Jill Wagner Movies

CGI effects wizard and versatile cinema Renaissance man Toby Wilkins directed this shocker, which is set in and around a remote gas station, where a vicious, virus-like entity invades the body of human victims and instills in them an unquenchable thirst for human blood. On their way into the wilderness for a romantic weekend alone, a young couple is carjacked by a desperate escaped criminal and his devious girlfriend. Later, as the mismatched couples head ever deeper into the woods, they unknowingly become targeted by a parasitic creature that absorbs the corpses of its human victims. The situation goes from bad to worse when the four travelers seek shelter at an abandoned gas station, and the insatiable creature begins taking them over one by one. With no means of telling who's been infected and who can still be trusted, the prospect of anyone escaping with their lives grows increasingly dim with each passing minute. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Phil Morrison, who collaborated with screenwriter Angus MacLachlan for his acclaimed 1990 short, Tater Tomater, joins forces with MacLachlan again for his feature-film debut, Junebug. Junebug takes place in rural North Carolina. Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), a sophisticated Chicagoan who owns a gallery devoted to "outsider art," goes south in an effort to woo an eccentric painter (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to her gallery. She brings along her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), a native of the area, and the couple stays with his family. Peg (Celia Weston), George's mother, gives Madeleine a rather chilly greeting, and seems to think she's a poor match for her eldest son, while his father, Eugene (Scott Wilson), is a bit more welcoming, in his quiet way. George's younger brother, Johnny (Ben McKenzie), is still living at home with his very pregnant wife, Ashley (Amy Adams), and seems to feel nothing but resentment for George. For her part, Ashley is a gregarious young woman, and she's immediately smitten with her "new sister." Junebug was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi