French Canadian directing trio Rkss are back with new movie Wake Up, and Deadline reports this afternoon that Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up the North American rights.
The film will “release across the U.S. and in Canada later this year.”
“We are thrilled to add Rkss’s next film to our theatrical slate,” said Blue Fox Entertainment’s Lisa Gutberlet. “With Wake Up, these incredibly talented filmmakers demonstrate another side to their unique style. The result is a timely, violent yet fun thrill ride that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until the very end.”
In Wake Up, group of hot-headed Gen Z activists find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
The film features an impressive cast of young and emerging talent that includes Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré...
The film will “release across the U.S. and in Canada later this year.”
“We are thrilled to add Rkss’s next film to our theatrical slate,” said Blue Fox Entertainment’s Lisa Gutberlet. “With Wake Up, these incredibly talented filmmakers demonstrate another side to their unique style. The result is a timely, violent yet fun thrill ride that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until the very end.”
In Wake Up, group of hot-headed Gen Z activists find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
The film features an impressive cast of young and emerging talent that includes Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré...
- 6/4/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Bloody Disgusting and Cineverse are raising the dead with celebrated zombie drama The Funeral, acquired out of Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) for North America with plans to release the film this fall across all platforms, including its Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox streaming service.
The news was first reported by Variety this morning.
The Funeral stars popular Turkish actor Ahmet Rifat Sungar (The Wild Pear Tree, Actress) as a solitary hearse driver who is driving the body of a young murder victim back to her family in the East of the country.
“One night, he opens the back doors of the hearse to find the dead girl making strange grunting noises. He is immediately captivated by her beauty and falls in love.
“Together, they set off on a mission to avenge her death, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Rising young actress Cansu Türedi plays the dead girl.”
Turkish...
The news was first reported by Variety this morning.
The Funeral stars popular Turkish actor Ahmet Rifat Sungar (The Wild Pear Tree, Actress) as a solitary hearse driver who is driving the body of a young murder victim back to her family in the East of the country.
“One night, he opens the back doors of the hearse to find the dead girl making strange grunting noises. He is immediately captivated by her beauty and falls in love.
“Together, they set off on a mission to avenge her death, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Rising young actress Cansu Türedi plays the dead girl.”
Turkish...
- 4/9/2024
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Huge breaking news out of the ongoing EFM in Berlin as Bloody Disgusting and Cineverse will be bringing the gore with the pulse-pounding and exceptionally bloody zombie comedy, We Are Zombies, which will release this fall on all VOD platforms and our Screambox streaming service!
Deadline first reported the news this morning.
Rkss (the filmmakers behind Turbo Kid and Summer of ’84) has crafted an absolute bloodbath that harkens back to the best of 80s horror and will delight fans of the zombie genre.
The movie follows three slackers looking to make easy money in a city infested with the living-impaired aka non-cannibal zombies; they must fight small-time crooks and an evil megacorporation to save their kidnapped grandma.
Audiences will be immersed in a post-apocalyptic world teeming with undead horrors, where survival becomes a relentless battle against the odds. It is a throwback to the best era of zombie movies and...
Deadline first reported the news this morning.
Rkss (the filmmakers behind Turbo Kid and Summer of ’84) has crafted an absolute bloodbath that harkens back to the best of 80s horror and will delight fans of the zombie genre.
The movie follows three slackers looking to make easy money in a city infested with the living-impaired aka non-cannibal zombies; they must fight small-time crooks and an evil megacorporation to save their kidnapped grandma.
Audiences will be immersed in a post-apocalyptic world teeming with undead horrors, where survival becomes a relentless battle against the odds. It is a throwback to the best era of zombie movies and...
- 2/26/2024
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Cineverse has acquired the horror-comedy comic book adaptation We Are Zombies.
The company has said it plans to release the pic this fall across all platforms, including its genre streaming platform Screambox, with a premiere date to be announced soon.
The deal was negotiated out of this year’s Berlin Film Festival by Brandon Hill, Director of Acquisitions, on behalf of Cineverse and Gregoire Melin at Paris-based Kinology on behalf of the filmmakers.
The movie follows three slackers looking to make easy money in a city infested with the living-impaired, also known as non-cannibal zombies. They must fight small-time crooks and an evil megacorporation to save their kidnapped grandma.
The film is based on the comic series The Zombies That Ate the World, written and directed by Yoann-Karl Whissell, François Simard, and Anouk Whissell, the filmmaking team behind cult classics Turbo Kid and Summer of ’84. They are collectively known...
The company has said it plans to release the pic this fall across all platforms, including its genre streaming platform Screambox, with a premiere date to be announced soon.
The deal was negotiated out of this year’s Berlin Film Festival by Brandon Hill, Director of Acquisitions, on behalf of Cineverse and Gregoire Melin at Paris-based Kinology on behalf of the filmmakers.
The movie follows three slackers looking to make easy money in a city infested with the living-impaired, also known as non-cannibal zombies. They must fight small-time crooks and an evil megacorporation to save their kidnapped grandma.
The film is based on the comic series The Zombies That Ate the World, written and directed by Yoann-Karl Whissell, François Simard, and Anouk Whissell, the filmmaking team behind cult classics Turbo Kid and Summer of ’84. They are collectively known...
- 2/26/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The filmmaking trio collectively known as Rkss (François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell) have not one but two features making their rounds in the festival circuit: mean slasher Wake Up (our review) and charming horror-comedy We Are Zombies (our review).
We Are Zombies, an adaptation of Jerry Frissen and Guy Davis’ comic book series “The Zombies That Ate the World,” follows three slackers whose money schemes land them in trouble with an evil corporation that kidnaps their grandma. The catch? This particular world is overrun by zombies, though they’re not the insatiable brain-eaters you’d expect.
Alexander Nachi (“Clash”), Megan Peta Hill (“Riverdale”), and Derek Johns (“Moonfall”) star as Karl, Maggie, and Freddy, respectively, in We Are Zombies.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Rkss after their Fantastic Fest screenings of both Wake Up and We Are Zombies, where they talked about the back-to-back productions.
Yoann-Karl Whissell tells Bloody Disgusting...
We Are Zombies, an adaptation of Jerry Frissen and Guy Davis’ comic book series “The Zombies That Ate the World,” follows three slackers whose money schemes land them in trouble with an evil corporation that kidnaps their grandma. The catch? This particular world is overrun by zombies, though they’re not the insatiable brain-eaters you’d expect.
Alexander Nachi (“Clash”), Megan Peta Hill (“Riverdale”), and Derek Johns (“Moonfall”) star as Karl, Maggie, and Freddy, respectively, in We Are Zombies.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Rkss after their Fantastic Fest screenings of both Wake Up and We Are Zombies, where they talked about the back-to-back productions.
Yoann-Karl Whissell tells Bloody Disgusting...
- 10/5/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The filmmaking trio collectively known as Rkss (François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell) put their stamp on the slasher subgenre with the brutal Wake Up, which made its World Premiere last week at Fantastic Fest (our review) before heading to Sitges this week.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Rkss after the debut about their slasher with a severe mean streak.
Wake Up is written by Alberto Marini (Sleep Tight), based on an original idea by Martin Soudan, and stars Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré (The Anarchist’S Dream), Charlotte Stoiber (Downfall), Kyle Scudder (Netflix’s upcoming In Love All Over Again), and newcomers Alessia Yoko Fontana and Tom Gould along with celebrated Irish film and television actors Turlough Convery (Black Mirror, Killing Eve) and Aidan O’Hare (My Sailor, My Love).
The setup is simple: Gen Z activists sneak into a big box furniture store after...
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Rkss after the debut about their slasher with a severe mean streak.
Wake Up is written by Alberto Marini (Sleep Tight), based on an original idea by Martin Soudan, and stars Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré (The Anarchist’S Dream), Charlotte Stoiber (Downfall), Kyle Scudder (Netflix’s upcoming In Love All Over Again), and newcomers Alessia Yoko Fontana and Tom Gould along with celebrated Irish film and television actors Turlough Convery (Black Mirror, Killing Eve) and Aidan O’Hare (My Sailor, My Love).
The setup is simple: Gen Z activists sneak into a big box furniture store after...
- 10/3/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
We seem to have run the gamut of the zombie apocalypse film. Like the possession film, it’s getting to be more and more difficult for filmmakers to breathe new life into the sub-genre, with only a few managing to eke out moments of true inspiration. Enter Canadian filmmaking trio Rkss‘ horror comedy We Are Zombies, which introduces a world in which zombies exist, but do not crave brains or human flesh. In fact, depending on the circumstances of their death, they may still be fully functioning, and even have the ability to speak. Because of this, zombies are now second-class citizens given the politically correct label of “living-impaired,” with their civil rights constantly under attack. We’ve seen more benign zombie apocalypses like this in things like Warm Bodies, so it’s not as if this is completely original territory, but it’s still nice to see something different than the doom-and-gloom post-apocalyptic wasteland.
- 9/25/2023
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
French Canadian directing trio Rkss are back with Wake Up, which World Premiered at Fantastic Fest over the weekend. Deadline shares a first-look preview clip out of the fest.
In Wake Up, which combines a strong timely message with a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, a group of hot-headed Gen Z activists find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
“As soon as we read the script, the core concept and the timely subject were so compelling to us, that we immediately could visualize the film and we knew we had to direct it and bring our own signature into the project,” said Rkss. “A slasher in a closed furniture store and warehouse makes an exciting playground for sure!”
Rkss —short for Roadkill Superstars— are based in Montreal, Quebec and have had their shorts and features screened around the...
In Wake Up, which combines a strong timely message with a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, a group of hot-headed Gen Z activists find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
“As soon as we read the script, the core concept and the timely subject were so compelling to us, that we immediately could visualize the film and we knew we had to direct it and bring our own signature into the project,” said Rkss. “A slasher in a closed furniture store and warehouse makes an exciting playground for sure!”
Rkss —short for Roadkill Superstars— are based in Montreal, Quebec and have had their shorts and features screened around the...
- 9/25/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Here’s a first clip for Studiocanal slasher pic Wake Up, which debuts today at Austin’s Fantastic Fest.
Heralding from the French-Canadian directing trio Rkss, comprising Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell and François Simard, the film follows a group of hot-headed Gen Z activists who find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
Pic is written by Alberto Marini, based on an original idea by Martin Soudan, and presented by Borsalino Productions and Studiocanal. The film will next screen at Spain’s Sitges Film Festival as part of the Oficial Fantàstic Competition.
Starring are Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré (The Anarchists’s Dream), Charlotte Stoiber (Downfall), Kyle Scudder (Netflix’s upcoming In Love All Over Again), and newcomers Alessia Yoko Fontana and Tom Gould along with Irish actors Turlough Convery (Black Mirror) and...
Heralding from the French-Canadian directing trio Rkss, comprising Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell and François Simard, the film follows a group of hot-headed Gen Z activists who find themselves brutally hunted after they become trapped in a furniture superstore during an act of environmental protest gone wrong.
Pic is written by Alberto Marini, based on an original idea by Martin Soudan, and presented by Borsalino Productions and Studiocanal. The film will next screen at Spain’s Sitges Film Festival as part of the Oficial Fantàstic Competition.
Starring are Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal + Django series), Jacqueline Moré (The Anarchists’s Dream), Charlotte Stoiber (Downfall), Kyle Scudder (Netflix’s upcoming In Love All Over Again), and newcomers Alessia Yoko Fontana and Tom Gould along with Irish actors Turlough Convery (Black Mirror) and...
- 9/24/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
In "We Are Zombies," the team behind 2015's stunning low-budget dystopia "Turbo Kid" and '80s killer-thriller "Summer of 84" asks: what if zombies were real and non-cannibalistic? Filmmaker collective Rkss uses zombies as a marginalized minority to impart social commentary in a world where they're harmless, law-abiding citizens viewed as a festering scourge. We eventually reach a bloodthirsty conclusion brimming with gonzo gore, but that's not the norm for "We Are Zombies." Instead, Rkss frames a slacker comedy around an alternate universe where walkers flip burgers and pay bus fares. It's morbidly cute and curiously endearing — even if less successful juvenile jokes sometimes hinder momentum — all leading to a ravenous third act that delivers the flesh-tearing gore horror fans crave.
The film centers on three bumbling scam artists: D&d dork Karl Neard (Alexandre Nachi), the teddy bear wrestling fan Freddy Mercks (Derek Johns), and Karl's tech wiz half-sister Maggie...
The film centers on three bumbling scam artists: D&d dork Karl Neard (Alexandre Nachi), the teddy bear wrestling fan Freddy Mercks (Derek Johns), and Karl's tech wiz half-sister Maggie...
- 9/24/2023
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
Our friends at Celluloid Screams, the genre film festival based out of Sheffield, England, have announced the lineup for this year's festival. We Are Zombies, the horror comedy from our friends at Rkss, is this year's Opening Gala. Rep screenings of Hellraiser 2 and Killer Klowns From Outer Space mark each movie's 35th anniversary. Carlota Pereda's (Piggy) new film The Chapel will close out this year's festival. Check out the complete lineup in the announcement below. Celluloid Screams Announces 2023 Programme! A horror-themed music show from comedian and podcast host Adam Buxton and anniversary screenings of a trio of cult classics are among the highlights at Celluloid Screams 2023 (Presented by Arrow Video), along with the UK Premiere of We Are...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/8/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Dear readers, before I can move forward with my review of We Are Zombies, it’s only right that I inform you that I will be very biased in my assessment of this movie. First off, I’m a big fan of the works from filmmaking trio Rkss, and their debut feature Turbo Kid is one of my all-time favorites. Secondly, I went to college with some of the cast (though I won’t reveal who) and have seen them grow from background to principal characters. Finally, the film was shot around my home city of Montreal and I can pinpoint exactly where many scenes took place.
But I am not alone in my love for both Rkss and We Are Zombies. Its world premiere was chosen to be the closing film for this year’s Fantasia Film Festival. Before it even screened to a sold-out room, there was a...
But I am not alone in my love for both Rkss and We Are Zombies. Its world premiere was chosen to be the closing film for this year’s Fantasia Film Festival. Before it even screened to a sold-out room, there was a...
- 8/18/2023
- by Chris Aitkens
Quebec festival wrapped on August 9.
Talk To Me, the horror hit from Danny and Michael Philippou which has grossed more than $31m in North America and close to $50m worldwide, has been named best international feature in the 2023 Fantasia audience awards.
In other key awards Lee Sang-yong’s South Korean title The Roundup: No Way Out was named best Asian feature, while Shigeyoshi Tsukahara’s Japanese entry Kurayukaba earned best animated feature, and
Satan Wants You from Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor took the inaugural Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (narrative or documentary).
The full list of audience award winners appears below.
Talk To Me, the horror hit from Danny and Michael Philippou which has grossed more than $31m in North America and close to $50m worldwide, has been named best international feature in the 2023 Fantasia audience awards.
In other key awards Lee Sang-yong’s South Korean title The Roundup: No Way Out was named best Asian feature, while Shigeyoshi Tsukahara’s Japanese entry Kurayukaba earned best animated feature, and
Satan Wants You from Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor took the inaugural Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (narrative or documentary).
The full list of audience award winners appears below.
- 8/14/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A couple weeks ago, the Fantasia International Film Festival announced the films that won jury prizes at the 27th edition of the show, which recently came to a close. Yesterday, our own Tyler Nichols shared his list of favorite films from this year’s Fantasia festival. Now Fantasia has unveiled the list of audience award winners, with wins going to films like Talk to Me, The Roundup: No Way Out, Kurayukaba, and Satan Wants You, among others. The full list can be seen below:
Best International Feature
Gold: Talk To Me
Silver: Late Night With The Devil
Bronze: Hundreds Of Beavers
Best Asian Feature
Gold: The Roundup: No Way Out
Silver: River
Bronze: Phantom (South Korea d. Lee Hae-young)
Best Animated Feature
Gold: Kurayukaba
Silver: The Concierge
Bronze: The First Slam Dunk
The Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (Narrative or Documentary)
Satan Wants You – This year’s...
Best International Feature
Gold: Talk To Me
Silver: Late Night With The Devil
Bronze: Hundreds Of Beavers
Best Asian Feature
Gold: The Roundup: No Way Out
Silver: River
Bronze: Phantom (South Korea d. Lee Hae-young)
Best Animated Feature
Gold: Kurayukaba
Silver: The Concierge
Bronze: The First Slam Dunk
The Dgc Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (Narrative or Documentary)
Satan Wants You – This year’s...
- 8/14/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms (Les Chambres Rouges), a French-language thriller about a woman’s obsession with a high-profile serial killer case, took top honors as the Fantasia Film Festival handed out its juried Cheval Noir competition prizes this weekend.
After opening Fantasia’s 27th edition, the Canadian psychological drama earned Cheval Noirs for best feature, best screenplay for Pascal Plante and best score for Dominique Plante. Red Rooms also earned lead Juliette Gariépy an outstanding performance award.
Red Rooms had an international premiere at Fantasia after debuting at Karlovy Vary as part of the Crystal Global competition. The Fantasia jury at North America’s largest genre film festival, led by David Hewlett, also gave its best director prize to Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping for Femme, while the trophy for best cinematography went to Zelda Adams and John Adams for their work on Where the Devil Roams.
After opening Fantasia’s 27th edition, the Canadian psychological drama earned Cheval Noirs for best feature, best screenplay for Pascal Plante and best score for Dominique Plante. Red Rooms also earned lead Juliette Gariépy an outstanding performance award.
Red Rooms had an international premiere at Fantasia after debuting at Karlovy Vary as part of the Crystal Global competition. The Fantasia jury at North America’s largest genre film festival, led by David Hewlett, also gave its best director prize to Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping for Femme, while the trophy for best cinematography went to Zelda Adams and John Adams for their work on Where the Devil Roams.
- 7/30/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Fantasia International Film Festival is back for its 27th annual edition, running July 20 through August 9, and it’s bringing one of Hollywood’s biggest stars––in spirit now; he’s officially canceled so as to not cross the picket line of the current SAG-AFTRA strike––to Montreal with a world premiere and career recognition. Nicolas Cage, his new film Sympathy for the Devil, and his Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award aren’t the only draw for this three-week event, though.
You’ve got a spotlight on Korean cinema to celebrate sixty years of diplomatic relations between Canada and the Republic of Korea. There’s the honor of bestowing underground filmmaker Larry Kent with the 2023 Canadian Trailblazer Award alongside a screening of a rare 35mm print of his 1981 film Yesterday. And a slew of world premieres from horror’s best and brightest––a list spanning Larry Fessenden (Blackout), Jenn Wexler...
You’ve got a spotlight on Korean cinema to celebrate sixty years of diplomatic relations between Canada and the Republic of Korea. There’s the honor of bestowing underground filmmaker Larry Kent with the 2023 Canadian Trailblazer Award alongside a screening of a rare 35mm print of his 1981 film Yesterday. And a slew of world premieres from horror’s best and brightest––a list spanning Larry Fessenden (Blackout), Jenn Wexler...
- 7/17/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Nicolas Cage has cancelled attendance at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, North America’s biggest genre festival, where he was expected next weekend on July 22 for the world premiere of director Yuval Adler’s “Sympathy for the Devil,” where he was due to pick up Fantasia’s Cheval Noir career achievement award.
“We’re sad to announce that due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Nicolas Cage will no longer be able to attend the festival next weekend,” Fantasia has announced on its website.
“We’ll be updating our website regularly as we receive news from other announced guests while circumstances evolve. Our hearts are with the actors, as well as with the WGA, and we hope to see the unions get a fair deal soon,” the Festival added.
Following Thursday’s confirmation of the SAG strike, Judy Greer, star of “Aporia,” one of Fantasia’s other high profile premieres, did...
“We’re sad to announce that due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Nicolas Cage will no longer be able to attend the festival next weekend,” Fantasia has announced on its website.
“We’ll be updating our website regularly as we receive news from other announced guests while circumstances evolve. Our hearts are with the actors, as well as with the WGA, and we hope to see the unions get a fair deal soon,” the Festival added.
Following Thursday’s confirmation of the SAG strike, Judy Greer, star of “Aporia,” one of Fantasia’s other high profile premieres, did...
- 7/16/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Swiss auteur Simon Jaquemet’s “Electric Child” joins Ukrainian sci-fi comedy “U Are the Universe,” and “We Are Zombies,” from heavily rated Canadian trio Rkss, as three potential highlights at this year’s Cannes Marché du Film’s Frontières Platform, organized with the Fantasia Film Festival.
Focusing on genre, the Frontières showcase is emerging as one of the Marché du Film’s biggest market plays, supercharged by this year’s milestone Oscar triumph of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” smart genre’s popularity among an emerging generation of filmmakers and its rising tide as one of the most resilient of independent movie market propositions.
For Rkss, it’s a return, having had great success with their previous “Turbo Kid,” which went on to Sundance, and won a bunch including at SXSW and Fright Fest.
“U Are the Universe,” deserves a special mention, given the sheer challenge of completing a project...
Focusing on genre, the Frontières showcase is emerging as one of the Marché du Film’s biggest market plays, supercharged by this year’s milestone Oscar triumph of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” smart genre’s popularity among an emerging generation of filmmakers and its rising tide as one of the most resilient of independent movie market propositions.
For Rkss, it’s a return, having had great success with their previous “Turbo Kid,” which went on to Sundance, and won a bunch including at SXSW and Fright Fest.
“U Are the Universe,” deserves a special mention, given the sheer challenge of completing a project...
- 4/5/2023
- by Callum McLennan and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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