The Pact
DIRECTOR: Nicholas McCarthy
WRITER: Nicholas McCarthy
STARRING: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Haley Hudson, Agnes Bruckner
IFC Midnight
RELEASE DATE: July 6, 2012 (limited); On VOD now

Ghost stories, tales of the things that go bump in the night, and supernatural thrillers in general will always be popular. They won’t always be good, but they will always attract eager eyes seeking a thrill.

The trick is doing things right, above all other things, but it’s also important to offer your own fresh and unique style. People love to be scared, and a big part of that is properly using your viewers’ own brains against them. Brutal violence can be horrifying, but it’s the unseen, the worst fears you instantly imagine in your own minds, that can be the most effective.

Having always been a huge fan of such movies, I was excited to check out The Pact, an indie supernatural thrill from director Nicholas McCarthy.

Tabloid
DVD
Directed by Errol Morris
Starring Kent Gavin
IFC/MPI Home Video
Release Date: November 1, 2011

With the current state of popular culture looking more and more like the pages of the tabloid rags any person is able to find at the local grocery store, it’s important to see where that storied tradition of possibly slanderous, yet shockingly gripping faux-journalism has come from. You know, it’s always important to know history.

And who better to take something like this on than Errol Morris?

Decades prior to when names like Brett Ratner or Charlie Sheen ever graced a single magazine, a woman by the name of Joyce McKinney came onto the scene, and took the world by storm with her larger than life persona, and even weirder (albeit alleged) actions. A story full of sexually assaulted Mormons, kidnapping, and the occasional whip and chain, McKinney’s story is almost too crazy to be true. But you know what? Not only is it true, but McKinney is more than willing to tell the world all about it.

Breaking Upwards
Directed by: Daryl Wein
Written by: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein, Peter Duchan
Starring: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein, Andrea Martin, Peter Friedman, Julie White, Olivia Thirlby
IFC Films
Release Date: April 2, 2010 (Limited)

It’s all just part of life as we know it: people enter into relationships, and every single day, many of those relationships hit a wall causing said people to go their separate ways. But what do you do when you realize that the bond you share with another is wearing thin and that it might be time to break up, but neither of you can bare the thought of being apart completely?

Breaking Upwards tells the story of a real-life couple named Daryl (Daryl Wein) and Zoe (Zoe Lister-Jones) who are living in New York. When they enter into the 4-year range of their relationship, they begin to realize certain cracks that simply just can’t be repaired. Another realization that they come to, is that they also can’t be apart from each other long enough to quit their relationship cold turkey, so they need to come up with a plan to make their breakup happen.

The plan? Slowly-but-surely wean themselves away from each other by taking “days off,” doing things much more independently, and even opening up themselves to romantic and sexual situations with others.

Head on over for more and to check out the trailer.