Even though we often lament the habitual lack of attention given to horror cinema in general (at least in our country), we cannot ignore the fact that after the flashy early breakthroughs of Curry Barker and (less so) Kane Parsons, American production companies and distributors began to recruit genuine talent scouts to roam festivals and discover the next young phenomenon of the genre before anyone else takes notice. This is precisely what Atomic Monster Blumhouse, the outfit formed by James Wan and Jason Blum, did when they hired Sam Zimmerman, formerly from the specialized channel Shudder, to oversee independent horror. Thanks to him, they acquired the rights to produce, again with Focus Features and in collaboration with Divide/Conquer and Spooky Pictures, the new film by Josh Giuliano, Occupant, after having seen, in the Toronto International Film Festival’s midnight section, his feature-length debut, River. It was at TIFF last year that Atomic Monster Blumhouse and Focus had discovered and acquired Obsession, which has become one of their most profitable titles, grossing a global box office of $512 million. Backrooms was also an Atomic Monster Blumhouse production, distributed by A24, with a final gross of $394 million. And now it’s Josh Giuliano‘s turn. Let us see what is known about him and his films.
Josh Giuliano: a new horror phenomenon?
The Giuliano film that captured the attention of producers is River, and it follows two sisters and a brother who have been estranged for a long time, deciding to scatter their father’s ashes along a river in the countryside where he used to spend his free time. Their boat, however, becomes jammed beneath a bridge and, on both sides, two masked killers give chase. The cast features scream queen Jessica Rothe, playing Carla, returning to the town where she was born from the metropolis where she currently resides; Jane Levy is Lucy, and Max Mattern plays the younger brother Drew. According to early accounts, their reunion, in addition to what was described above, also serves as an opportunity to revisit their traumatic childhood, about which the sisters hold markedly different memories. Critics note that the story also contains humor, and this can only please us because, in our view, humor—when well balanced—amplifies the impact of horror. Little is known about Occupant, Giuliano’s next project. But regarding his previous works, we can share a few details: writing under his full name Joshua Giuliano, the director has directed eight short films, including Anxiety, Vampire, Granma’s House, and the more recent In Sound, We Live Forever (2022; this one is available on YouTube) and Tiny Thing (2023).
Comments