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NEON, the award-winning independent studio behind a wide range of acclaimed nonfiction and narrative films, has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a documentary conceived and filmed in 1972 by filmmaker William Greaves and restored and directed by his son, David Greaves. The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it drew significant attention from critics and industry figures. NEON is planning a theatrical release later this year. Once Upon a Time in Harlem centers on a four-hour gathering organized by William Greaves in 1972, bringing together artists and intellectuals associated with the Harlem Renaissance, many of whom had not seen one another in decades. Filmed on 16mm, the footage captures wide-ranging conversations in which participants reflect on their personal histories, creative work, and evolving roles within a changing cultural and political landscape. According to Greaves’ original intent, the project was designed not only to ...

Heaven is a deeply personal and unconventional documentary, one that reflects Diane Keaton’s lifelong fascination with spirituality, architecture, memory, and the unseen forces that shape human belief. Rather than offering a journalistic investigation or a rigid theological argument, Keaton approaches the subject of heaven as a question, an idea filtered through culture, art, history, and personal reflection. The result is a meditative, impressionistic film that feels less like a documentary in the traditional sense and more like a cinematic essay, guided by curiosity rather than certainty. From the outset, Heaven makes clear that it is not interested in defining heaven as a single, authoritative concept. Keaton structures the film around a series of encounters with artists, architects, scholars, clergy, and everyday people, each offering their own interpretation of what heaven means to them. These perspectives range from religious doctrine to secular metaphor, from literal belief in a...

10 Rillington Place, from 1971, stands as one of the most unsettling and rigorously controlled crime films ever produced, a work that eschews sensationalism in favor of a quiet, creeping horror rooted in everyday spaces and human weakness. Directed by Richard Fleischer and based on the real-life crimes of John Christie, the film approaches its subject with an almost clinical restraint, allowing the true terror to emerge not from graphic violence but from the slow accumulation of dread. Rather than presenting Christie as a theatrical monster, the film depicts him as an unremarkable, softly spoken man whose ordinariness becomes the most frightening element of all. At the center of the film is Richard Attenborough’s extraordinary performance as John Christie. Attenborough resists the temptation to exaggerate Christie’s eccentricities, instead crafting a portrait of a man who appears timid, helpful, and vaguely pitiable. Christie’s halting speech, downcast eyes, and carefully measured move...

Keeper from 2025 continues Osgood Perkins’s exploration of slow-building psychological horror, reaffirming his reputation as a filmmaker more interested in dread than spectacle. Like his previous work, the film resists conventional horror rhythms and instead focuses on atmosphere, emotional unease, and the quiet terror of isolation. Keeper is not designed to shock in obvious ways. It unsettles through patience, ambiguity, and a steady erosion of safety that lingers long after the film ends. The narrative centers on a remote setting and a small group of characters whose sense of control gradually dissolves. Perkins has always favored confined spaces and limited perspectives, and Keeper follows that tradition closely. The film unfolds at a deliberate pace, allowing the audience to sit with discomfort rather than escape it. Events are presented without urgency, which paradoxically increases tension. The absence of constant explanation forces the viewer to observe closely and draw their ow...

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) occupies a fascinating and sometimes underappreciated place in the slasher canon. Arriving just one year after Sean S. Cunningham’s surprise hit Friday the 13th, the sequel had the unenviable task of continuing a story that seemed, on the surface, neatly wrapped up. Instead of merely repeating the original’s formula, Part 2 subtly reorients the franchise, laying down many of the elements that would come to define Friday the 13th as a long-running series rather than a one-off success. While it may lack the novelty and shock value of its predecessor, it compensates with atmosphere, character, and, most importantly, the first fully realized incarnation of Jason Voorhees as the franchise’s central menace. One of the most striking aspects of Friday the 13th Part 2 is how it reframes the mythology of Crystal Lake. The opening recap reframes the ending of the first film, reasserting Jason’s drowning as the primal trauma of the series while quickly moving past Pam...

Michael Crichton’s Westworld (1973) is a deceptively simple science-fiction thriller that has grown more significant with time. On its surface, the film is a high-concept adventure about a futuristic theme park where wealthy guests can live out fantasies without consequences. Beneath that surface, however, lies an unnervingly clear-eyed warning about technological arrogance, corporate hubris, and humanity’s blind faith in systems it barely understands. Though modest in scale and restrained in style, Westworld remains influential precisely because of its clarity and restraint. The premise is immediately compelling. Delos, a high-end amusement resort, offers three immersive worlds, Westworld, Medieval World, and Roman World, populated by lifelike androids programmed to serve human desires. Guests can drink, fight, seduce, and kill without fear of retaliation. The androids, known simply as robots, are designed to malfunction safely: if something goes wrong, they shut down. Or so the desig...

Suspect from 1987 is a legal thriller that blends courtroom drama with political intrigue and romance. Directed by Peter Yates and starring Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson, the film occupies a distinctive place in late nineteen eighties cinema. It is not a fast-paced or sensational thriller, but rather a measured and character-driven story that focuses on power, corruption, and moral responsibility within the American justice system. While it did not become a defining classic of the genre, Suspect remains a thoughtful and engaging film anchored by strong performances and a serious tone. The story follows Kathleen Riley, a public defender played by Cher, who is assigned to represent Carl Wayne Anderson, a deaf homeless man accused of murdering a government employee. Anderson is portrayed by Liam Neeson in a largely silent role that relies heavily on physical presence and emotional restraint. As Kathleen begins to investigate the case, she uncovers inconsistencies in the evidence and...

Pulse from 1988 is a quietly unsettling science fiction horror film that reflects a very specific cultural anxiety of its time. Directed by Paul Golding and starring Cliff DeYoung, the film takes a familiar suburban setting and turns it hostile through an unseen electrical force. While it never achieved mainstream success, Pulse has endured as a minor cult film, remembered less for spectacle and more for its atmosphere and unsettling ideas about technology, family, and trust. The story centers on David Rockland, a young boy who spends the summer with his father, Bill, following his parents’ divorce. Bill, played by Cliff DeYoung, lives with his new wife, Ellen, in a seemingly ordinary Los Angeles neighborhood. Almost immediately, David begins to notice strange and threatening behavior from the house itself. Lights flicker, appliances malfunction, and the electrical system seems to act with malicious intent. As the danger escalates, David finds himself struggling to convince the adults ...

  Today on the Following Films Podcast, we’re joined by Zainab Azizi, producer at Sam Raimi’s Raimi Productions and one of the key creative forces behind the upcoming film Send Help. We talk about working inside Raimi’s production company, developing elevated genre films, and what it’s really like collaborating with one of the most iconic voices in modern horror. From behind-the-scenes process to navigating the studio system, this is a conversation about making bold films and surviving the chaos that comes with them. Send Help will be in theatres on January 30th.