The Sweet East is a 2023 American satirical surrealist road film directed by Sean Price Williams in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Nick Pinkerton. It stars Talia Ryder, Earl Cave, Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy O. Harris, Jacob Elordi and Rish Shah. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: 2015, Savannah, Georgia
May December is a 2023 American drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. Loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the film follows an actress (Natalie Portman) who travels to Georgia to meet and study the life of the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film – the woman being infamous for her 23-year-old relationship with her husband (Charles Melton) whom she first met as a minor.
May December was released in select theaters in the United States on November 17, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on December 1. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: 1990’s / 2020’s Woodsboro, California
Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, and Drew Barrymore. Released on December 20, it follows Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student who becomes the target of a mysterious killer in a Halloween costume known as Ghostface. The film satirizes the clichés of the slasher genre popularized in films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980) and Craven’s own A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Scream was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters aware of real-world horror films who openly discussed the clichés that the film attempted to subvert.
Inspired by the real-life case of the Gainesville Ripper, Scream was influenced by Williamson’s passion for horror films, especially Halloween (1978).
The soundtrack by Marco Beltrami was cited as “[one] of the most intriguing horror scores composed in years”. The score has since earned “cult status”. Scream marked a change in the genre as it cast already-established and successful actors, which was considered to have helped it find a wider audience, including a significant female viewership.
Scream was credited with revitalizing the slasher genre in the 1990s, which was considered to be almost dead following an influx of direct-to-video titles and numerous sequels to established horror franchises of the 1970s and 1980s. Scream‘s success spawned a series of sequels. (wiki)
Scream (also known as Scream 5) is a 2022 American slasher film directed by Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett). It is the fifth installment in the Scream film series. Though billed as a relaunch of the film series, the film is a direct sequel to Scream 4 (2011) and is the first film in the series to not be directed by Wes Craven, following his death in 2015. The film is dedicated to Craven at the beginning of the closing credits.
The film stars Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar, alongside Roger L. Jackson, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell, who reprise their roles from previous installments. The film takes place twenty-five years after the original Woodsboro murders, when yet another Ghostface appears and begins targeting a group of teenagers who are each somehow linked to the original killings. Similar to previous entries, Scream combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of black comedy and “whodunit” mystery to satirize the trend of reboots and legacy sequels. The film also provides commentary on fandom culture and the divide between “elevated horror” and classic slasher films.
Scream was praised by critics for honoring Craven’s legacy and offering thoughtful meta-commentary on horror films, with some calling it the best of the Scream sequels. The development of a sequel was announced in February 2022. (wiki)
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