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Roxy Shih’s ‘Painkillers’ Confronts the Horrors of Loss, PTSD, and Addiction

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Painkillers

Written by Giles Daoust (Starry Eyes) and directed by Roxy Shih (The Tribe), Painkillers is one of those films that, in lesser hands, could have fallen apart easily becoming a caricature of itself.

In the film, Doctor John Clarke (Adam Huss) and his young son, Brian (Tate Birchmore), have to cut soccer practice short when he receives a call from the hospital that his surgical skills are needed. Brian is upset at having to leave early so John does what he can to take the boy’s mind off of it, playing games in the car to pass the time.

Unfortunately, John’s divided attention leads to a terrible accident. Two days later, he regains consciousness in the hospital and his wife Chloe (Madeline Zima), tells him that their son has died.

Painkillers dealing with loss
Madeline Zima and Adam Huss mourn their son in Painkillers

Upon hearing the news, John’s entire body seizes with unbearable pain that no drug seems able to touch. For days, he trembles, screams, and begs for relief that will not come. When his friend and fellow doctor Gail (Debra Wilson) tells him she believes that the problem is emotional rather than physical, she makes the decision to send him home in the hopes that familiar surroundings will help him heal.

John’s body, still wracked with horrible tremors, betrays him at every turn until one night he accidentally cuts open his hand. Without thought, he lifts his hand and licks away the blood only to discover that his pain lessens, the tremors subside, and for the first time in days he finds some peace.

Faced with a terrifying possibility, John begins to experiment, finding that blood truly is the only thing that takes away his pain, and begins a journey that will affect everyone around him.

On the surface, this could be just a new spin on vampirism. John is a man cursed with an “unnatural” hunger and becomes a pariah.

Shih and Daoust, however, have crafted a multi-layered story that is as intelligent as it is scary.

Painkillers addiction
John (Adam Huss) gives in to his desires by punishing himself in Painkillers.

John, through his need for blood, becomes a living embodiment of the effects of PTSD and addiction which could have gone horribly awry without Huss’s sensitive portrayal under Shih’s direction.

He does not revel in the relief that he feels after consuming blood. Instead, he fights the instinct, pushes back against the need, and more than once gives in despite his best efforts.

Huss handles this inner turmoil with enviable ease and brutal honesty, but his performance is just one of many stellar turns in Painkillers.

Madeline Zima, who many remember as a child actress in the Fran Drescher driven sitcom “The Nanny,” proves those days are behind her giving a powerfully emotional performance as John’s wife whose grief at the loss of her son remains an open wound she cannot tend to because of everything happening to her husband.

It’s a pointed portrait of the fact that PTSD and other mental health issues can easily reach into every corner of a person’s life and that family and friends experience the trauma as well.

Likewise, Debra Wilson’s performance is spot on as a doctor witnessing what is happening to John and trying to piece everything together even when her logical medical mind cannot quite accept what she’s seeing

Painkillers doctor
Dr. Gail Konrad (Debra Wilson) counsels her friend and patient (Adam Huss) in Painkillers.

And then, there’s Dustin Morgan’s work on the film. The talented composer provides an evocative score that perfectly tonally complements what we see onscreen, amplifying emotions in the way that only great music can.

If you’re looking for excellent storytelling, genuine tension, and a new spin on an old trope, this is the film for you.

Painkillers hits Video on Demand this week, February 4, 2019. Check out the trailer below!

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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