James Wan

Film Review: Night Swim aims for a deep dive but comes up shallow

Given the calibre of horror talent on board with Night Swim (between them, producers Jason Blum and James Wan have such genre treats as the Halloween series, The Conjuring films, M3GAN and Malignant), as well as the fact that the short film it’s based on earned critical acclaim upon its release a decade ago, one…

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Interview: Bryce McGuire on expanding his short film Night Swim into a feature for James Wan and Jason Blum

Based on his own acclaimed 2014 short film, Night Swim high dives into the deep end of horror as it takes the most banal pleasure of suburban life and transforms it into a wellspring of demonic evil in a movie that combines the style, impishness and wicked world-building that audiences have come to expect from …

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Film Review: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom brings the DCEU to an end with a droplet rather than a splash

And just like that, the DCEU comes to a close with a droplet rather than the splash we were expecting a decade ago. In 2013, when Man of Steel premiered, there was the promise of an exciting future of storytelling to be told for the variety of characters within the DC lore.  There was rousing,…

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will break Australian ground with gold trident and water-projected footage presentation

From Atlantis to Waterman’s Cove, Warner Bros. Pictures’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will preview footage from the film on 9m high wall of water, as the character’s own 7m gold trident sets for display in Sydney’s Barangaroo from the 14th to 17th of December, 2023, ahead of the film’s release on Boxing Day. The…

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Film Review: Saw X is a gory reminder of what this sick series is capable of

Despite the fact that 2010’s 7th Saw entry was subtitled The Final Chapter, the little horror series that could has continued to soldier on with an additional 3 sequels, proving that positive financial returns will always take priority over creativity. Now, that’s not to say that The Final Chapter itself wasn’t somewhat creative – its…

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Film Review: Insidious: The Red Door is one that we should shut and deadbolt closed!

After a genuinely scary first offering in James Wan‘s Insidious (2010), the Leigh Whannell-created series has failed to make good on any of the unnerving potential with its sequels (and prequels) going forward.  As each subsequent film seems to earn less and less favourable word from critics and audiences, there’s an almost immediate sense of…

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Film Review: M3GAN; A.I. horror-lite comedy is a self-aware slice of glorious lunacy

Right from the opening of M3GAN it’s obvious what type of film Gerard Johnstone‘s A.I. horror-lite is going to be: one that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously, has its wink poised at the audience, and knows you can’t think it’s ridiculous any more than the creators already do. If its trailer didn’t already clue you…

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Win a double in-season pass to meet M3GAN; She’s more than just a toy. She’s part of the family

Thanks to Universal Pictures we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see M3GAN, a fresh new face in terror from the horror genre’s most prolific minds – James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and Blumhouse, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone and The Invisible…

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Friendship has evolved in first trailer for Blumhouse horror creation M3GAN

She’s more than just a toy. She’s part of the family. From the most prolific minds in horror – James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and Blumhouse, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man – comes a fresh new face in terror; M3GAN!…

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Film Review: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It relies on cheap scares instead of shadowy suspense

Having essentially built itself around the “based on a true story” hook, the Conjuring universe of films have been served well by a selling point that’s either something you buy into or simply accept as neat marketing. Whilst there’s no denying that Ed and Lorraine Warren did exist and built a name for themselves as…

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Film Review: Mortal Kombat sets a precedent for what is possible within the genre of the video game adaptation

The road from video game to cinema screen has often been an arduous trek – to say the least.  Often made with the best of intentions, but seldom able to satisfy the expansive fanbase, video game adaptations are usually starting at a disadvantage. Sure, there’s a certain campy pleasure to watching Jean Claude Van Damme…

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Film Review: Aquaman (USA, 2018) proves utterly unapologetic in its decision to play everything as riotous

After what has felt to be an endless journey for Jason Momoa‘s portrayal of the King of Atlantis to grace the screens, Aquaman finally arrives in the hopes of both serving the character justice and steering the DC ship back on course after the underwhelming Justice League. Traditionally a blonde-haired/blue-eyed creation that was often the…

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Justice for Down Under: Aquaman to be filmed in Australia in 2017

Following the ever-expanding DC Extended Universe, the feature film debut of Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate: Atlantis) is set to be directed by our own James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw, Furious 7) and will be filmed on the Gold Coast. AusFilm reports Aquaman will be filmed at the Village Roadshow Studios during the first…

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Film Review: The Conjuring 2 (MA15+) (2016) (USA)

Our own Australian director James Wan has made quite a name for himself in the horror genre. Alongside some mild detours like the revenge-film Death Sentence and the ventriloquist horror Dead Silence, he started off the Saw franchise – which spawned SEVEN films. Next came the Insidious franchise – which spawned another FOUR films. Then all of a…

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