Freelance - Official Trailer (2025) Nicole Pastor, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Stephen Degenaro

Freelance - Official Trailer (2025) Nicole Pastor, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Stephen Degenaro

Katie, a freelance video editor in desperate need of work, receives a high-paying offer to edit a cryptic and bizarre video from an anonymous employer. Strapped for cash and facing eviction, Katie eagerly accepts the gig. The video depicts people being tortured and even killed on camera — surely just elaborately staged fiction. But when the first job leads to even more lucrative work, and more disturbingly realistic snuff films, Katie’s life begins to crumble. Strange figures in her apartment, horrific nightmares keeping her awake, and a mysterious illness plaguing her cat. It’s only when Katie decides to finally quit the job that she learns just how cruel her anonymous employer really is, and to what bloody lengths she herself will go to get out of her contract.
"I'm not stopping until I bring her home." Amazon MGM Studios has revealed the first official trailer for A Working Man, the latest action thriller from David Ayer. This is the next team-up between Ayer and actor Jason Statham following The Beekeeper last year. Formerly titled Levon's Trade, now known as A Working Man, this is set to play in theaters at the end of March coming up in just a few months. Levon Cade left his profession behind to work construction and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he's asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism. Starring Jason Statham as Agent Levon Cade, with David Harbour, Michael Peña, Jason Flemyng, and Arianna Rivas as Jenny. As much as I enjoyed The Beekeeper because he was a funny character taking out idiot scammers, this looks like the generic action junk we see too often these days. Will it be any good?

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in To Watch, Trailer | Comments
'Freelance' Indie Horror Trailer About a Haunted Freelance Video Editor
By Alex Billington
Freelance Trailer
"I told you, you gotta put those videos behind you..." Gravitas has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror film called Freelance, about a freelance video editor who starts to work on snuff films. This indie film will debut on VOD at the end of this month. This is one of those scary concepts that is so obviously based on generic fears from filmmakers and gets turned into a very generic horror film. Just go watch Cronenberg's Videodrome instead - it's still damn good. When a down-on-her luck video editor takes a mysterious, well-paying job cutting snuff films, she finds herself seemingly haunted by the people in her videos... Starring Nicole Pastor, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Stephen Degenaro, Jasper Bagg, and Hannah Brook. At least this looks good and looks unsettling - all the close-up shots of the computer & harddrive are quite cool.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 10 in Horror, Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Official Trailer for 'Minted: The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT' Doc Film
By Alex Billington
Minted: The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT Trailer
"This was old school fraud." Remember NFTs? Neither do we. People's Television & Sequence Creative have revealed an official trailer for Minted, a new documentary film from filmmaker Nicholas Bruckman. This is a comprehensive look at the NFT craze - the rise & fall of this crypto meets digital art madness. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now available to watch via Independent Lens. Described as a smart look at the intersection of art, commerce, and digital ownership through the rise and crash of the NFT market. A renegade group of outsider artists are thrust into the global limelight when they embrace a powerful new technology, but they must reckon with controversies that will collapse the wild world of NFTs. Apparently it doesn't shy away from the criticisms of NFTs - which in my opinion are entirely valid because it was just a gold rush fad that has already burned out. If you're curious it looks like a a fascinating doc to watch anyway.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in Documentaries, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Watch: Film Critic Will Bjarnar's Best Films of 2024 Video Countdown
By Alex Billington
Will Bjarnar's Best Films of 2024
Even though we may have moved on from 2024, it's still worthwhile to look back at the many excellent films from last year. Yet another new video countdown has debuted - this one is created by a young film critic named Will Bjarnar. This video featuring his 25 Best Films of 2024 is inspired by David Ehrlich's usual Top 25 Countdown (which will be out next week) and follows the same kind of editing. Bjarnar counts down his favorites from 2024, featuring tons of our own favorites as well. I'm so glad to see Furiosa, Hit Man, Bird, The Room Next Door, Close Your Eyes, and Challengers showing up on best of the year lists. These are some of the best of last year along with all the usual: Nickel Boys, Anora, The Brutalist, No Other Land, and Dune: Part Two. We've also featured a few other great 2024 video countdowns: Clementine's 2024 in Film, Patrick & Kyle's 25 Best Films of 2024, Little White Lies' 30 Best Films of 2024 Video Recap. Cinema rocks.

Continue Reading ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in Feat, Looking Back, To Watch | Comments
New Trailer for Dystopian RomCom 'Turn Me On' Starring Bel Powley
By Alex Billington
Turn Me On Trailer
"Are you content?" Well, are you? Vertical has released another new official US trailer for an indie sci-fi romantic thriller called Turn Me On set in an emotionless dystopian future. It premiered at the 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival and already opened in the UK last fall (view that one here). In a lifeless world, one couple will find their spark again in this dystopian romcom. In a world where the inconvenience of human emotion has been eradicated by a government-imposed daily vitamin, one young couple skips their dose and discovers love, joy, sex and all the baggage that comes with it. A young couple (named Joy and William) discover many new feelings, but realize they come with more challenges as well. Starring Bel Powley, Nick Robinson, Justin H. Min, Griffin Newman, Nesta Cooper, Patti Harrison, and D'Arcy Carden. This is the same concept as the sci-fi romance film Equals (2015) with Kristen Stewart from a few years ago. It doesn't seem like it has anything new to offer or much to say about emotions that we don't already know.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in Indies, Sci-Fi, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Namir Smallwood in Chilling Hospital Horror 'Rounding' Official Trailer
By Alex Billington
Rounding Trailer
"There's something off... it just doesn't quite add up.." Doppelgänger Releasing has unveiled a new official trailer for an indie horror film called Rounding, which is finally getting a small theatrical + VOD release starting in February 2025. This one first premiered in 2022 at the Tribeca Film Festival and despite a solid festival run, it was never released. In the meantime, director Alex Thompson went on to make Ghostlight which was a big hit from last year's Sundance. After a traumatic incident, a driven young medical resident named Dr. James Hayman transfers to a rural hospital for a fresh start, but the demons of his past start to catch up to him when he becomes consumed by the case of a patient with mysterious symptoms. Described as a "humanist and unconventional genre vision." The film stars Namir Smallwood as Dr. Hayman, with Sidney Flanigan, Michael Potts, Rebecca Spence. This trailer gets really scary in the last few seconds. And the poster for it is gorgeous - mysterious & eerie & eye-catching (see it below). Keep an eye out for this.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in Horror, Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Final Trailer for Netflix's 'Sakamoto Days' Anime About a Big Assassin
By Alex Billington
Sakamoto Days Trailer
"The rules are simple: family comes first." Netflix has revealed a final trailer for the Japanese anime series Sakamoto Days, ready for streaming on Netflix in a few days. This is based on the already beloved manga of the same name, produced by TMS Entertainment & publisher Shueisha, with Masaki Watanabe (of "Battle Spirits") directing. An ex-hitman named Taro Sakamoto turned shopkeeper juggles dad duties while dodging bullets like a pro. Weekly episodes drop Saturdays starting January 11th. Taro ends up becoming a "plus sized" man living in a small town. Many of his former rivals & partners do not believe that he has truly left the business and show up in hopes of taking him out. Barred from killing, Sakamoto must find creative ways to subdue his enemies and prevent them from bringing harm to his family, his store, and the small town he resides in. The series features Tomokazu Sugita as the voice of Taro, along with Nao Tôyama, Ayane Sakura, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Hina Kino, and Miyari Nemoto. This final trailer features the English dub cast speaking instead of the original Japanese voicecast - with Matthew Mercer voicing Taro.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in Animation, Streaming, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Heist Thriller 'The Quiet Ones' Trailer with Reda Kateb & Gustav Giese
By Alex Billington
The Quiet Ones Trailer
"Copenhagen, I want chaos! And don't talk. Don't say one word to each other." Magnolia Pics has unveiled an official US trailer for a gritty Danish heist thriller called The Quiet Ones - the second feature film from filmmaker Frederik Louis Hviid (after Enforcement). This first premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last year, and it's set for a limited US release starting in February. In 2008, a group of men from Denmark and across Europe pull off the biggest heist of all time on Danish soil. Kasper, a boxer with few chances left in life, is offered the opportunity to plan the robbery by its foreign initiators. At the risk of losing his family and everything that matters to him he takes on the challenge in a risky bid to break all heist records and secure his place in the history books. With Reda Kateb, Gustav Giese, Amanda Collin, Christopher Wagelin, Jens Hultén, Granit Rushiti, Amin Ahmed, and Camilla Lau. This looks gnarly! As always, I'm way more fascinated in how they setup and arranged and pulled off this heist more than anything else.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 9 in To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Wrestlers vs Satanists Horror Comedy Film 'Dark Match' Official Trailer
By Alex Billington
Dark Match Trailer
"Five matches. Five offerings." Who's ready to rumble (with the Devil)?! Shudder has unveiled an official trailer for an indie horror comedy film called Dark Match, which will be streaming on Shudder at the end of this month. It first premiered at the 2024 Fantasia Film Festival last year, and also played at FrightFest and Fantasy Filmfest. A group of small-time wrestlers find out just how real wrestling can get when they become guests of honor at a match held by Satanists in a small community. This wrestling horror comedy pits small-time wrestling company against a town of crazy people. With an ensemble cast led by the living legend Chris Jericho, Dark Match is heading direct to streaming on Shudder to view. The indie flick stars Sara Canning, Steven Ogg, Michael Eklund, Ayisha Issa, + Chris Jericho, among others. It looks especially fun if you're a pro-wrestling fan and horror fan finally waiting to see these two worlds mashed up.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 8 in Horror, Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
US Trailer for French Dramedy 'Rose' Starring Françoise Fabian as Rose
By Alex Billington
Rose Trailer
"What's the point of pampering myself at my age?" Cohen Media Group has unveiled an official US trailer for an indie French film called Rose, which is finally getting a US release this winter. It originally premiered way back in 2021 at the Locarno Film Festival where it won an award - but hasn't even been released in the last 4 years. It most recently played at as the Closing Night Film at Lincoln Center's New York Jewish Film Festival. Directed by musician and actress Aurélie Saada, this is her feature directorial debut. When Rose, 78, loses her husband, her grief inspires her to live as fully as possible and go out and pamper herself again. Her children disapprove, forcing them all to confront what it means to redefine oneself later in life. The film is described as being similar to Thelma or Driving Madeleine - they're "emotionally moving and powerful, filled with laughter, tears and smiles throughout." This stars Françoise Fabian as the titular Rose, with Aure Atika, Grégory Montel, Damien Chapelle, Mehdi Nebbou, and Pascal Elbé. Get a look below.

Watch the Trailer ››
🍿 › Posted January 8 in Foreign Films, Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Watch: Adam Savage Geeks Out Over a 'Fifth Element' Mondoshawan
By Alex Billington
Fifth Element Mondoshawan Tested
"All I wanna do is get in this thing...!" Holy Mondoshawan! Awesome! I want one. Adam Savage's Tested YouTube channel has posted their latest video - an in-depth examination of one of the most incredible sci-fi movie creations. While on a visit to the UK, Adam stopped by Propstore's UK headquarters - where he geeks out over a full-size, completely intact Mondoshawan costume from Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. Much like Adam, Fifth Element is one of my all-time favorites and shows up in my Letterboxd Top 4 picks often. These Mondoshawan alien creatures are some of my favorite designs ever – especially because they're these big, lumbering mechanical things yet are also the philosophical, wise rulers of the universe (who help guide Korben and Leeloo on their journey to save Earth). Apparently this was actually piloted by someone inside of the suit, and Adam dives into the mechanics of how it works and the construction of it. I love seeing these kind of geeky videos - and this one is a must watch everyone who loves science fiction as much as us. Enjoy.

Continue Reading ››
🍿 › Posted January 8 in Featurette, Sci-Fi, To Watch | Comments
Sophie Thatcher & Jack Quaid in Sci-Fi Horror 'Companion' Full Trailer
By Alex Billington
Companion Trailer
"Shut her down already!" Whoa what the hell is going on in this?! Another robot on the loose? Warner Bros has debuted the main official trailer for Companion, a new horror thriller "love story" arriving in theaters in January 2025 at the end of the month. They're still setting this up to be the next new M3gan of the early 2025 season - in more ways than one. "You are cordially invited to experience a new kind of love story." This is produced by the team behind Barbarian, but comes from a director making his first feature film. Starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, with Rupert Friend. Companion is a sci-fi horror movie about a robotic female companion that also might still be human? Or that's what it seems like from this trailer. It's also packed with rave review quotes from critics who got to see an early screening of this last year. I'm in! Gotta see what kind of madness they've been cooking up in here.
As someone who is intimately familiar with the freelance grind, it’s already a scary enough reality on its own. Constantly worrying about having enough work, chasing down invoices, trying to think of new ideas, it’s a nightmare. But in the new film Freelance, director John Balazs and writer Mike Gerbino make it an even more frightening reality when a video editor takes on a new job that’s more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

Read the full synopsis below:
Katie, a freelance video editor in desperate need of work, receives a high-paying offer to edit a cryptic and bizarre video from an anonymous employer. Strapped for cash and facing eviction, Katie eagerly accepts the gig. The video depicts people being tortured and even killed on camera—surely just elaborately staged fiction. But when the first job leads to even more lucrative work, and more disturbingly realistic snuff films, Katie’s life begins to crumble. Strange figures in her apartment, horrific nightmares keeping her awake, and a mysterious illness plaguing her cat. It’s only when Katie decides to finally quit the job that she learns just how cruel her anonymous employer really is, and to what bloody lengths she herself will go to get out of her contract.

Now watch the official trailer exclusively on Dread Central:

Nicole Pastor, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Stephen Degenaro, Jasper Bagg, and Hannah Brook star in the film.

Freelance comes to digital and cable VOD on January 28, 2025, from Gravitas Ventures.
Share
While not frequently used, snuff films have been a presence in cinema for a great while. Of course, no production can reach the heartwrenching depths of 8MM (which remains Schumacher’s best), but that does not mean no one should. Written by Mike Gerbino and directed by John Balazs, Freelance is a thriller set in Australia about snuff films. Does the country that produced the beautiful One Perfect Day strike gold again?

The story follows freelance editor Katie (Nicole Pastor), who is hard-pressed for a well-paying gig as she can not even afford a cup of coffee, much less her rent. But Guy (Stephen Degenaro), who fancies himself her boyfriend, though in reality Katie is just using him for free meals out, and fellow filmmaker Kevin (Jordan Fraser-Trumble) do what they can to ensure she has the basics taken care of.

One day, Katie receives a strange message promising a massive payday. The message, which is cryptic and unsettling, states that all four videos must be completed by a specific time. If even one of them is late, she will not be paid for any of her work. That is easier said than done, considering the content of the videos: it would appear Katie has been hired to edit a snuff film. At first, she doesn’t think it is real, but there’s something about one of the last videos that changes her mind. Then her cat is poisoned, and other off-putting things keep happening. Are these just manifestations of an overly stressed mind brought on by the gruesomeness of the work? If these videos are real, will Katie take them to the police? Is there anything the police can do about them anyway?

“…it would appear Katie has been hired to edit a snuff film.”

The opening credits sequence is ripped straight from a 2002 direct-to-video techno-thriller. It is cheap-looking, erratically edited, and more than just a little silly. Suffice to say, this is not the best first impression. Luckily, Freelance quickly finds its footing thereafter. Gerbino’s writing makes Katie likable and relatable, with her near poverty feeling like the fault of the industry, not her partying every night. Pastor makes the character determined but vulnerable and frustrated.

Guy isn’t quite as dimensional, as he does little more than adore everything about Katie. Still, Degenaro is amiable in the part and plays his last few scenes perfectly. Kevin’s arc is not revealed until the end, but it works very well. Fraser-Trumble is charming enough to pull off the twist, while Pastor sells the intensity very well. The characters’ development and their interactions keep the audience invested and connected.

Freelance never quite measures up to the heartbreak of 8MM, but what does? On its own, minus the opening credits, the movie’s an intense thriller about the depraved things money makes everyone do. The cast sells the vileness of the snuff films well, and the ending is a masterstroke of storytelling, leaving the audience satisfied and intrigued.