SBS World Movies Weekly Highlights 25 – 31 October | Movie News
- Closed Captions (CC) available: 99 Homes, Arbitrage, Under the Skin, Kill the Messenger, Nightcrawler, Florence Foster Jenkins
- Audio Description (AD) available: 99 Homes, Arbitrage, Nightcrawler and Florence Foster Jenkins
MONDAY 25 OCTOBER
Dark Whispers – Volume 1
7:35pm
M
Australia, UK, 2019
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Directors: Marion Pilowsky, Jub Clerc, Isabel Peppard, Megan Riakos, Kaitlin Tinker, Madeleine Purdy, Briony Kidd, Lucy Gouldthorpe, Katrina Irawati Graham, Janine Hewitt
Starring: Andrea Demetriades, Anthony LaPaglia, Asher Keddie, Bree Desborough, Ed Speleers
What’s it about?
When Clara discovers her recently deceased mother’s revered ‘Book of Dark Whispers’, she can’t stop reading the strange stories within its mystical pages. Each weird tale reveals a new facet of the twisted human psyche. This horror anthology is brought to you by eleven female directors from across Australia.
The Host
9:30pm
M
South Korea, 2006
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Language: Korean
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Doona Bae
What’s it about?
An American military base of Yongson releases toxic chemicals in the drain to the Han River under the direct order of an arrogant coroner. Six years later, a mutant squid monster leaves the water and attacks people on the side of the river. The third feature from Bong Joon-ho (also starring his regular actor Song Kang-ho), director of 2020’s Best Picture Oscar-winner Parasite.
TUESDAY 26 OCTOBER
99 Homes
7:30pm
M, AD, CC
USA, 2014
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: English
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Starring: Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern
What’s it about?
Hard-working single father Dennis Nash (Garfield) and his mother (Dern) are evicted from their home. Desperate to get his house back, Nash goes to work for the wealthy and ruthless businessman Rick Carver (Shannon) – the very man who repossessed Nash’s home. It is a deal-with-the-devil that comes with an increasingly high cost – on Carver’s orders, Nash must evict families from their homes; in return, Nash is promised a lifestyle of wealth and glamour.
Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:
The Fog
9:35pm
M
USA, 1980
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ty Mitchell, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh
What’s it about?
Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone (Holbrook) stumbles upon a dark secret about the town’s founding; radio announcer Stevie (Barbeau) witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth (Curtis) discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die. From legendary genre director John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live, Starman).
WEDNESDAY 27 OCTOBER
Arbitrage
7:30pm
MA15+, AD, CC
USA, 2012
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: English
Director: Nicholas Jarecki
Starring: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, Tim Roth, Laetitia Casta, Chris Eigeman
What’s it about?
On the eve of his 60th birthday, New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Gere) is the portrait of success – at least on the surface. In reality, Miller is in over his head, trying desperately to sell his empire to a big bank before the authorities and his family uncover the depth of his fraud. Unexpectedly, a critical error forces Miller to juggle family, business and crime with the aid of a former associate, but a detective’s suspicions mean it may already be too late.
Under the Skin
9:30pm
MA15+, CC
UK, 2013
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Language: English
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Paul Brannigan, Adam Pearson, Krystof Hadek
What’s it about?
An alien in the guise of a seductive woman (Johansson) prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey – unsuspecting men who fall under her spell. The victims are then stripped and consumed. However, human existence in all its complexity begin to change the alien visitor. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) and adapted from the novel by Michel Faber, the film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film in 2015.
THURSDAY 28 OCTOBER
Kill the Messenger
7:30pm
MA15+, CC
USA, 2014
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Language: English
Director: Michael Cuesta
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Sheen
What’s it about?
Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb. The film takes place in the mid-1990s, when Webb (played by Renner) uncovers the CIA’s past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the United States that is then sold in ghettos across the country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras’ rebel army. Despite enormous pressure not to, Webb goes public with his evidence – and soon finds himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life.
The Void
9:35pm
MA15+
Canada, 2016
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Science Fiction
Language: English
Director: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
Starring: Aaron Poole, Kathleen Munroe, Art Hindle, Daniel Fathers, Kenneth Welsh
What’s it about?
In the middle of a routine patrol, officer Daniel Carter (Poole) happens upon a blood-soaked figure limping down a deserted stretch of road. He rushes the young man to a nearby rural hospital staffed by a skeleton crew, only to discover that patients and personnel are transforming into something inhuman. As the horror intensifies, Carter leads the other survivors on a hellish voyage into the subterranean depths of the hospital in a desperate bid to end the nightmare before it’s too late.
FRIDAY 29 OCTOBER
Nightcrawler
7:30pm
MA15+, AD, CC
USA, 2014
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language: English
Director: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
What’s it about?
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is an ambitious young man desperate to forge himself a career in L.A. crime journalism. He soon immerses himself in the nocturnal underbelly of Los Angeles and joins a group of freelance camera crews who are always on the lookout for crashes, fires and murders to film. Aided by Nina (Russo), a veteran of local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Nominated for a 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Oculus
9:40pm
MA15+
USA, 2014
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso
What’s it about?
Haunted by the violent deaths of their parents ten years earlier, adult siblings Kaylie (Gilan) and Tim (Thwaites) are now struggling to rebuild their relationship. Kaylie suspects that their antique mirror is behind the tragedy, and contains a malevolent, supernatural force that infects the mind of anyone who gazes into it.
SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER
Florence Foster Jenkins
6:25pm
PG, AD, CC
USA, 2016
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Rebecca Ferguson
What’s it about?
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins (Streep, in an Oscar-nominated performance), a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice. Directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, My Beautiful Laundrette), Jenkins is loosely based on Baroness Marguerite Dumont, who was the basis of the 2015 French film Marguerite.
New Gold Mountain
8:30pm
MA15+, CC
Australia, 2021
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Corrie Chen
Starring: Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Sam Wang, Mabel Li
What’s it about?
This four-part mini-series tells the untold story of the Australian gold rush from the perspective of Chinese miners who risked everything for a chance at unlikely fortune in a new land. Inspired by real life, the series follows a group of compelling characters brought together by a mysterious murder and takes an unprecedented look into the wild west era of the Australian gold rush.
SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER
Heidi
6:25pm
G
Germany, 2015
Genre: Adventure, Family
Language: German
Director: Alain Gsponer
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Anuk Steffen, Katharina Schüttler, Maxim Mehmet, Isabelle Ottmann
What’s it about?
Heidi (Steffen) is an eight-year-old Swiss orphan who is given by her aunt to her mountain-dwelling grandfather (Ganz). She is then stolen back by her aunt from her grandfather to live in the wealthy Sesemann household in Frankfurt, Germany as a companion to Klara, a sheltered, disabled girl in a wheelchair. Heidi is unhappy but makes the best of the situation, always longing for her grandfather.
The Woman in Black
8:30pm
M
UK, 2012
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Director: James Watkins
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Sophie Stuckey, Misha Handley, Jessica Raine
What’s it about?
A young lawyer (Radcliffe), struggling with work after the death of his wife, is sent to a remote village to settle the estate of a deceased eccentric woman who owns an English manor. The village residents want him to leave as they are trying to conceal a deadly secret. But he refuses, and soon discovers that the house of his client is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black.
Day of the Dead
10:15pm
MA15+
USA, 1985
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: Lori Cardille, Anthony Dileo Jr., Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy
What’s it about?
Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. However, the tension inside the base is reaching a breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside. The third instalment in director George A. Romero’s original ‘Dead’ trilogy, following 1968’s Night of the Living Dead and 1978’s Dawn of the Dead.
