One of the most anticipated horror films of 2015 is The Invitation, the latest, long awaited feature from Jennifers Body director Karyn Kusama. The film is newly announced to have its World Premiere, alongside the North American Premiere of Alex Garlands sci-fi thriller Ex Machina at this Marchs annual SXSW in Austin.
Getting underway March 13, SXSW Film announced its opening film today (Russel Brand doc Brand: A Second Coming) as well as the arguably more exciting, aforementioned titles. The Invitation (pictured top), Kusamas Jennifers Body follow-up stars Logan Marshall-Green and Tammy Blanchard. In the film, a reunion of old friends turns into a nightmare when one guest, a haunted man whose ex-wife is among the hosts, begins to fear that the night is part of a terrifying agenda.
The very intense-looking Ex Machina, meanwhile is the feature directorial debut of Garland, best known for writing 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and cult-in-the-making actioner Dredd. In it, Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the companys brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Testcharging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathans latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticatedand more deceptivethan the two men could have imagined.
You can see the trailer for Ex Machina, below. A24 will release the film April 10th. For more on SXSW, visit the official site.
