‘Nekrotronic.’
Kiah Roache-Turner’s Nekrotronic opened in the US last weekend as a multi-platform release.
Momentum Pictures launched the sci-fi horror comedy starring Monica Bellucci, Ben O’Toole, David Wenham, Caroline Ford, Tess Haubrich and Bob Epine Savea in cinemas in 10 cities and on VOD and digital HD.
The eOne-owned distributor did not share box office figures, which are typically modest for day-and-date releases. The benefit of the theatrical exposure is that the reviews and publicity give the film a profile which pays off in ancillary revenues.
The director trimmed five minutes of exposition scenes after the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, resulting in more favourable reviews, particularly from genre websites.
For example, We Are Movie Geek’s Marc Butterfield hailed the film as “hilarious, fun, action packed, and full of gross, splashy, gooey moments; in other words, fantastic.”
Butterfield observed: “The movie has a nice amalgamation of story elements from Ghostbusters, Blade and maybe even a little of the old classic Tron.”
Rue Morgue critic Shawn Macomber declared: “Boy, are you in for a treat, ’cause once the premise is locked down, the remaining two-thirds of Nekrotronic throw everything and the viscera-filled kitchen sink at you. It’s playful, absurdist and completely over the top, maintaining the action-horror-humor-rinse-repeat ethos of Wyrmwood even as it brings new nuances and production prowess to the table.”
Meanwhile Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale expanded to 25 runs in the US last weekend after platforming in New York and Los Angeles. The revenge thriller starring Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Michael Sheasby, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood and Ewen Leslie grossed nearly $72,000 on 27 screens, raising the total to $120,000.
The movie produced by Kristina Ceyton and Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky will roll out in a further 15 markets next weekend via IFC Films. Transmission Films will launch the film on 32 screens on August 29.
Nekrotronic will have its Australian premiere as the opening night attraction of the SciFi Film Festival at Event Cinemas George street on September 6.
The producers, Hopscotch Features’ Andrew Mason and Troy Lum and Guerilla Films’ Tristan Roache-Turner, have booked four-wall screenings with Q&As with the filmmakers at the Village Jam Factory on September 7 and the following night at Event Cinemas in Marion and Brisbane, followed immediately by digital and VOD.
“We are confident it will have a long life on VOD and DVD,” Tristan tells IF. The brothers are developing a sequel to the 2015 cult classic Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and a TV series spin-off, the former with producer Blake Northfield.
The movie is likely to happen first, according to Tristan. The plot will follow Rhys, a special-forces soldier who teams up with the original film’s Brooke (Bianca Bradey) and Barry (Jay Gallagher) to save a young Indigenous girl and her mother from the military forces that are trapping and killing survivors all over the country.