New Life | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Rosman |
Written by | John Rosman |
Produced by | T. Justin Ross, Mike Marchlewski |
Starring | Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, Tony Amendola |
Cinematography | Mark Evans |
Distributed by | Brainstorm Media |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
New Life is a 2023 American horror thriller film written and directed by John Rosman. The film stars Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, and Tony Amendola. New Life premiered at the 27th Fantasia International Film Festival on August 8, 2023, and was released theatrically on May 3, 2024.
The story follows Elsa Gray (Sonya Walger), a fixer battling an ALS diagnosis, as she pursues Jessica Murdock (Hayley Erin), a young woman on the run, across the Pacific Northwest. Initially presented as a cat-and-mouse chase, the narrative evolves into a more significant existential threat as it is revealed that Jessica is carrying a mutated strain of the Ebola virus. This revelation recontextualizes the film's earlier events and raises the stakes as the characters grapple with themes of humanity, mortality, and trust.
Principal photography took place in Oregon in 2022. [1]
New Life has received a mostly positive critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a Certified Fresh rating with 94% of 63 critic reviews, with the consensus stating "Breathing New Life to the genre, this excellently acted brooding horror thriller marks a propitious debut for John Rosman." [2] Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com wrote, "As the film's initial scope of Jessica and Elsa continues to zoom out, we suddenly all know the traumatic horror of 'New Life' all too well. And we feel for our hero to a depth that action-thrillers have never known. What a delight, what a discovery." [3] Marco Vito Oddo of Collider declared the film "fresh and innovative, presenting a mix that works so well that it’s a wonder no one ever tried to do something similar before." [4] Matt Donato of SlashFilm called it a "blistering multidimensional thriller that hits from all directions — the kind of debut filmmakers dream about." [5]
Sonya Walger is a British and American actress. She had a starring role in the HBO sitcom The Mind of the Married Man (2001–2002) before landing her role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series Lost (2006–2010). Walger later starred on Tell Me You Love Me (2007), FlashForward (2009–2010), Common Law (2012), The Catch (2016–2017) and For All Mankind (2019–2022).
Steven C. Miller is an American screenwriter, editor, and director. His feature film debut, Automaton Transfusion, became an instant cult classic and catapulted his career into Hollywood. He directed the remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night in 2012 and then shifted from horror to action. He has directed films starring notable actors such as Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Aaron Eckhart, Giancarlo Esposito, and Dave Bautista.
Sorority Row is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Stewart Hendler and written by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger. A remake of the 1982 film The House on Sorority Row, the film stars Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman, Audrina Patridge, and Carrie Fisher. It follows a group of sorority sisters who cover up the accidental death of a fellow sister after a prank goes horribly wrong. Eight months later, a masked killer begins stalking and murdering the girls on the night of their graduation for their role in the cover up.
Hayley Erin Feil is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Abby Newman (2008–2010) and Claire Grace (2023–present) on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, and as Kiki Jerome in the ABC soap opera General Hospital (2015–2019) for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award. She starred as Taylor Hotchkiss in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019).
I, Anna is a 2012 noir thriller film written and directed by Barnaby Southcombe and based on Elsa Lewin's novel of the same name. The film stars Southcombe's mother Charlotte Rampling alongside Gabriel Byrne and Hayley Atwell.
Admission is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Paul Weitz and starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. The film was released in the United States and Canada on March 22, 2013. It is an adaptation of Jean Hanff Korelitz's 2009 novel of the same name.
Anguish is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Sonny Mallhi. It marks his directorial debut. The film had its world premiere on July 21, 2015 at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Ryan Simpkins as a young woman whose mental issues may be a result of the paranormal.
Black Mountain Side is a 2014 Canadian indie horror thriller written and directed by Nick Szostakiwskyj and starring Shane Twerdun, Michael Dickson, Carl Toftfelt, Marc Anthony Williams, Andrew Moxham, Timothy Lyle, and Steve Bradley. It was the first film released by the Canadian production company A Farewell To Kings Entertainment Company. The film centers upon a group of archaeologists who discover an ancient structure in the Arctic.
Unsullied is a 2014 exploitation horror film directed by Simeon Rice and starring Murray Gray, Rusty Joiner, and James Gaudioso.
Hurt is a 2018 American slasher film directed by Sonny Mallhi and written by Solomon Gray and Mallhi. The film stars Emily van Raay and Andrew Creer.
Clementine is a 2019 American romantic drama film written and directed by Lara Gallagher. It stars Otmara Marrero, Sydney Sweeney, Will Brittain and Sonya Walger.
Alston Ramsay is an American journalist, speechwriter, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for his work as a Pentagon speechwriter in the Bush and Obama administrations and as a screenwriter for critically acclaimed feature films. Ramsay spent a year in Kabul, Afghanistan, on General David Petraeus’ senior staff. He wrote and produced the IFC film Midnighters which holds an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. His second film, The Current Occupant, is a tech-noir horror film about the President of the United States. The film was produced by Blumhouse for the Into the Dark anthology series and released on Hulu in July 2020.
Bad Impulse is a 2020 American horror film directed by Michelle Danner and starring Grant Bowler, Sonya Walger, James Landry Hébert, Dan Lauria and Paul Sorvino.
Jessica Caroline Alexander is an English actress. She began her career in short films and garnered recognition for her role in the BBC iPlayer series Get Even (2020), and made her feature film debut in Glasshouse and A Banquet. She gained further prominence in Disney's live-action musical fantasy The Little Mermaid (2023) as Vanessa.
Glasshouse is a 2021 South African dystopian thriller film directed by Kelsey Egan in her feature debut and co-written by Egan and Emma Lungiswa de Wet. It premiered at the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival.
Gray Matter is a 2023 American science fiction thriller drama film written by Philip Gelatt, directed by Meko Winbush and starring Mia Isaac, Jessica Frances Dukes and Garret Dillahunt. It is Winbush's feature directorial debut.