Summer 2016 Preview: The Indies

Continuing our look at the summer movie season, it’s time to take a break from the blockbusters and look at the indies.  Hidden between the all the CGI, explosions, and terrible acting, some of the best independent films of the year are released in the summer.  The past few years, films like Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Fruitvale Station (2013), Obvious Child (2014), and The End of the Tour (2015) have all been released during the summer with great success.  So let’s have a look at some of the independent films coming out this summer.

5 – Bite (Chad Archibald, May 6)

If you’re looking for a great horror movie to see this summer, definitely check out Bite.  I had the opportunity to see this at the 2015 Chicago International Film Festival and it is a blast.  It’s about a woman named Casey (Elma Begovic) who gets bitten by an unknown bug while on her bachelorette party which causes her to exhibit insect like traits when she returns home.  This is a crazy mix of 1980’s David Cronenberg films, especially The Fly (1986), with some slasher movie tropes.  I don’t know how wide of a release this will get, but you can definitely find it on demand.  Don’t miss this gross, sticky, creepy, oddly funny midnight gem.

4 – The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, sometime in June)

Nicolas Winding Refn is the visionary director behind one of the best movies of the decade, Drive (2011).  His movies are shocking, expertly made, and filled with jaw-dropping visuals and great performances.  He hit a slight bump with Only God Forgives (2013), but looks to be back in top form with The Neon Demon.  The movie follows Jesse (Elle Fanning), an aspiring model loses her innocence and strength amongst the beauty-0bsessed women she surrounds herself with.  With a stunning trailer reminiscent of classic David Lynch, this looks to be one of the weirder, darker films coming out this summer.

3 – Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross, July 8)

Everybody I know who saw this at this years Sundance Film Festival gushed about it.  Ben (Viggo Mortensen) lives with his six kids isolated from the world and raises them with rigorous physical and intellectual education.   When they are forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, Ben is faced with reexamining what it means to be a parent as his kids face the challenges of a new world.  I’m excited for this movie based on the Sundance buzz and because Viggo Mortensen gives great performances in every movie.

2 – The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, May 13)

This movie has gotten so much buzz since premiering at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, I’m excited I actually get to see it.  Set in a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or they are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.  This is such a creative idea for a film and features a great cast of Colin Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, and Ben Whishaw.  I’ve been waiting a year for this movie to come out and I cannot wait to see it.

1 – Swiss Army Man (The Daniels, June 24)

Here’s the deal with this movie: I’ve already had the chance to see it at this year’s Sundance Film Festival (you can read my review right here )and in my six years of attending Sundance, this is probably the most divisive movie I’ve ever seen.  It follows a man (Paul Dano) who is stranded on an island and befriends a dead body (Daniel Radcliffe).  This movie ends up being the weirdest combination of Cast Away (2000) and Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) with a ton of fart jokes.  Some people love this movie, some people hate it, but either way, everyone needs to see it, as it is one of the most original movies I’ve seen in a long time.

So there you, five independent films coming out this summer you should be excited about.  Support your indies people, they’re great.

Continue to follow my summer movie preview here, on Twitter @kevflix and on Facebook at Kevflix.