While 99% of movie-going horror fans will be flocking to see Shane Black’sThe Predatorwhen it invades US theaters on September 14th, there’s another promising creeper getting a nationwide release that same day that definitely looks worthy of our collective attentions. Lionsgate is billingA Simple Favoras a thriller, but a couple of new TV spots make it fairly certain it’ll drift deep into horror territory. Besides, the boarder between thrillers and horror movies has always been incredibly opaque.
InA Simple Favor, which was directed by Paul Feig, Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a mommy vlogger who seeks touncover the truth behind her best friendEmily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily’s husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.
Hopefully,A Simple Favorwill snap Feig out of the funk he’s been in since the fiasco that wasGhostbusters, released in 2016. While no one can deny that the director and his cast were unfairly eviscerated by toxic fan culture, the film was only fair (at best). In some ways,Ghostbustershas become Feig’s white whale; he insists he has nothing but pride for his iteration of the 1980s classic, and has gone so far as to say he believes hisGhostbustersdeserves a sequel (statements that, in my opinion, prove the filmmaker is too emotionally invested to examine the situation objectively). I’m not trying to bash the man;A Simple Favorlooks great and I sincerely hope it sets Feig back on track. Other upcoming projects on his IMDB page include a made-for-TV film calledGirls Codeand a sequel to 2013’sThe Heat.
Anna Kendrick is anunsung heroine of the horror genre. Yes, the actress best known for playing Beca in thePitch Perfecttrilogy has “Future Scream Queen” written all over her. While turns in theTwilightfranchise and voicing a character inMonster Housebarely qualify, Kendrick turned in harrowing (and hilarious) performances inThe VoicesandLife After Beth. Horror fans also have a soft spot for Lively; theSisterhood of the Traveling Pants/Gossip Girlactress delivered a stunning turn as Nancy in 2016’sThe Shallows(a shark-centric horror movie that puts the recent mega-blockbusterThe Megto shame). Hopefully,A Simple Favorwill be another gold star for each of these talented (and drop dead gorgeous) thespians.
At its core,A Simple Favoris a mystery, something perhaps akin toGone Girlwith a bit of madcap eccentricity that echoes TBS’sSearch Party. Is this suburban backdrop subterfuge for some unknown evil? Are the friendly, professional veneers of upper-middle-classism set to shatter? Or is Stephanie (Kendrick) a bored housewife, losing her ability to differentiate paranoid fantasies from reality? I guess we’ll have to see the film to know for sure! Thanks toLionsgatefor the trailers.
