The Family, also known as the Santiniketan Park Association and the Great White Brotherhood, was an Australian New Age cult led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne, one of few women to ever lead a cult. Elements of this story inspired J. P. Pomare’s novel “In the Clearing,” which in turn is the basis for the new Hulu limited series “The Clearing,” co-created by Matt Cameron (“Baron”) and Elise McCredie (“Stateless”), with additional writing from Osamah Sami (“Ali’s Wedding”).

Continue reading ‘The Clearing’ Review: Teresa Palmer & Miranda Otto Can’t Save An Underwhelming Hulu TV Drama About Cults at The Playlist.

Cults are scary enough on their own, right? However, if you’re talking about a cult that features young, creepy children with bleach-blonde hair, that just makes it almost unbearably weird. That’s what we’re dealing with in the new series, “The Clearing.”

READ MORE: Summer 2023 TV Preview: 40 Must-See Shows To Watch

As seen in the trailer for the new Hulu series, “The Clearing” follows the story of a woman who is trying to stop a cult leader from kidnapping and coercing innocent children.

Continue reading ‘The Clearing’ Trailer: Teresa Palmer, Miranda Otto & Guy Pearce Star In Hulu’s New Psychological Thriller Series at The Playlist.

What is your boss really capable of? Every employee has asked that question (be it jokingly or with serious intent) at some point, but two interns are about to experience the worst in “The Portable Door.” The adaptation of Tom Holt’s seven-book fantasy series focuses on Paul and Sophie — interns who soon come to realize prominent figures at their firm are disrupting magic. The project hails from “Lambs of God” and “Ali’s Wedding” director Jeffrey Walker with a script by Leon Ford, and there’s definitely a “Harry Potter”-esque vibe to it.

Continue reading ‘The Portable Door’ Trailer: Christoph Waltz & Sam Neill Are Evil CEOs Disrupting The World Of Magic Through Corporate Strategies at The Playlist.

As the world braces for Jeff Bezos’s mega-budgeted “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” to come out on Amazon Prime this September, there’s other news on the “LOTR” front. Audiences have another chance to return to Middle-earth in a new anime feature, “Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim,” out in 2024. But how much “Lord Of The Rings” is too much?

Continue reading Animated Film ‘Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim’ Adds Brian Cox, Miranda Otto & Gaia Wise To Its Cast at The Playlist.

Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s “Downhill” begins — as its inspiration, Ruben Östlund’s “Force Majeure,” did before it— with the taking of a family vacation photo. It’s an appropriate metaphor for the story that follows because any photo—especially the family vacation photo—is a case of presentation; this is the image we’re going to pretend is representative when, in fact, it took all sorts of pushing and prodding and passive-aggression to create that split second where everyone seems to be having a great time.

Continue reading ‘Downhill’: An Unnecessary Remake That’s Still Mildly Amusing [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

The witching hour is most definitely upon us, and as Halloween draws near, streaming giant Netflix is adding a new original series to its ever-growing catalog of titles. Inspired by the Archie comic of the same name, “Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina” is a spooky and stylish adaptation of the devilish coming-of-age tale. However, don’t expect this to be a reboot of the late-’90s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” as ‘Chilling Adventures’ has more in common with the CW’s “Riverdale” than the ABC sitcom. 

Continue reading Netflix’s ‘Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina’ Casts A Wickedly Wonderful Coming-Of-Age Spell [Review] at The Playlist.

Alas, gone are the days of Melissa Joan Hart, a wisecracking cat, and lighthearted fun on ABC; now is the era of the gritty reboot, and it turns its eye to Westbridge, Massachusetts.

After Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa spun the Archie Comics characters into the wildly popular murder mystery “Riverdale,” he looks to do the same with the iconic teenage witch, Sabrina. “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” does away with the whimsy of its earlier incarnations and plants itself firmly in the realm of horror, as Aguirre-Sacasa’s run on the comic series did a few years ago.

Continue reading ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Trailer: The Teenage Witch Gets Scary at The Playlist.

When “The Conjuring” was released in the summer of 2013, it felt like a charming one-off – a deliberately old school and deeply chilling horror romp inspired by true events that placed as much emphasis on characterization as it did on crazy supernatural weirdness. More shocking than anything in the actual movie, though, was how it blossomed into its own mini universe, complete with a sequel and a small constellation of spin-offs, the first of which (“Annabelle,” centered around the demonic doll from the first film) debuted in 2014 and made $256 million on a budget of $6.5 million.

Continue reading ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Is An Unlikely, Thrilling Throwaway Horror [Review] at The Playlist.

That’s right. As Hollywood ramps up a never ending stream of connected movies, Warner Bros. is growing their “The Conjuring” Universe (Yep, that’s what it’s called). The main film has already had one sequel, and spinoffs so far have included “Annabelle,” with “The Nun” and “The Crooked Man” movies on the way. But first comes “Annabelle: Creation.”

Directed by David F.

Continue reading New Trailer For ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Expands ‘The Conjuring’ Universe at The Playlist.

Warner Bros. is keeping their scare flicks pretty simple this year. A clown will deliver the thrills in “It,” while in “Annabelle: Creation” — the followup to “The Conjuring” spinoff  “Annabelle” — the terror will come from a doll. Hey, no one said these movies had to be complicated….

READ MORE: ‘Dunkirk,’ ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ And ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Impress at CinemaCon

“Lights Out” director David F.

Continue reading New Trailer For ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Brings Toy Driven Terror at The Playlist.

It’s unfair that some movies just slip through the cracks, and despite screening at both Venice and Toronto film festivals in 2015, Simon Stone‘s “The Daughter” — which we called “a quiet, immensely affecting triumph” — failed to earn much attention. Thankfully, Kino Lorber are stepping up to bring the Australian drama stateside, and hopefully it can find the audience it deserves.

READ MORE: Venice Review: ‘The Daughter’ With Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, Paul Schneider, Sam Neill & Newcomer Odessa Young

Starring Odessa Young, Anna Torv, Miranda Otto, Paul Schneider, Ewen Leslie, Geoffrey Rush, and Sam Neill, the film follows a man who returns home to New South Wales after 15 years away, and reconnects with family and friends, only to find a hidden secret waiting to be unleashed.

Continue reading A Secret Stands Between Geoffrey Rush & Paul Schneider In New Trailer For ‘The Daughter’ at The Playlist.

Venice Review: 'The Daughter' With Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, Paul Schneider, Sam Neill & Newcomer Odessa Young

Continue reading Venice Review: ‘The Daughter’ With Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, Paul Schneider, Sam Neill & Newcomer Odessa Young at The Playlist.

Review: 'I, Frankenstein' Starring Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski & Bill Nighy

Continue reading Review: ‘I, Frankenstein’ Starring Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski & Bill Nighy at The Playlist.

Continue reading Shirley MacLaine & Christopher Plummer Are ‘Elsa & Fred’; Rose Byrne & Hugo Weaving Go Around ‘The Turning’ & More at The Playlist.

Continue reading Mark Romanek To Direct ‘Locke & Key’ Pilot For Fox; Miranda Otto Joins Cast at The Playlist.