Indie Film Release Guide: November 30th [An ONTD Original]

[scriptedending]

After a glut of huge studio releases, we’ve finally come to a week where no major studio is pushing out a new movie in wide release. Warner Brothers is releasing the Nick Nolte drama Head Full of Honey in select cities, but other than that, it’s more of the same as last week. It’s a good week to catch up the films you’ve missed, or check out the indies that have finally expanded to your area.

The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia and Disney. 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: November 21st, November 16th, and November 9th.

Anna and the Apocalypse

Click to view

Stars: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux
Writer: Alan McDonald, Ryan McHenry
Director: John McPhail
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Plot: A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.
What you should know: Premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2017, so its journey to a release has been a long one.
Opens in: Select cities



Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Click to view

Stars: Rohan Chand, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett
Writer: Callie Kloves, based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling
Director: Andy Serkis
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Plot: A human child raised by wolves must face off against a menacing tiger named Shere Khan, as well as his own origins.
What you should know: Supposedly much darker than the recent adaptation of The Jungle Book.
Opens in: iPic Theaters, and on Netflix

The Possession of Hannah Grace

Click to view

Stars: Shay Mitchell, Grey Damon, Nick Thune, Stana Katic
Writer: Brian Sieve
Director: Diederik Van Rooijen
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Plot: When a cop who is just out of rehab takes the graveyard shift in a city hospital morgue, she faces a series of bizarre, violent events caused by an evil entity in one of the corpses.
What you should know: Shay Mitchell is the fourth lead actress from Pretty Little Liars to star in a horror film.
Opens in: Wide

Meow Wolf: Origin Story

Click to view

Director: Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: This is the origin story of Meow Wolf - the rebellious anarchistic, and psychedelic art collective that began in a Santa Fe basement and within ten years has grown into a multimillion-dollar company.
What you should know: George R.R. Martin isn’t just avoiding finishing The Winds of Winter by writing other Game of Thrones adjacent books; he’s appearing in documentaries as well!
Opens in: Select cities

Mirai

Click to view

Stars: John Cho, Rebecca Hall, Victoria Grace, Crispin Freeman
Written and directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Action, Drama
Plot: A young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.
What you should know: This is the first Japanese animated feature to have its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival.
Opens in: Select cities

Never Look Away

Click to view

Stars: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl
Written and directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Plot: German artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.
What you should know: It’s this year’s German submission to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Opens in: Select cities

Sicilian Ghost Story

Click to view

Stars: Julia Jedlikowska, Gaetano Fernandez, Corinne Musallari, Andrea Falzone
Written and directed by: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza
Genre: Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Plot: Against a heavy cloak of secrecy, a 12-year-old girl smitten with her handsome classmate ventures deeper and deeper into the enchanted Sicilian forests to find him, unaware of just how thick is the mystery behind his strange disappearance.
What you should know: It’s in Italian, and based on the story by Marco Mancassola.
Opens in: NYC

Elliot the Littlest Reindeer

Click to view

Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Morena Baccarin, Samantha Bee, Martin Short
Written and directed by: Jennifer Westcott
Genre: Animation, Family
Plot: When Blitzen announces his retirement on December 21st, a miniature horse has 3 days to fulfill his lifelong dream of earning a spot on Santa's team at the North Pole try-outs.
What you should know: This isn’t gonna be the highlight of anyone’s holiday season, judging by the reviews.
Opens in: Select cities

DriverX

Click to view

Stars: Patrick Fabian, Tanya Clarke, Melissa Fumero, Oscar Nuñez
Written and directed by: Henry Barrial
Genre: Drama
Plot: Skidding into middle-age, a stay-at-home dad must drive for an Uber-like rideshare company (DriverX) to help support his working wife and two young daughters. But low pay and wild LA nights put an even greater strain on his marriage.
What you should know: Barrial also directed a film called The House That Jack Built (2013), with a slightly different vibe than von Trier’s.
Opens in: Select cities, and available on demand

Ghostbox Cowboy

Click to view

Stars: David Zellner, Robert Longstreet, Vincent Xie, J.R. Cazet
Written and directed by: John Maringouin
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Plot: A dullard Texas entrepreneur reinvents himself as a cowboy in China's tech wild west, but finds himself at the mercy of corrupt American expats looking to reinvent him once more.
What you should know: This is the director’s first non-documentary feature.
Opens in: LA, expands mid-December

Also opening: Tiger (Trailer), Dead in a Week (Or Your Money Back) (Trailer), Blood Brother (Trailer), Bathtubs Over Broadway, No Shade (Trailer), The Mercy (Trailer)

Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

What have you seen lately, ONTD? What do you plan on seeing in the next few days?