In Gilded Age New York, a woman’s decision to divorce her volatile husband turns a high-stakes evening into a vicious battle of jealousy, betrayal, and revenge.
Score: 8/10
Director / Writer:Usher Morgan, Katie Vincent
Starring:Katie Vincent, Catherine Curtin, Jared Canfield, J. Anthony Crane, Susan Gallagher, Bryant Carroll
Genre:historical thriller, drama, dark romance
Runtime:110
Release:10/2026
Excerpt
Usher Morgan and Katie Vincent’s new film Plucked (2026) explores why some people hold on to the vestiges of nostalgia, tradition and the rigidity of gender roles… even if it kills them.
To Have and To Hold
Katie Vincent as “Katherine Greene” in Plucked
Usher Morgan and Katie Vincent’s new film Plucked (2026) explores why some people hold on to the vestiges of nostalgia, tradition and the rigidity of gender roles… even if it kills them. There’s something awful and distracting about the idea of tradition. That ~thing that happens over and over until it becomes a standard in the way we live our lives. Something so cyclically constant that it nearly becomes a necessity. Take, for example, the notion of a white picket fence, 2 kids and a dog. Somewhere this image went from being the description of one type of home to the gold medal standard we should all thrive towards. Regardless of if we’re allergic to dogs… or to kids. We’re given our teenage years to rebel and once the time comes to start our lives, we lean back on old faithful to guide the way perpetuating this unending fairytale regardless of if it suits our lifestyle and interests. In another way, “tradition” could be identically identified as “insanity”. Both indicate the same mental state; the difference is that within insanity, one is disappointed by the lack of a different result, and in tradition, when the results do change, one is driven insane.
Director Matthew Paris’s Words to Paper (2026) takes us into one writer’s battle against blankness as he finds his way to new inspiration.
Potential Beginnings
Close Up. Words to Paper
There’s nothing more frightening to a writer than an empty page and our protagonist Leo Emerson (Matthew Paris), seems to think the same. And he would write about it if he could get around the writer’s block that’s currently in the way! Director Matthew Paris’s Words to Paper (2026) takes us into one writer’s battle against blankness as he finds his way to new inspiration.
Producing Partners and Life Partners Callie Schuttera and Gabriela Ledesma
What happens when the land of the free becomes a place you need to escape? In The Exit State, director Gabriela Ledesma and fellow filmmakers Callie Schuttera and Josh George turn that unsettling question into politically charged horror. I caught up with the trio to discuss the film’s exploration of privilege, complicity, and misplaced trust, along with the collaboration that helped them bring this nightmare to life in just nine days.
A runaway girl’s search for family takes her across Thailand to Bangkok on Christmas Eve in a heartwarming musical adventure.
Score: 6/10
Director / Writer:Paul and Jiriya Spurrier
Starring:Amata Masmalai, Vithaya Pansringarm, Adam Kaokept
Genre:musical, international, family
Runtime:141 min
Release:2026
Excerpt
While "The Christmas Dream" presents a valiant effort, there seems to be a little lost in translation, but with a touch of holiday grace, it’s definitely worth the watch!
Christmas in Thailand
Amata Masmalai as Lek and Bella for The Christmas Dream
The Christmas Dream (2025) (alternatively known as “Dream!”) is an homage to holiday classics but with a Thailand twist! Written and directed by Jiriya and Paul Spurrier, this inventive musical (Thailand’s first in 50 years) has a lot of interesting parts. While it’s a valiant effort, there seems to be a little lost in translation, but with a touch of holiday grace, it’s definitely worth the watch!
Genre:short film, musical, international, coming-of-age, drama, western
Runtime:16
Release:2026
Excerpt
Their rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” is an intoxicating mixture of true outlaw country grit given a Bollywood flare and it’s mesmerizing and beautiful. You can feel the moment when – for Cowboy – this stopped being a pitstop and became the destination.
Like a Rhinestone Cowboy
Shashank Arora as “Cowboy” in Getar Hero
While watching Teddy Stern’s musical short film Getar Hero (2026) I’m stuck with the description of America being a melting pot. The idea that we’re made up of many cultures, but homogenize into one way of being – The American Way™. The problem with this notion is that a dominant culture persists and washes out the things that make everything “beneath” it unique. I’m more partial to America being a colorful salad. Each ingredient having its own unique flavor, and pairing beautifully with the ones around it. Tossed with a dressing of togetherness, if you must, but all the while being appreciative of its diverse elements. This doesn’t just apply to America, but also to the way American Culture is digested throughout the world. Getar Hero is a Western film set in the bustling night streets of Mumbai and a celebration of the similarities that bind us culturally and the differences that make us unique.
A group of American citizens flew to the Mexicans border to escape an authoritarian government.
Score: 9/10
Director / Writer:Gabriela Ledesma w. addit writing by Callie Schuttera, Josh George
Starring:Callie Schuttera, Josh George, Jeremy D Howard, Nikki Dixon, Clayton Farris, Stakiah Lynn Washington
Genre:political thriller, horror, indie,
Runtime:1hr 32min
Release:10/23/2026
Excerpt
Self preservation is important, but you can’t survive without people. And it turns out that sometimes you can’t survive with them. Gabriela Ledesma’s excellent film "The Exit State" shines light on the darkness of the human soul.
When the Enemy Looks Like Us
Our Escapees: (l-r) Jordan (Nikki Dixon), Andrew (Clayton Farris), Zoey (Cindy Nguyen), Tori (Stakiah Lynn Washington) and Rome (Jeremy D. Howard) in The Exit State
What happens when trusting humanity becomes a liability? It’s a terrifying thing to think about, especially being raised in a community where at the end of the day our humanity is supposed to bind us. Yes, self preservation is important, but you can’t survive without people. And it turns out that sometimes you can’t survive with them. Gabriela Ledesma’s excellent film The Exit State (2026) shines light on the darkness of the human soul.
In 1993 Kashmir, a teenager searching for his missing best friend is forced by an Indian Army captain to collect identification cards from a valley of corpses, becoming an outcast in his own village while fearing his friend may be among the dead.
Score: 8/10
Director / Writer:Travis Hodgkins (based on The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed)
"Line of Control" is well acted, well scored and shot with greens so bright they’re almost technicolor.
“I Heard Your Footsteps…”
Nikhil Singh Rai in his first role as The Boy in Line of Control
Travis Hodgkins’s Line of Control (2026) is an emotional, beautifully produced wartime thriller that will leave the audience with a better idea of the true cost of freedom. Set in the ‘90s leading up to the Kashmir conflict and insurgency, Line of Control is the story of a boy (newcomer Nikhil Singh Rai) and his group of school friends, deciding how best to direct their own journeys into adulthood. Through the lives of the Famous 4 and their loved ones, the audience is led through a hard lesson of war ruining lives, and the deals we make to protect others and the lies we tell to protect ourselves.
When Taylor can’t get her party store shift covered after her dad dies, she makes a deadly mistake that sparks a downward spiral of red, white and blue-collared chaos.
Score: 8/10
Director / Writer:Jared Sprouse/Barrett Jay
Starring:Ainsley Seiger, Phillip Andre Botello, Ben Weinswig, Sharahya Carter, Jorge A. Sanchez, Joe Hoenig
Genre:thriller, horror, indie
Runtime:89 min
Release:2026
Excerpt
Party USA can also be looked at as a political statement about the danger of white women's tears and the harm they cause to the people of color around them. In Party USA there is a villain, but it may not be who or what you think it is.
Rockin My Hips Like Yeah
Friday (Jorge A. Sanchez) makes promises, promises, promises, and Taylor (Ainsley Seiger) has not choice but to believe them.
What happens when after the party, all you’re left with is the hangover? On its face Jared Sprouse’s feature Party USA (2026) is a taut thriller about grief and the things we do to protect ourselves and loved ones. Set under the banner of the deep South, the film explores what happens when your ceiling is zero and your dreams and hopes go as far 1. And while it is certainly that, Party USA can also be looked at as a political statement about the danger of white women’s tears and the harm they cause to the people of color around them. In Party USA there is a villain, but it may not be who or what you think it is.
A psychiatrist interviewing a mysterious prisoner finds the line between fiction and reality dissolving as four interconnected tales reveal a sinister force that has existed far longer than anyone imagined.
Score: 6/10
Director / Writer:Robert W. Filion / Brad Hord
Starring:Jaysen Buterin, Amie Henry
Genre:anthology, horror, psychological thriller
Runtime:72
Release:2026
Excerpt
I’m always impressed by the ingenuity of directors working with small budgets. To produce what are essentially four short films and put them inside this narrative is quite the feat.
A Horror with Great Potential
Dr. Erin Murphy (Amie Henry) amd Bob (Jaysen Buterin) for Echoes from the Void
Dr. Erin Murphy (Amie Henry) is having a bad day. From the moment she’s ripped from sleep and assigned a new case to when she begrudgingly accepts the case and takes a swig from her flask for mettle, it’s clear she’s not exactly excelling at life. She’s a criminal psychologist and her patient is introduced to her only as “Bob” (very Twin Peaks (1990)). Bob was last seen talking to Amy Wells – a young woman who has recently gone missing. As Dr. Murphy tries to gather information on Bob (Jaysen Buterin), the seemingly troubled man decides to take Dr. Murphy on her own journey. They won’t be leaving the room with the security guard posted outside; Dr. Murphy’s journey will be a journey of the mind. Echoes From the Void (2026) is an indie horror anthology that has a creative premise, but the execution may be a bit too mysterious.
A former Sundance award-winning filmmaker, now cancelled by social media, is forced to direct online porn films for a sleazy producer.
Score: 6.5/10
Director / Writer:Mark Schwab
Starring:James Duval, Silas Kade, Fernando, Jason Caceres, Diogo Hausen
Genre:comedy, psychological thriller, lgbtq+
Runtime:89
Release:2025
Excerpt
There’s self sabotage, and then there’s Mark Schwab’s Cutaways (2025), a queer drama that could easily be touted as a “psychological thriller”. From start to finish Cutaways raises a variety of red flags that you just can’t look away from.
Running Through My Head
Is Andy trying to seduce Evan Quick? For Cutaways
There’s self sabotage, and then there’s Mark Schwab’s Cutaways (2025), a queer drama that could easily be touted as a “psychological thriller”. We follow director Evan Quick’s (Silas Kade) fall from favor as he lands in the cradle of sin that is the valley porn industry. The disgraced filmmaker was “canceled” due to allegations of misconduct and forced to direct porn films to keep on the lights. He’s not even doing a great job at that, but he has secured himself a 3 picture deal from local self-made man Sammy (the incomparable James Duvall). From start to finish Cutaways raises a variety of red flags that you just can’t look away from.
