Indie Film Release Guide: July 13th [An ONTD Original]

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New this week in big studio releases are that one where The Rock fights a building (Skyscraper), and that one where it may surprise you to know they are already on the third one (Hotel Transylvania 3). And if you haven't already seen Sorry to Bother You, it's going into wider release this weekend, and the filmmaker is encouraging people to check it out. But if none of those options are grabbing you, here are some of the indie films coming to theaters this weekend.

Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: July 6th, June 29, and June 22.

Eighth Grade

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Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan
Written and directed by: Bo Burnham
Genre: Comedy
Plot: A teenager tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth-grade year before leaving to start high school.
What you should know: The reviews have been unanimously good - it has a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Opens in: Select cities



Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

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Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black
Writer: John Callahan, Gus Van Sant, Jack Gibson, William Andrew Eatman
Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Plot: On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.
What you should know: Based on the memoir of the same name by John Callahan, this is Phoenix and Mara’s third movie together.
Opens in: NYC + LA

The Night Eats the World (La nuit a dévoré le monde)

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Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant, Sigrid Bouaziz
Writer: Pit Agarmen, Jérémie Guez, Guillaume Lemans, Dominique Rocher
Director: Dominique Rocher
Genre: Horror
Plot: The morning after a party, a young man wakes up to find Paris invaded by zombies.
What you should know: This is not 28 Days Later, but another movie entirely!
Opens in: NYC + LA, also available VOD

Shock and Awe

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Stars: Jessica Biel, James Marsden, Milla Jovavich, Woody Harrelson
Writer: Joey Hartstone
Director: Rob Reiner
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Plot: A group of journalists covering George Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 are skeptical of the president's claim that Saddam Hussein has "weapons of mass destruction."
What you should know: The journalists whose lives are portrayed in the film make cameos.
Opens in: Wide release

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Stars: Rachel Leigh Cook, Paz de la Huerta, Avan Jogia, Lily Rabe
Written and directed by: Casey Wilder Mott (+ William Shakespeare, ofc)
Genre: Comedy
Plot: Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
What you should know: The text is Shakespearean, while the setting is contemporary, a la Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
Opens in: Available VOD

The Devil’s Doorway

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Stars: Lalor Roddy, Ciaran Flynn, Helena Bereen, Lauren Coe
Writer: Martin Brennan, Aislinn Clarke
Director: Aislinn Clarke
Genre:
Plot: In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.
What you should know: It’s pretty short, with a running time of 76 minutes.
Opens in: NYC + LA

What Will People Say? (Hva vil folk si)

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Stars: Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Ekavali Khanna, Rohit Saraf
Written and directed by: Iram Haq
Genre: Drama
Plot: Sixteen year-old Nisha lives a double life. At home with her family she is the perfect Pakistani daughter, but when out with her friends, she is a normal Norwegian teenager. When her father catches her in bed with her boyfriend, Nisha's two worlds brutally collide. To set an example, Nisha's parents decide to kidnap her and place her with relatives in Pakistan. Here, in a country she has never been to before, Nisha is forced to adapt to her parents' culture.
What you should know: The story is based on a real event in the director’s life.
Opens in: NYC

Poor Boy

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Stars: Lou Taylor Pucci, Michael Shannon, Amanda Crew, Justin Chatwin
Writer: Logan Antill, Robert Scott Wildes,
Director: Robert Scott Wildes
Genre: Drama, Western
Plot: Two misfit brothers hustle cash and chase dreams in the desert. When a mysterious woman threatens to repo their beloved houseboat the brothers cook up an epic con to finally leave their dusty town and sail off on a beam of sunshine to California.
What you should know: The film is from 2016, but was picked up for theatrical distribution a few months ago and is finally being released in theaters.
Opens in: Los Angeles

Dark Money

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Director: Kimberly Reed
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: In the wake of the Citizens United ruling, dark money floods elections nationwide, but Montanans are standing up to stop history from repeating itself in a struggle that has the potential to change the way elections happen across the U.S.
What you should know: This isn’t gonna make you feel any better about the political situation in the US right now, but at least you’ll be more informed?
Opens in: NYC + LA

Siberia

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Stars: Keanu Reeves, Boris Gulyarin, Ashley St. George, Elliot Lazar
Writer: Stephen Hamel, Scott B. Smith,
Director: Matthew Ross
Genre: Crime, Romance, Thriller
Plot: When an American diamond trader's Russian partner goes missing, he journeys to Siberia in search of him, but instead begins a love affair.
What you should know: They shot the film in Canada.
Opens in: Check your local listings + VOD

Also opening: Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti (Trailer), A Swinger’s Weekend (Trailer), 7 Splinters in Time (Trailer), Path of Blood (Trailer), Milford Graves Full Mantis (Trailer), Marsha Hunt’s Sweet Adversity, Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape (Trailer), To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story (Trailer), How to Get Rid of a Body and Still Be Friends (Trailer)

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ONTD, what are you seeing this weekend? What have you seen recently? Doesn't have to be indie!