photography , art , and writing , the avant - garde and always - on - the - move director made a bold decision with his latest work , gerontophilia . that decision : to deliver something new for the mainstream audience , without entirely disregarding his deep roots in gay pornography , sexual taboos , and fetishism .
gerontophilia follows the story of a young man named lake , who discovers and learns to embrace his desire for the elderly . working as a lifeguard at the local community swimming pool , lake experiences a sexual response while performing cpr on a senior citizen who nearly drowned . embarrased by the crowd of onlookers , lake runs away in shame , pondering what could possess him to feel this way .
states ,
in fact , the film has become so famous for its own badness that it ' s now beyond criticism .
even warren himself would later admit his film was one of the worst ever , suggesting it might make a passable comedy if redubbed .
predicted that the film ,
. . . for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies .
found it confusing and derivative :
i couldn’t even work out where the film is supposed to be set . isn ' t that
boedeker , hal ( july 21 , 1989 ) .
the magic of olivier his film legacy sets standard for all actors
.
, it ' s still his best film . jane wyman and a raw young rock hudson star in sirk ' s 1954 romantic drama
it would have been very easy for this film to give inter - generational desire the freak - show treatment , and a scene early in the film , when lake turns his gaze to look at an older man at a street corner did provoke some giggles in the audience .
in april he heads to berlin to make an underground film . this fictional work turns the director away from his usual focus on men .
) who is exposed to radiation from an atomic blast , which turns him into a monster . the film opens with a scene of implied
performs musical numbers , with lyrics widely considered terrible . the film ' s notoriety was enhanced as a result of being featured on episodes of
for the website film critics united , stated ,
dollar for dollar , this could very well be the worst movie ever made .
the negative reaction to the film took its toll on the cast , who found themselves unable to work on other projects as a result .
is that they serve as powerful reminders that on any given day , hollywood has the potential to release the worst film in history .
thus :
this turgid tale of sixties london isn ' t just bad – it ' s quite probably the worst film ever .
people losing their trousers and falling over , the film looks like a pilot for a ( mercifully ) never - commissioned 70s sitcom
.
, because nobody wants to go up against a gth film . go see it at house or lido and support your local independent cinemas .
montreal , july 28 , 2016 — four emerging canadian filmmakers will present their first feature films at the 73rd venice international film festival , which will be held from august 31 to september 10 in italy . maudite poutine ( metafilms ) by karl lemieux will premiere in the competitive section horizon , while the film prank ( art & essai ) by vincent biron will have its world premiere at the 31st venice critics’ week . venice production bridge , the festival’s film market , selected trinity , a virtual reality feature film by patrick boivin ( unlimited vr ) , as well as the first feature film by brothers carlos and jason sanchez , a worthy companion ( micro _ scope ) , in the international funding component .
– there are two french film to list this week . first up is a family friendly animated feature at 2pm on saturday , 2012 ' s
as
certainly the worst of the tarzan movies and possibly the most banal film so far made ; even the animals give poor performances .
“the fetish of gerontophilia is about impermanence . a young person desires a very old person , the older the better , but that elderly person obviously will not be around for long . it can’t last forever , ” says labruce . he goes on to point out , “everyone has some sort of fetish . at times is may be mysterious or a secret , but to you it is respected . it’s something that you worship . ”
i’m a recent graduate of the cultural studies phd program . my research includes contemporary film , film theory , and the history of moving - image pornography . in addition to writing for arthur , this semester i’m teaching in the cultural studies department ( intro to integrated arts ) and continuing education ( writing short film scripts ) . i also work at the trend ( come say hi ! ) , among other small jobs as they come up .
venice - - one thing to be said for gerontophilia is that at least it explores a relationship dynamic that hasn’t been replicated to death in movies . it could be called harold and claude . the notion of canadian trash - art provocateur bruce labruce celebrating love and lust between a cute 18 - year - old twink and an octogenarian man promises outre kink , if nothing else . but this tonally uncertain romance is both surprisingly conventional and tame .
carey , 39 , had to be hospitalised due to an emotional breakdown after glitter was slammed by almost all critics for being the worst film ever .
danny dyer ' s film company went bust with debt to taxpayer of £25 , 000 daily mirror , 6 october 2013 . retrieved 30 january 2015 .
sugar - coated fifa film is spreading around europe like a virus des kelly , london evening standard , 27 october 2014 . retrieved 25 june 2015 .
. steckler also starred in the film , billed under the pseudonym
cash flagg
. in the film , three friends visit a carnival and stumble into a group of occultists and disfigured monsters . produced on a $ 38 , 000 budget , much of it takes place at the pike amusement park in
gerontophilia is rather reminiscent of a student film , and i don’t mean that it has the fire of youth . it is restrained by a rank amateurism that borders on embarrassing . the performances are sluggish and sound unnatural . it’s rare that a movie gets as far as this where you can see actors anticipating their cues . this sort of thing is excusable in independents from 1991 , where directors were scraping up short ends of 16mm stock and had to patch together bad takes . if the digital revolution has given us anything , it has afforded even the most micro - budget projects the opportunity to “go again” .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
the $ 2 million indie film from the veteran toronto director is described by filmoption international ' s andrew noble as
the gay harold and maude .
, such things as standards and responsibility have never been heard of . it is this lunar purity which largely imparts to the film its classic stature . like
. this film cost $ 54 million to make but grossed only $ 6 million , making it one of the biggest box office bombs of all time .
one of the worst films of all time .
tobias went on to write that the title was appropriate because the film is
a disaster .
mikel j . koven , film , folklore and urban legends . scarecrow press , 2008 isbn 0 - 8108 - 6025 - 2 ( p . 91 )
for its 2004 dvd release . the film was reconstructed on both occasions largely from existing material , with certain scenes removed and others added back in , and the entire sequence of events changed . the reconstructed film ' s reception was far better than the original ' s ; it was elevated to a mixed reception .
then , a miracle . the first two - thirds of gerontophilia is stuck between the drab senior centre and lake’s home , where an argument with his mother leads to one of the more idiotic injuries - on - film i’ve ever seen . blessedly , there’s a jailbreak of sorts when lake takes melvyn on a road trip to once again see the pacific ocean . the scenes on the excursion – convenience stores , bars , motels – finally bring us some energy , and even a little bit of emotion . a sequence where lake becomes jealous at another man’s flirtations with melvyn is an unseen kink the road that perks up the narrative .
has been
widely described
as the worst pornographic film ever made , on account of
some incredibly unarousing sex and a general attitude of awfulness
.
dolls . the title characters are depicted by dwarf actors in low budget costumes , with poorly functioning mouths and expressionless faces . the film is often criticized for its
, and various other people inside and outside of a mcdonald ' s restaurant . the film ' s cast list states
and ronald mcdonald as himself .
, also gave it a negative review , describing it as
…a stupid , unfunny and self - satisfied film that should be avoided at all costs .
, was published ; the book is sestero ' s memoir of his involvement in the production of the movie . the book will be adapted into a film called
hitting the screen in sneak previews before a bigger release next week , following its world premiere last week at the venice film festival . based partly on the book
wrote ,
the 1981 film version of this tome was evidently meant to be taken seriously , but the operatic direction by frank perry and the over - the - top portrayal of joan crawford by faye dunaway ( whose makeup is remarkable ) has always seemed to inspire loud laughter whenever and wherever the film is shown .
beautifully shot , bruce labruce gave gerontophilia an almost timeless appearance . “we wanted a 70’s vibe , so we shot on the arri alexis and chose some zeiss prime lenses from the 70’s , ” labruce states . “it’s hard to capture that look with digital anymore . so we also used provided light as much as possible and shot the care home scenes in an abandoned chinese care home built in the 70’s . so much of the look we wanted was already present in the building . ”
on friday morning labruce presented clips for discussion from a number of works made in the 21st century . he was wonderfully selective with clips from the raspberry reich ( 2004 ) , otto ( 2008 , his first gay zombie film ) and a recent short film based on one of his theatrical productions in germany , the bad breast .
referred to it as a
wretched film
and stated that
' the underground comedy movie ' stands as a monument to ineptitude and self - delusion .
) . many critics also pointed out the short running time , consisting of 72 minutes of the film itself and over ten minutes of end credits juxtaposed with outtakes .
with whistle - blowing anti - government protesters . there was also a fuss over the signage in the film , which in a desperate move by the country ' s film minders to strip any thai identity out of the picture , so as to not harm tourism , was written in khmer and turned upside down . that has led to
appears in this film , as he did in several other wood films toward the end of his career . leonard maltin insists this was far worse than wood ' s later
wrote
this film has also been called one of the worst ever made . the movie was universally panned by critics and failed to make back its production budget domestically . although director m . night shyamalan reportedly wrote a rough draft for the second film , it is highly unlikely it will ever get made . very , very unlikely .
claimed that it was
so egregious that it ceased to be a film ,
and the site also later called it
the worst thing in the world .
) wedding and bachelor party to get his money so he can pay his taxes , therefore avoiding prison . the film has been widely panned due to its comedic portrayal of
christopher tookey ,
michael winner ' s latest film is his most offensive yet .
the daily mail , may 11 , 1999 , ( p . 11 ) .
honest , it ' s the worst movie ever ; all saints ' film debut is holy awful , say critics .
the daily record , may 26 , 2000
is united passions the worst movie of all time ? fifa propaganda film paints blatter as a bastion of morality urltoken . june 9 , 2015 . retrieved 25 june 2015 .
, a weird new film by the taboo - challenging cult director bruce labruce . set for the lido , it ' s being brought in by the new indie distribution shingle
in addition to filming near the testing range , truckloads of the red sands were transported back to the studios for interior scenes . the film made the 10 - worst list in
moon . this film developed a negative reputation for its poor special effects ( including a scene on the alien planet , where a modern car can be seen driving past ) .
in a recent documentary on his career , bogdanovich lamented being influenced by studio previews to cut the film before its theatrical release . he subsequently recut it again before it debuted on
as the villain nuclear man . panned by fans and critics alike , it is the lowest - grossing film in the franchise , only taking in $ 15 , 681 , 020 at the north american box office . many critics pointed out the film ' s poor screenplay , acting , and special effects ( such as a scene in which superman repairs the
claimed that the film was
. . [ l ] augh - out - loud awful without touching the cult realm of ' so bad it ' s good ' ,
considered it so bad that ,
…other legendary bad films . . . await a film of this magnitude because it gets awfully lonely on the island of misfit movies ,
a . o . scott takes a look at a very unusual relationship at the heart of mike nichols ' s 1966 film , adapted from edward albee ' s broadway play .
, was met with harsh criticism by both critics and audiences . based on 23 reviews collected by rotten tomatoes , the film currently holds a 0 % ,
rotten
rating , all 23 reviews being negative . common criticisms included the lack of motivation for the characters , the blatant disregard for established characters and background set in the first film ( such as the new and seemingly incongruent origin for the immortals ) , the massive amount of gigantic plot holes , the film ' s messy , non - sensical story structure , the filmmaker ' s inability to balance out the number of the rather unrelated plots and subplots involved , the unexplained resurrection of ramirez , and rampantly apparent contradictions in the film ' s internal logic .
' gay essential ' is the world ' s largest gay - themed film blog . tweets by @ alexanderryll help us remain free of adverts , buy a tee at # get urltoken
otto is a handsome , sensitive , neo - goth zombie with an identity crisis wandering the streets of the city , until one day he auditions for a zombie film . . .
has broadcast the film on television in its prime time schedule , but this version adds digitally animated solid black underwear to hide breasts and genitalia . this version has also been broadcast by
, rob davis called the film a
. . listless , laughless attempt ,
and
lunkheaded and amateurish ,
and stated that it was
for masochists only .
gave it 1 . 5 / 5 stars and said the film was
[ l ] oaded with indecipherable dim wit
and
an odd mishmash of pathos and drudgery .
halliwell ' s film and video guide 2002 edited by john walker . london . harpercollins entertainment , 2001 . isbn 0 - 00 - 712265 - 9 ( p . 804 ) .
, an adventure epic that is norway ' s most expensive film production yet . a gripping drama , it was a nominee for the academy awards and golden globes . gutsy directors joachim rønning and espen sandberg , who ignored the advice of other filmmakers and actually made their film in the open ocean rather than a studio , have since been tapped to helm the upcoming next
taking a giant leap into the mainstream , avant - garde arthouse filmmaker , artist , and writer bruce labruce successfully brings his provocative storytelling style to audiences worldwide . labruce’s latest work , gerontophilia follows the story of lake , a young man who discovers he has a fairly uncommon fetish . lake is a gerontophile : a young person who sexually desires the elderly . remaining true to his roots , labruce manages to weave sexual taboo and fetishism into an otherwise mainstream drama . and the result ? a captivating story of love , loss , and personal exploration .
the producers probably expected more considering labruce had a bigger budget than he’s used to ( reportedly $ 2 million ) , and for the first time his content barely merits an r rating ( if that ) . yet “ gerontophilia ” isn’t likely to find a crossover audience , notwithstanding an uncharacteristic sweetness , as if he wanted to channel the kind of warmhearted gay vibes of a john waters . the one semi - nauseating shot , with the teen licking an open bedsore , might discomfort the average indie crowd but won’t be enough to excite labruce’s hardcore fans .
despite the reviews at the time , the film was a box office success , grossing $ 39 million worldwide on a $ 5 million budget . it currently has a 55 % rating on
rated the film 0 . 5 out of 5 and stated
with no story or comedy on offer , even riteish and ram are unable to save the day for sajid khan .
better camerawork and a lower gross - out factor than usual seem to have taken the oomph out of bad boy bruce labruce , whose “ gerontophilia ” sports a great title and a funny opening before going all limp . generally the crown prince of taboos , labruce is only mildly outre in this story of a young man unexpectedly discovering he’s got a thing for granddaddies . maybe if the actors had been coached to actually act , it would have come across better , but their painfully stilted delivery is leaden rather than campily artificial . the usual queer showcases will line up .
meaning “love of old people” , the film stars pier - gabriel lajoie as cute quebecois lake who , despite being in a relationship with a girl , finds himself attracted to much older men .
.
it was also subject to harsh reviews from critics . roger ebert stated that
ishtar is a truly dreadful film , a lifeless , massive , lumbering exercise in failed comedy
;
the director discussed his undergraduate studies and masters studies and their respective influence on his work , film criticism and reception , feminism and transgender issues , and zombies and sexuality , among many other topics .
, stated that the film
lacks action , humor and charm ,
and considered it so bad that it
nearly forced editors of this book to devise a rating lower than bomb .
the appearance of howard was criticized as being unconvincing due to his poorly functioning mouth , drunkenness , pervertedness , and expressionless face . reviewers also criticized the acting and humor and found the film boring .
. the film was a critical and commercial disaster , earning only $ 4 . 9 million at the north american box office and achieving a 10 % rating on rotten tomatoes based on 63 reviews .
the film was the result of various rewrites by a total of 28 different screenwriters , though only four were credited after arbitration with the wga . it has a 9 % rating at rotten tomatoes ,
isn ' t just the worst film of 2012 , it ' s one of the most morally reprehensible comedies of all time , a disgusting movie you should stay far , far away from .
on the other hand , labruce confessed how scary it will be to make a movie about feminism . he has good intentions though , but like any artwork , the film will be subject to criticism .
children only get to see santa claus on tv signals beamed from earth , their parents decide to abduct santa to make them happy . the film was initially criticized for its oddity and poor special effects .
film critic jeff simon wrote ,
about 45 minutes in , it became apparent to one and all that this was one of the worst and most embarrassing major - talent turkeys of all time .
the film itself took the 1982 razzies for worst picture and worst screenplay , and young ' s direction earned him a tie for worst director of 1982 . a number of reviewers at various media outlets described
) who becomes a stripper in order to fund an appeal for custody of her daughter . the film was criticised as boring and humourless , and was also accused of being a vanity project for moore .
, which was described as barely noticeable . further criticism came from fans of the original cartoon series , who said the film differed tremendously from its critically acclaimed source material . it garnered nine nominations at the
john walker ( ed . ) halliwell ' s film and video guide 2000 , london and new york ; harpercollins , 1999 , isbn 0 - 06 - 273645 - 0 ( p . 287 ) .
bruce labruce revels in bad taste . always trying to one - up his own standards as a provocateur , he ' s trucked in zombie sex , skinhead sex , and lots of other absurd sex . now he ' s going one step further : an 18 - year - old who has the hots for the aged . that ' s right gerontophilia will be all about old people sex . what he calls a
reverse lolita
or
think grumpy old men meets emmanuelle
—it ' s obvious that one thing the filmmaker loves more than anything is to talk about his movies even before making them .
nicolas comeau from 1976 productions and jennifer jonas and leonard farlinger from new real films have assembled the $ 2 million financing for labruce ' s latest film after receiving coin from public funders telefilm canada and sodec .
in hopes of finding a gig . due to unanticipated problems with filming in the desert—which resulted in numerous reshoots—the film ran over budget by $ 30 million . while its final budget cost was $ 55 million ,
asserted that
it ' s the worst , worst , worst , worst , worst thing you ' ll ever see in your entire life .
spurlock also cited the film as the most egregious example of
labruce has never flinched from depicting the taboo world of alternative sexual tastes , which has meant that his films have tended to remain very much a mainstay of art - house film festivals or within the lgbt subculture .
dramatized as a reverse lolita , the story goes like this : an 18 year old boy who discovers he has a fetish for the aged gets a job in a nursing home and develops an intimate relationship with one particular old man . with the film already shot , bruce labruce needs more money to complete the film in post production . currently he has an indiegogo campaign to raise the funds which you can donate to here .
himself , hughes bought every existing print for $ 12 million and refused to let the film be seen on television until 1974 . reportedly , he felt guilty over the decision to shoot at such a hazardous site .
critic jeffrey kauffman said ,
this is the sort of film ed wood jr . might have made—on a bad day
and added ,
lovers of fantastically bad films rate zaat one of the worst .
scott weinberg at dvd talk noted the film as
truly one of the worst movies you ' ll ever see . . . movies this bad should be handled with teflon gloves and a pair of tongs .
when my film “ otto : or up with dead people , ” which has at least one “virginia woolf” reference in it , opened in new york , somebody took edward albee to see it . his friend messaged me and said edward quite enjoyed the film . i got him to blurb the dvd that strand put out . everyone thought i made it up , that it was a fake quote . but it’s actually real .
, with the former stating ,
this is one of the dumbest movies i have ever seen
and
watching this film was as depressing an experience as i ' ve ever had going to the movies
; and the latter calling it
the worst comedy ever made
and , in his newspaper review ,
a children ' s film with a dirty mind ; every character in this movie is dumber than the average roadkill . this is a movie to watch in appalled silence . to call it the year ' s worst would be a kindness .
the film was a complete bomb , only grossing $ 376 , 008 .
. it follows a french author who fled to mexico for a quiet life and an actress who is willing to seduce him to get a part in a film adapted from one of his books . before its release ,
is an old and often - adapted tale . it has already been made into a film at least twice , including a 2004 version that featured napakprapha
mamee
nakprasert in one of her big break - out roles .
. set in japan , the tragic romance involves a young thai student who has been employed by an elderly japanese man to look after his young blue - blooded thai wife . written in 1937 by popular author sri burapha , the novel has been adapted for film , television and stage many times , including a 2001 film version that was the last feature by the revered thai auteur cherd songsri . in an homage to cherd , his film is woven into the fabric of chulayarnnon ' s entertaining experimental work , which has him hilariously portraying both the young man and , in the grand tradition of theatrical cross - dressing , the young woman . i ' ve actually seen this , in


lemon tree passage is a 2014 australian horror/thriller film that was directed by david james campbell and is his feature film directorial debut .

the film received an australian release and stars andrew ryan , tim phillipps , pippa black , jessica tovey , and tim pocock as a group of backpackers that find themselves in the midst of strange occurrences .

the movie 's premise is based upon an urban legend that claims that if a motorist speeds along lemon tree passage road in lemon tree passage , new south wales , they will see a ghost .

lemon tree passage ( film )

here ' s a look at some film meetups happening near lemon tree passage .
films like lemon tree passage signal the death of the good horror film . so far 2015 has been a mixed bag and lemon tree passage along with previously reviewed titles e . g .
lemon tree passage – aka death passage – is a 2014 australian horror film directed by david campbell from a screenplay co - written with erica brien .
writer - director david campbell is in post - production on the australian supernatural thriller lemon tree passage .
i completely feel indifference towards lemon tree passage , a decent enough if not over done idea that’s poorly executed .
lemon tree passage premieres at the nelson bay cinema , october 31st 2014 , at 7 . 30pm and 9 . 30pm .
the girls never mentioned it until about 15 years later when someone brought up the legend of the lemon tree passage light .
indeed this is the plot of the movie lemon tree passage , filmed last year and starring jessica tovey and pippa black .
whether the tale is true or not , it has inspired the plot for a new film , lemon tree passage , which is making its australian premier in nelson bay .
a true believer , mr byfield has investigated lemon tree passage and doesn ' t believe it ' s an act of the paranormal .
as the legend goes , the ' ghost ' of lemon tree passage in port stephens has haunted many a traveller over the years .
news that the legend of the lemon tree passage
ghost
has inspired a movie brought back chilling memories for charlestown resident tanya locking .
odin’s eye entertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights to lemon tree passage , an australian supernatural thriller directed and co - written by david campbell .
it was after midnight when joe finn saw what looked like the light from a harley davidson motorcycle approaching in the distance along lemon tree passage road .
like all urban legends the lemon tree passage ghost has a contested history , but the one constant is the death of a motorcyclist on the strip .
lemon tree passage might have been scarier if the actors - - outside jessica tovey , who was great - - would have bought in a little bit more .
after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins disappearing in violent ways .
the special effects in lemon tree passage are well - handled , making the events seem not only believable , but downright scary . along with a solid plot based on legend , the film is also well - acted by a young cast who portray a real emotional intensity in the film , which builds the suspense in each scene right up to the surprising end . to the delight of viewers , there are plenty of twists and turns as well as plenty of blood and gore for horror fans . lemon tree passage is another shining example of the excellent film production that australia has developed , particularly in the horror genre . hopefully the film will receive an american release very soon . crypticrock gives lemon tree passage 4 out of 5 .
after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to disappear in a violent fashion .
in the dead of night , when only a few cars rumble along the long , eerie stretch of bitumen - lemon tree passage rd - a mysterious light is said to follow you .
lemon tree passage is an australian set “ghost story” surrounding two locals oscar ( andrew ryan ) and geordie ( tim phillips ) who introduce three american tourists maya ( jessica tovey ) , amelia ( pippa black ) and toby ( tim pocock ) to the legend of lemon tree passage ; an infamous road that saw the tragic death of a motorcyclist who supposedly still haunts the area .
mr finn didn ' t realise at the time , but he ' d witnessed the legend of the lemon tree passage ghost , an urban myth that has captured imaginations in port stephens for years , and is now the inspiration behind a feature film .
lemon tree passage road is long and straight - there ' s a stretch of about four kilometres that runs dead straight and flat - from rookes road in the west to oyster cove road in the east .
a couple of australians introduce three american backpackers to the local legend of lemon tree passage where a ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the . . . see full summary »
like the legendary first novel ernest hemingway allegedly tore up and tossed into the sea and the first film that quentin tarantino claims he was advised never to show anyone , lemon tree passage might be a vital steppingstone for its debuting director . but an unheralded masterpiece this is not . which maybe why this australian film hasn’t secured a local release yet .
someone from australia will probably have to confirm this for me , but apparently there ' s a ghost story involving lemon tree passage road , one where , if a group of teenagers drive really fast down the road , a ghost will appear in the form of a bright light , because a motorcyclist was killed by a bunch of teenagers years earlier . whether this is a real ghost story or simply made up for the film , it works well enough as a hook for lemon tree passage .
the south australian - shot film inspired by an urban legend had its first screening on saturday at the european film market in berlin .
the main problem with lemon tree passage is its audio . dialogue was inaudible then in contrast any soundtrack music blasted out . not an enjoyable experience watching a movie where you’re constantly having to turn the sound up and down .
the plot for the horror film centres on a couple of young australian men who introduce the legend of the lemon tree passage ghost to a group of american backpackers . after going in search of the spirit , supernatural events begin to happen to the group , leaving them at the centre of drama .
the plot to this movie is based on a real supernatural occurrence that is often reported on ' lemon tree pasage ' in new south wales , australia .
lemon tree passage , filmed last year and starring jessica tovey ( wonderland ) and pippa black ( law and order : special victims unit ) , follows three american backpackers who learn about the ghost of a motorcyclist that stalks young motorists .
australian film lemon tree passage premiered at south korea’s primary genre festival pifan ( pucheon international fantastic film festival ) . a festival that highlights some of the most warped films from around the world , pifan often prizes the shock of the new over narrative lucidity . but it’s not a good sign when during the q & a , the director starts to explain everything that didn’t make sense in his film… and it still doesn’t makes sense . but lemon tree passage does have verve , a strong performance by jessica tovey , and a handful of startling sequences ( one involving a rear - view mirror stands out ) . unfortunately , those compelling incidents fail to thread together in any sense that satisfies dramatically .
campbell and erica brien wrote the screenplay after he saw a segment on today tonight in 2010 dealing with teenagers who were caught speeding in lemon tree passage road in port stephens , nsw , and told the cops they saw a ghostly light .
in recent times , nicholas has top billing in the australian feature film ‘ lemon tree passage ’ , where he stars opposite jess tovey ( ‘ wonderland ’ ) , tim pocock ( ‘ camp ! ’ ) and andy ryan ( ‘ inxs : never tear us apart ’ ) . ‘ lemon tree passage ‘ has secured top tier distributor universal studios and had its premiere at uk’s frightfest . it is expected to have a blu - ray release in 2016 . nicholas has also recently appeared on the hit soap program ‘ neighbours ‘ as regular guest ‘forrest jones’ & working dog’s ‘ utopia ‘ .
ozon ' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
mr campbell said there ' s already been a lot of interest in the film .
david campbell co - wrote the film with erica brien , and is also the director .
odin’s eye entertainment’s michael favelle says he has not yet shown the film to australian distributors .
rating : 4 / 10 – a good idea that’s left by the wayside in favour of a confused , improbable plot , lemon tree passage is a disappointing entry in the urban legend horror sub - genre ; absurd and unnecessarily confusing , it struggles to make sense throughout and has too many wtf ? moments for comfort .
i also met tom wadlow . tom has directed his first feature film wasteland . i had met him briefly last year when he was showing a trailer for the film and trying to raise some cash . the film is finished , and he is back this year trying to sell it . i liked tom and his friends , and i ' m looking forward to seeing the film once back in the uk .
the film has been shown at south korea ' s pifan festival but is looking for an australian distributor .
“despite the lack of a coherent plot , and undeveloped dialogue , lemon tree passage has enough effective frights to pass the time as a nuts and bolts horror , which could have done with a few more bolts just to tighten up the script . it’s a film that wants to send shivers down your spine ( and certainly the promotional artwork does that in spades ) , but your brain is too preoccupied trying to figure out what’s going on…” andy caley , screen relish
there’s nothing more disheartening than being presented with a generic , “ghost” story that heavily overcompensates with convoluted ideas due its lack of story . lemon tree passage is rather messy , the plot is incoherent and it’s distracting while being difficult to follow . rather than a plot , it feels like a trip of segments that don’t quite fit together to create a slick narrative .
whenever a film claims to be ‘based on a true story’ or ‘inspired by real events’ ( as opposed to unreal events ? ) , that essentially means nothing in the film is either of the above . when a horror film says ‘based on a true story’ or ‘inspired by real events’ , what it really translates to is ‘based on an urban legend’ , i . e . narnia has a better chance of proving its validity than the urban legend does . lemon tree passage opens with a youtube video of a recording of a bright light , said to be the ghost of a dead motorcyclist , who was killed in 2007 in an accident at film’s title . but , of course , as is the nature of these unexplained mysteries , the story went viral and attracted millions of embellished and nonsensical theories , to the point that we now have a film about the legend in question . related merchandise , i’m sure , will be available soon .
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despite the lack of a coherent plot , and undeveloped dialogue , lemon tree passage has enough effective frights to pass the time as a nuts and bolts horror , which could have done with a few more bolts just to tighten up the script . it’s a film that wants to send shivers down your spine ( and certainly the promotional artwork does that in spades ) , but your brain is too preoccupied trying to figure out what’s going on , that it ultimately proves to be a somewhat dissatisfying experience .
lemon tree passage is a turd of film . an absolute turd . 2014 was a glorious year for australian cinema , and yet it managed to produce this - arguably the worst i ' ve seen . ever . i ' m not even being hyperbolic , i haven ' t seen a worse aussie film than this . not even you & your stupid mate is as bad as this , because at least that has angus sampson in it . this is an incredible weak attempt at ghost horror , looking like it was made by a bunch of 10 year olds playing make - believe with a camera they got from santa . i can ' t even be bothered typing words about why it is bad , because everything about this film is inept .
taking as its basic premise the real - life urban legend of the ghost of lemon tree passage road in new south wales , campbell’s debut feature soon abandons its spooky set up in favour of a more convoluted and awkwardly presented storyline involving a murdered teenager , possession , revenge from beyond the grave , a lot of aimless wandering in the woods , tepid scares , and ridiculous plot developments . the reason for all this is sound enough , but in the hands of campbell and co - screenwriter erica brien , is extrapolated into a complicated mess that cries out for some well - judged simplicity . lemon tree passage is yet another movie where strange things happen either out of context , or because the script can’t come up with anything else to help move the plot forward more effectively .
walter huston once said , “i ain’t paid to make good lines sound good . i’m paid to make bad lines sound good . ” regardless of the flaws of the script and the flummoxed look of her co - stars , tovey is always believable as she carries lemon tree passage past most of its more ridiculous moments . directorially , campbell pulls his weight . the film has a stylish look and competently portrays the action . but for his next venture campbell and co - writer erica brien ( who also acted as the film’s production designer ) need to figure out how to prevent their story from pulling in too many directions at once .
the film stars a mostly australian cast , with jessica tovey , pippa black , andrew ryan and tim phillips in leading roles .
coming soon : # myafrica will premiere at tribeca film festival this april 18 - 29 . proud to partner with . . . urltoken
we ' re very proud to be backing this ambitious dystopian short film project - produced by our tenant , rental . . . urltoken
with many believing the urban legend could be connected to the death of a real person , mr campbell says the film could prove controversial .
a couple of australians introduce three american backpackers to the local legend of lemon tree passage where a ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the ghost first hand they uncover a malevolent force that posses the area and threatens to wreak havoc on the final days of their vacation . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of an evil force much more heinous than the local myth believed .
it ' s frightfest ' s first trip to the european film market at the berlinale and proved to be a great success . read all all about the goings on as alan jones and paul mcevoy brave the winter weather at one of the top five film festivals in the world .
we rounded the day off by attending the toronto film festival party where we caught up with colin midnight madness geddes and his wife , kat .
lemon tree passage was working for me , albeit on a second screening . don ' t expect anything too revolutionary , and the plot is a bit of a jumble , but otherwise pretty decent ghostly outing . this movie comes as recommended to those who dig flicks like lost things or the others , dive on in kids there ain ' t no sharks in these waters . will definitely be catching whatever director campbell rocks out next , fingers crossed he sticks to the dark genre .
the idea for the film came in 2010 when youtube clips popped up showing terrified teenagers screaming as a single circular light follows them through the night .
american backpackers amelia ( black ) , maya ( tovey ) , and her brother toby ( pocock ) meet aussie mates oscar ( ryan ) and geordie ( phillipps ) , and after spending an evening with them , are invited back to oscar’s house , where he lives with his brother , sam ( gunn ) . geordie has told them the story of lemon tree passage , a stretch of road nearby where the tale goes , if you drive fast enough you’ll see the ghost of a man who was killed there several years before . deciding that it’ll be a good idea to see if the story is true , all five travel out to lemon tree passage and put the legend to the test . on their first try they see a bright light that appears out of nowhere and follows them along the road before disappearing . when they try it again , but with geordie left at the roadside at the spot where they first saw the light , things take a strange turn .
geordie disappears , and the rest of the group begin to experience strange phenomena happening around their car . maya begins to have strange visions of a young girl called brianna ( forde ) who may or may have not been killed in the woods that surround them . supernatural events continue to occur , and sam is drawn to the area as well , leading to a revelation and a confrontation that proves to have nothing to do with the ghost of lemon tree passage , but which is far more dangerous .
when a group of young american backpackers learn of a ghost , which is said to appear in the rearview mirror of a speeding car , they set out to experience it with the help of some locals . after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to violently disappear . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of a malevolent force much more heinous than the local myth would have them believe .
when a group of young backpackers learn of a ghost said to appear in the rear - view mirror of a speeding car they set out to recreate it with the help of some locals . after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to disappear in a violent fashion . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of a malevolent force much more heinous than the local myth they set out to experience .
lemon tree passage isn ' t a particularly good horror movie . it ' s not scary enough , first and foremost , often substituting loud noises for genuine scares . the actors don ' t buy in to the events that are happening around them , so why should the audience ? there ' s sometimes a lack of logic to the proceedings , even if there are some wonderfully set up scenes . it feels too long even at a brief 85 ( or so ) minutes . the main mystery is too easy , even though the film bills it as something that we should care about . this isn ' t a success , but it will hopefully give its director the experience necessary to do something better next time .
by the time you learn exactly what ' s happening - - and you ' ll guess it far before the movie explains it , as those flashbacks aren ' t quite as incoherent as the film wants you to think - - you ' re likely to have stopped caring . lemon tree passage only runs for around 85 minutes , but it feels long . it ' s a one - note horror movie , and once it beats that drum enough , you ' ll have given up caring . it doesn ' t help that it ' s also not particularly scary . there won ' t be many screams coming from you or anyone you watch it with . maybe you ' ll jump once or twice , but that ' s about it .
whether you ' re a sceptic or not , a ghostly urban legend that ' s gripped the imagination of port stephens for decades is coming to life in a feature film .
it developed and it grew , and it got a life of its own to a point where it became a feature film , which was really exciting for me .
i can imagine that being a story in your own backyard that you ' ve known of for years turning into a feature film would be quite exciting for people .
a couple of australians ( andrew ryan , tim phillipps ) introduce a group of american backpackers ( jessica tovey , pippa black , tim pocock ) to the local legend of lemon tree passage where the ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the ghost first hand , they uncover a malevolent force that possesses the area and threatens to wreak havoc on the final days of their vacation . isolated and ten thousand miles away from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of an evil force that ' s much more heinous than the local myth .
the film has a couple of false starts . first , an apparently authentic youtube clip ( discovered during post - production ) that centres on a modern myth about teenagers driving past a certain speed to cause a ghost to appear . lemon tree passage uses this story as its point of departure as its five protagonists , two australian mates and some american backpackers ( two female and one male , a brother to one of the women ) do exactly the same thing . between the clip and the meeting of the american backpackers and the locals , there is the second false start that seems completely disconnected from what becomes before an after : a brutish man , sam ( nicholas gunn ) , rifles through his garage , loads his pistol and attempts to shoot himself only to find his bullets are missing .
twenty something american teens get trapped in a haunting in australia . that ' s just one plot out of two hundred thousand something other stories , which the film keeps confusing itself with .
our group of young people are about to find out some urban legends are real and might not be the most dangerous thing out there . revelations will be made , deaths will occur , and just what is geordie ' s elder brother sam ' s connection to the hauntings going down in backwoods australia ? a decent supernatural film ensues , let ' s hit warp factor nine down the passage .
the film follows the exploits of three american tourists - - maya ( jessica tovey ) , sam ( nicholas gunn ) , and amelia ( pippa black ) - - who meet two locals - - geordie ( tim phillipps ) and oscar ( andrew ryan ) - - and decide to speed down lemon tree passage road . they see the ghost , but aren ' t satisfied . oscar gets out of the car to do some
roadside reporting .
he ' s never heard from again . the ghost is seen , the car speeds past oscar , and then his phone drops dead . a frantic search ensues , and soon enough more of the group is either dead or missing . what ' s going on ? is the ghost real ? is this an elaborate prank ? or is something else afoot ?
the performances are competent enough for the one - dimensional characters , and it’s well shot . the cinematography manages to create some sort of atmosphere ; however , the actual scares are lacking making the whole film seem somewhat empty . it’s difficult to invest in a film when the characters are so uninspiring and you don’t care what happens to them or aren’t even affected by the villainous presence .
three american tourists - maya , amelia , and toby - are hanging at the beach trying to decipher a map of the local region and not having much luck . they attract the attention of geordie and oscar , two aussies who involve them in a game of beach cricket as the day progresses . as night falls the group starts trying to scare each other with ghost stories around a camp fire . oscar , tiring of the yank ' s made up urban legends , tells a true ghost story about a spectre who races after speeding teens down lemon tree passage , and naturally the group has to go check out the validity of the yarn .
lemon tree passage might have been scarier if the actors - - outside jessica tovey , who was great - - would have bought in a little bit more . few scenes had the actors looking scared , there ' s both overacting and underacting - - often back - to - back with one another , and sometimes from the same person - - and it was hard to buy at least two of the
americans
as , well , american , since they were very obviously being played by australians . being american didn ' t even have any impact on the plot ; why not just have it be five local teenagers who want to have a bit of fun ?
it ' s the biggie ; it ' s the annual all things film extravaganza in the south of france that is the festival de cannes . team frightfest is here in force . follow us as we scour the screening rooms of the festival and le marché du film . each day we will report back on the films we see , the people we meet and , of course , the late night mindless shenanigans .
“doing the sound post production for our feature film at sound disposition is a treat . their enthusiasm and attention to audio detail is truly inspiring , and has got me excited about this project all over again . ”
jessica tovey , nicholas gunn , pippa black , tim phillipps , andrew ryan , tim pocock , and piéra forde star in the australian chiller and we ' ve got the first artwork from the film below for your perusal .
the producer jeremy ervine and campbell gave up secure , well - paying jobs in the advertising industry to make the film without the assistance of any state or federal agency . ervine and campbell have formed their own production company , thirteen disciples .
set for release friday , january 26th through vertical entertainment , the neighbor is certainly a film that will stand out among the rest of the drama / thrillers set to hit theaters and video on demand in early 2018 . winner of several awards . . .
yesterday i caught the slash produced first feature nothing left the fear , which alan had watched and enjoyed the day before - a different film from what i was expecting but once the story kicks into high gear it does have some great creepily effective moments .
lemon tree passage , while inspired by the ever - growing urban legend , also references genre films like paranormal activity , poltergeist , and a little bit of the woman in black thrown in for good measure , which should make it more accessible to a wider audience , as well as horror fans . it clearly puts itself in the mind - set of these good chilling ghost stories – so why is it that i came out of it feeling unquenched ? probably because the story is so messy and the dialogue so clunky that i just couldn’t follow what was happening to whom , or why it was happening , to the point that my concern for the characters and events slowly diminished . when there were points of tension and potential scares , it was ruined by a character explaining the convoluted plot , which still failed to make much sense .
the halloween screening in the hunter is the culmination of a series of international debuts for the film . so far , the motion picture has screened in south korea , canada and london , and is due to have a full theatrical release in the near future .
the film is a little bit stylish , and there are a couple of scenes set up really , really well , but most of the time we ' re randomly running around the bushes as the sound design tries to make us feel scared . this is the type of film that feels very much like a debut feature ( it is ) . there is often a lack of logic and the attempts at scaring us aren ' t the most solid , but there ' s some good work here that will hopefully be built upon the next time out .
rushed over to see v / h / s / 2 which i thought was even better than the first one - the film festival mafia ( our cohorts , friends and partners on the international film circuit ) seemed to agree . zero weak links this time and some clever riffs on the tried ( and sometimes tired ) and tested found footage motif - a particular stand - out is the offering from timo tjahjanto and gareth huw evans ( the raid ) - which throws just about everything it can at the screen in a deliriously enjoyable shock segment . there ' s life in that genre strand yet . .
what have we got our eyes on ? well , some of the movies we’ve already seen like stagefright , a brilliant slasher musical , the babadook , the creepy monster book australian sensation , and the mo bros’ superbly suspenseful killers , which of course we are showing in glasgow later this month . even so there’s loads to see over the next six days and we’ll be watching cooties , the pact 2 , goal of the dead , the samurai , starry eyes , lemon tree passage , the guest , dead snow : red vs dead , parts per billion and espectro to name the tip of the massive market iceberg . hopefully we’ll catch christophe gans’ the beauty and the beast with vincent cassel and lea seydoux , and fabrice du welz’s new action flick colt 45 too . plus we’ll be meeting up with all the people , producers and sales agents who have given us movies in the past and have new titles for us to ponder . exciting times ahead and you can read all about it here every day .
strangely lemon tree passage reminded me of lost things in that on first viewing i wasn ' t impressed but on a subsequent viewing was nodding my head in approval . one of those movies then that is worth a second look if you didn ' t get the full enjoyment first time round . even knowing the ending didn ' t detract from my second run through , if anything i picked up on a few extra elements i had missed and could groove to the visuals more . yeah we ' re talking low budget aussie indie , but the production values here outshine a lot of flicks coming at us from the boredwood conveyor belt studios . sure there are a couple of minor problems , we ' ll get to them , but overall highly impressive debut feature from director david campbell who is really going to rock if his follow up feature is a haunted house yarn . okay that might be just me , sucker for a haunted house tale , pretty much i ' ll watch any dark genre flick with the director attached to it .
creates a very compelling set up , with a mysterious urban legend that manages to create some sort of atmosphere for the film . but leave to amateur human nature to fuck it up in its quest to find some sort of hackneyed clichéd storyline to fall back on , too incompetent or too afraid to delve into such atmospheric filmmaking .
in 2009 , he was cast as one of the lead actors in ‘ the dream children ’ . the groundbreaking australian feature follows the story of alex thomson ( nicholas gunn ) and steven evans ( graeme squires ) , a same - sex couple who desire to further their love by secretly raising a family . this controversial film premiered at the melbourne queer festival in march 2015 to a sold - out crowd & the reception it received was exceptional . the dream children has screened in six film festivals thus far including miami , indianapolis , mumbai and torino where nicholas received a ‘best actor’ nomination . the distributor , media lunar films , have successfully managed to secure screenings in both europe and the united states .
mpi who are selling hatchet iii and frankenstein’s army here have just announced three interesting projects . starry eyes is to be directed by kevin kolsch and dennis widmyer about a desperate actress who is promised fame and fortune by a satanic cult . late phases is a werewolf horror by penumbra / cold sweat director adrian garcia bogliano . and cherry tree is the latest from wake wood director david keating .
the big palais screening today was the much anticipated follow up to drive from mr winding - refn - only god forgives which seems to have split the crits in the usual way - but i absolutely loved this glorious slab of pure cinematic genius - every second of the film looks and sounds phenomenal right the way through to the very last closing credit . unmissable !
today it ' s the european fantasy film federation meeting , which is as about exciting as watching paint dry . we need to attend and make the effort each year , but i never look forward to it . there were a few laughs though this year . alan was labelled that big scary person by an attendee and then nominated to be a bouncer on the door of the federation cocktail party tonight .
the film follows two australians telling this chilling ghost story to three travelling americans , the moral of which being a warning to teens to slow down where their driving is concerned . but , after the group see the ghost for themselves on the woodland road , strange and terrible things begin to happen to them . as these horrifying events pursue , they learn that it is something much more sinister that is haunting the group .
wilkommen , bienvenue , welcome to the 64th berlin film festival . not that i planned it this way at all , but it’s exactly twenty years ago that i attended this banner german festival the last time . then i was working for sky movies ( chris smith of severance fame took over from me eventually once barry norman arrived ) and they had sent me to cover one of the films in competition , peter weir’s fabulous fearless , in which jeff bridges played a man whose personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash . i’ll never forget it as weir was an absolute gentleman and remembered me years later on the truman show . and rosie perez who i adored gave me the greatest interview and went on to win a major berlin award for her performance . we met up again later that year at the venice film festival where she graciously posed for my christmas card that year . have a rosie christmas was the theme .
well , you ' ll have to watch the film to find out , won ' t you ? i ' ll say this : this is pretty standard horror movie affair . weird , incoherent flashbacks tell us that there ' s certainly something going on . traps are set that cause injury and death . hallucinations are rampant . ghosts pass by the camera and the characters don ' t see them . we ' re trying hard to scare the audience , but not necessarily the characters .
the acting is also a little wooden in places , but jessica tovey , playing the central role as maya , is the one who steals the show ; someone who shows a good judge of dramatic tension , successfully toning her performance in accordance to each event . however , the film is not completely devoid of scares : there are some moments that really do make you jump , and even a little tense in places , although perhaps not enough to make it a standout piece within the horror genre .
mercifully short , but no less terrible . dtv horror titles today are all the same . come up with an uninspired urban legend or supernatural origin story , and use it as an excuse for seventy minutes of random jump scares that do not follow any internal logic , and aren ' t linked in any way . i ' m tired of films like this . they are a complete waste of time , with even the enjoyment of picking them apart growing stale . one of these days i ' m going to learn to stop watching a horror film just because it exists .
yesterday was a day of meetings and catching up with old festival friends . i ran into frightfest guest from last summer dominic brunt , robbie moffat , an old friend from scotland , paula devonshire , a guest from our last year at the prince charles and michael doherty , film editor of many many films including several by george romero . recently he has been working on hannibal for abc in the states and is just waiting for the nod to start on a second series . we also learned last night that the said mr romero is working on a prequel to land of the dead with his son cameron .
from the directors of macabre - the mo brothers - is the new masked serial killer film killers which also looks very interesting indeed as does stage fright a full blown rocky shockerer horror musical with minnie driver and meat loaf in the first feature from jerome sable the director of the must see short the legend of beaver creek - please hunt it down if you haven ' t seen this gem . . talking of shorts the lovely team behind last years ff world prem yellow have a feature in development - projection where a projectionist obsessed by a mysterious woman is drawn into a sinister hidden world of murder and dark sexual desire…
but the most exciting news as far as i’m concerned is the continuing rise in giallo productions . while helene cattet and bruno forzani are still editing their amer follow - up the strange colour of your body’s tears – we see the promo reel that everyone is raving about on monday – word reached me from park entertainment that those astron - 6 boys matthew kennedy and adam brooks ( manborg , father’s day ) are about to direct the editor an all - out giallo homage . something akin to berberian sound studio , the story concerns a newsreel / stag film editor with four wooden fingers who finds a dead body in the suite he’s working in . but there’s more to his reality than meets the eye in this meta - movie that builds to a frenzied climax according to the synopsis .
it was an early start for us at the 64th berlin film festival today . i must make it quite clear that we are on the market section , nothing to do with the competition strand , as i ' ve see quite a few of those already . my tip even though my review is embargoed for the time being ? hossein amini ' s the two faces of january based on the patricia highsmith thriller from 1964 . we had already seen stagefright so gave that a miss while telling all our festival programmer friends to make sure they didn ' t . lots of people went to see nacho vigalondo ' s open windows and gave it the thumbs up . but paul and i decided to do the rounds of our sales agent friends instead to see what they had on the horizon for us .
quite the best movie so far in the market is till kleinert ' s the samurai , a unique and startling essay in german small - town mores and sexual funny games . a package arrives at the home of young police officer jakob ( a remarkable michel diercks ) addressed to lone wolf . the phone rings , it ' s a guy asking if his package is there , and could it be delivered straight away . intrigued more than put out jakob goes to a lonely house in the woods and finds a man in a dress waiting for the samurai sword hidden in the parcel so he can cut a swathe through the local village population . but this extraordinary item is a lot more than that and as the heads roll so does the intrigue and puzzlement . who is this maniac and what does he want ? the final answer is shocking , hard as nails and thrilling . best described as dressed to kill through a jorge buttgereit filter , you will not believe pit bukowski ' s incredible performance as the wild - eyed psycho that goes way beyond the call of acting duty . plus it looks fantastic , the soundtrack is a dance club dream and the gore effects are unusual to say the least . every genre film festival will want this movie , only the brave will dare show it .
on saturday , i had a real cannes moment . i was at the variety party , one of our sponsors , and i get a text from terry bird . i met terry down here many years ago when he returned my wallet , which i had left in a taxi , and we have stayed in touch . he also produced and starred in community , which we showed last year in august . fancy catching up for a beer . of course , i replied . ok , be in touch later . an hour later my phone pings . meet me at 9 . 30pm at the palais . so , off i go and arrive at the appointed hour . after all the normal pleasantries i say ,
so where do you fancy going ?
come with me ,
terry says . we head off down the pier , right to the end where there ' s a flash motor boat waiting to take me out into the bay to this huge blue boat anchored about a mile off shore . i have been on yachts here before , but this one was in another league . i have never seen such opulence . the yacht was being rented by a new film studio setting up to rival pinewood , who have a yacht here every year , so this new outfits one had to be bigger . why was i invited , other than a nice gesture from terry , i have no idea , but you don ' t look a cannes gift horse in the mouth ? a real cannes moment to rival my often told christopher lee story . wait , you haven ' t heard that one ? well , mr mcevoy and i were at this party and … maybe another time .
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todd brown , toronto , canada founder and editor peter martin , dallas , texas , usa managing editor ryland aldrich , los angeles , california festivals editor james marsh , hong kong , china asian editor ben umstead , los angeles , california u . s . editor more . . .
the actors run the gamut from under - trained to overplaying and largely look unconvinced by the movie themselves . several times , phillipps and black seem unable to reconcile the words they have to say , with the emotions they are called upon to emit . this is where jessica tovey stands out .
a whirlwind tour of europe through the tales of celebrated filmmakers . all movies are available to stream right now at sbs on demand .
audiences are rejecting this summer’s procession of tired sequels , and international grosses won’t be enough to keep studios afloat forever .
it was saturday night , he ' d had a couple of beers and was sitting in the passenger seat of his mate ' s car - a p - plater - on the way to a party .
i was looking in the side mirror and then all of a sudden this light appeared , approaching really fast behind us ,
the anna bay resident told the newcastle herald .
it came from nowhere , i ' d been watching it for about 20 seconds when my mate noticed too , it was sitting maybe 20 or 30 metres off the car , i couldn ' t see anything but the light .
they hit a bend in the road and another car went by in the opposite direction ; the light vanished the moment it passed .
the story usually involves two young men in an accident in the late 1980s : the rider supposedly lost his leg while the other , a pillion passenger , died .
you must have p - plates on the car and be driving after midnight on a saturday .
mr finn ' s encounter took place back in 2007 . he ' d never heard of the legend but later he realised all the rules fit the description of his experience - and he was
creeped out
by what he was told .
but there ' s one other crucial element of the story that makes it a particularly controversial tale .
all versions of the legend include the same dangerous element - that you must be doing in excess of 100km / h .
it has made the legend a burden to police - in one night in 2010 police caught seven motorists speeding on the road .
inspector guy flaherty from the port stephens local area command knows all about the ghost , like most port police he ' s spent plenty of cold nights patrolling the dangerous road .
he ' s never seen a ghost , but has seen plenty of young people doing stupid things .
i think it would be prudent for people to realise the basis of this myth - and it is a myth - was that someone died exceeding the speed limit ,
he said .
the whole thing has arisen because of someone going beyond their abilities as a driver , breaking the law , and tragically paying the price for that .
locals know that police maintain a heavy patrol of the road and the most common lights sighted in the rear - view mirror are blue and red .
according to newcastle paranormal investigator murray byfield , motorists don ' t need to speed to see the famous apparition .
he ' s seen the light but says that rather than being a ghost , it ' s a trick of the terrain .
because your line of sight isn ' t interrupted for that whole stretch , you can see the light in the distance , but because it ' s so far away you can only see the one beam of light coming towards you ,
mr byfield explained .