Filmmaker Eamon O’Rourke taps into a different female empowerment angle for her directorial debut in Asking for It from Saban films. In this edgy thriller, Vanessa Hudgens, Kiersey Clemons, and Alexandra Shipp lead a no-mercy all-femme gang. After a small-town waitress (Clemons) is sexually assaulted on a date, she meets Regina (Shipp) and Beatrice (Hudgens) and is recruited into their vigilante group of badass women.
Together they strive to take down a society overpowered by corrupt men and seek the ultimate revenge while getting their version of justice.
The group leader is Sal, and their primary foe is Mark Vanderhill (Ezra Miller), the founder of the “Men First Movement.” The movement is about to hold a major rally in a town protected by corrupt Sheriff Morrill (David Patrick Kelly), inspiring the commune in a war against a powerful enemy.
Asking for It is a different kind of film because it’s not sure how to struggle with the narrative. I enjoyed the acting in the movie, notably Ezra Miller, who makes a wonderful bad guy. The ladies in the film have strong chemistry that is worthy of mention. At its core, Asking for It is an allegory on feminism, which, in that regard, the film succeeds.
Final Grade: C
Two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz collaborates with genre director Simon West on “Old Guy,” which The Avenue produces. Greg Jonson writes the screenplay.
Director Martin Campbell delivers another female-led action film in Cleaner from Lionsgate. Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley, and Paul Andrew Williams pen the film’s screenplay. Set in present-day London, a group of radical activists led by Marcus (Clive Owen) takes over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages to expose the hosts’ corruption.
After gaining some experience with a short film and a documentary, director Craig Tuohy shifts to the horror genre for his feature debut, “Everyone Is Going to Die,” produced by Saban Films. The story follows British real estate entrepreneur Daniel (played by Brad Moore), who seems to have it all: wealth and a young girlfriend named Julie (Marina Lazaris). However, due to his infidelity, he now has a strained relationship with his daughter Imogen (Gledisa Arthur).