FOLLOWING FILMS

Today I’m joined by a filmmaker whose new film is both a gritty Boston drama and a deeply personal debut. Eric Aronson is a Boston-based writer and director with over 22 years of experience as a Hollywood screenwriter. He’s written for major studios like Warner Bros., Disney, Miramax, and Lionsgate, and collaborated with creative forces like Sacha Baron Cohen. Now, with his directorial debut Any Day Now, Aronson brings a raw, heartfelt story to the screen — and back home to Boston. The film stars Boston native Paul Guilfoyle, best known for CSI, L.A. Confidential, and Spotlight. He plays Marty Lyons, a streetwise hustler who pulls a drifting young night watchman — played by Taylor Gray — into a murky world of misfits, regret, and second chances. Featuring an outstanding cast including Alexandra Templer, Thomas Kee, and Armando Rivera, Any Day Now is a love letter to the city and a story about finding meaning when everything feels lost. The film will be available on digital platforms Ma...

By the time Jason X rocketed onto screens in 2001, the Friday the 13th franchise had already taken audiences through psychic battles, Manhattan alleyways, and hell itself. So where else could it go? Naturally, the answer was space. While that premise sounded like a joke to many at the time, over two decades later, Jason X has become a minor cult classic—remembered not for reinventing the franchise, but for boldly embracing absurdity and delivering pure, unapologetic entertainment. The film begins in the near future. Jason Voorhees—once again captured by the government—is being held in a high-security research facility. After yet another attempt to contain or destroy him fails, he and scientist Rowan (Lexa Doig) are cryogenically frozen. Fast forward 445 years: Earth is an uninhabitable wasteland, and a group of students and researchers aboard a spaceship discover the frozen pair. They bring both back onboard their vessel, the Grendel, where Jason inevitably thaws out and resumes hi...

When Jason Goes to Hell premiered in 1993, it was met with confusion, frustration, and in some cases, outright rejection. Fans expecting a straightforward slasher with Jason Voorhees stalking teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake instead got a body-hopping supernatural thriller filled with mystical lore, FBI stings, demonic parasites, and magical daggers. At the time, the disappointment was understandable. But in the years since, the film has aged curiously well. Removed from the shock of not being a “real Jason movie,” it’s become easier to meet the film where it stands and judge it on its own offbeat merits. The film opens with what might be the most surprising and action-packed scene in the entire Friday the 13th franchise: Jason is lured into a trap by the FBI and blown to bits in a hail of gunfire and explosives. It’s outrageous and self-aware, sending a clear message that this is going to be a very different kind of Friday the 13th film. What follows is an ambitious genre mashup. Jason’...

Steven Soderbergh’s Presence is not just a ghost story—it’s a deeply personal, introspective, and stylistically daring supernatural thriller that stands out for its bold use of perspective and moral depth. Shot entirely from the first-person point of view of a spirit, the film immerses the viewer into the consciousness of an unseen entity navigating a family’s domestic unraveling. It’s not only a technical experiment, but a story with emotional weight, subtle revelations, and a chilling undercurrent of tragedy. Premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and released by Neon in early 2025, Presence has become a sleeper hit, earning $10.5 million on a modest $2 million budget. Directed, shot, and edited by Soderbergh, with a script from veteran screenwriter David Koepp, the film offers an experience that is simultaneously eerie, emotionally nuanced, and structurally inventive. From the very first frame, Presence makes its unique perspective clear. The camera doesn’t merely observ...

Robert Wise’s 1971 adaptation of The Andromeda Strain is a methodical, cerebral, and chilling piece of science fiction that trades spectacle for authenticity—and in doing so, delivers one of the most grounded and unsettling depictions of a biological catastrophe in cinematic history. Based on Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel, the film was ahead of its time in both concept and execution, and today it stands as a quietly influential work whose impact still resonates, particularly in our increasingly bio-aware world. The film opens with an eerie and understated sequence: a U.S. military satellite crashes near a small town in New Mexico, and shortly afterward, nearly all the town’s inhabitants are found dead—apparently killed instantaneously by an invisible force. The government rapidly assembles a team of elite scientists and brings them to a secret underground lab called "Wildfire" to study the satellite and determine the cause of death. The culprit is a mysterious extra...

Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios, the creative duo behind the viral horror hits Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel, are back with another warped take on a childhood classic. Bambi: The Reckoning , the latest entry in the expanding “Twisted Childhood Universe,” is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025 , via Seismic Releasing. Directed by Dan Allen and written by Rhys Warrington , the film reimagines the beloved deer not as a symbol of innocence, but as a creature of wrath. According to the official synopsis, a mother and son survive a car crash—only to be hunted by Bambi , a mutated, grief-stricken deer on a relentless rampage, driven by revenge over the death of his own mother. It's a premise that's equal parts absurd and horrifying—and that’s exactly the point. Let’s be honest: Bambi: The Reckoning is, in many ways, a cynical cash grab, capitalizing on public domain IP. But there's something refreshingly unapologetic about it. Like its Winnie-The-...

Today’s guest is an indie filmmaker who truly embodies that spirit. We're joined by the writer, director, and editor of Blind Blood, an award-winning crime thriller now streaming on Amazon Prime in the US and UK, and on Tubi in Australia. From writing the script to pulling off a feature film on limited resources, he’s here to talk about the blood, sweat, and storytelling that went into bringing Blind Blood to life. We’ll explore the harsh truths, hard-earned lessons, and occasional victories of making—and marketing—an indie film in today’s crowded landscape. Whether you're a fellow filmmaker, a fan of gritty thrillers, or just someone who loves behind-the-scenes stories, this episode has something for you.