John Portnoy Movies

A trip into the woods turns into a terrifying battle against the forces of evil in this remake of Sam Raimi's ferocious 1981 horror classic. Mia (Jane Levy) is a heroin addict whose most recent overdose was nearly her last. Recognizing that she won't survive another, Mia's longtime friends Olivia (Jessica Lucas) and Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) take the troubled girl to her family's old cabin in the woods to quit cold turkey. It isn't their first attempt, but this time they're hoping that with Mia's brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) around, she'll have the support she needs to weather the coming storm. The moment David arrives at the cabin with his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore), strange things start to happen; Mia complains about a foul smell that none of her friends can sense, and upon descending into the fruit cellar David and Eric discover what appears to be the scene of a dark ritual. Scattered amongst the animal corpses and mysterious artifacts is an old book that's been sealed shut with heavy-duty plastic and barbed wire. Intrigued, Eric manages to cut the book free and makes a disturbing discovery -- the book has been bound in human flesh, and it comes with an incantation that will unleash a powerful force of evil. Ignoring the warnings not to speak or even hear the incantation, Eric reads the words aloud, sealing his own dark fate, as well as those of his closest friends. One by one they will be possessed until no soul has been left unclaimed. The lucky ones will die first, their souls condemned to suffer as their bodies are twisted into an obscene aberration of flesh. Will the last person standing have the courage to send these sadistic demons back to hell, even if it means killing their friends and loved ones in the worst way imaginable, or will the forces unleashed by this unholy book prove too powerful for any one mortal to defeat? ~ Rovi

When the population of a village in rural China must defend themselves against a formidable enemy, a local blacksmith (director/star/co-writer RZA) forges the weapons they need to emerge victorious from the bloody battle to come. Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu co-star in this period action thriller co-written by famed horror director Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A journalist with a troubled past returns to her hometown to report on the annual Mothman Festival, and finds a secret from her past resurfacing just when she least expected it. After Katherine (Jewel Straite) graduated high school, she couldn't get out of her small town fast enough. Relocating to Washington, D.C., she launched a successful career in journalism and thought she'd never look back. Now she's been assigned to cover the annual Mothman Festival, and from the moment she returns something feels horribly wrong. As a teenager, Katherine and her friends conspired to cover up a tragic drowning. Now they're all experiencing visions that are driving them to madness. The Mothman is among them, and he won't rest until they've paid for their sins. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A bored suburban husband finds his affair with a high-school babysitter fast snowballing out of control in this black comedy from first-time screenwriter/director David Ross. Shirley (Katherine Waterston) is a brainy honors student who is always thinking about the future, and works part-time as a babysitter in order to save up for college. Among Shirley's regular charges are spirited youngsters Adam and Mikey, the offspring of respected father Michael (John Leguizamo) and his pretty wife, Gail (Cynthia Nixon). Shirley has always had an innocent crush on Michael, but one night after her regular shift, things take a serious turn when the pair sneaks a furtive kiss. Lately Michael has become noticeably depressed by the suburban routine, longing for the days before family responsibility weighed him down and his wife turned into the typical minivan-driving soccer mom. Shirley's kiss makes Michael feel alive again, and as a result he gives her a substantial tip that night. Before long, however, a fleeting kiss has turned into a full-fledged affair, with Michael and Shirley using the babysitting shifts as cover. When Michael's married friends catch wind of his extramarital exploits, they, too, express the want for a babysitter who is willing to earn a healthy tip. Recognizing the potential for profit in such a situation, Shirley soon assumes the role of teenage madam -- matching up her high-school friends with otherwise upstanding men who have grown bored with married life. Of course, Shirley isn't above skimming a bit of the profits for her college fund, but then again it's only a matter of time before their carefully crafted cover is blown. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A couple with a broken relationship learns some valuable lessons about love, life, and sacrifice in this romantic drama based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It's 1925, and Dr. Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is a physician and bacteriologist who has become smitten with Kitty (Naomi Watts), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy and socially prominent family. Walter proposes marriage to Kitty and she accepts; however, while he clearly loves her, Kitty is more interested in her reputation than Walter's feelings, as she's recently turned 25, an age by which most of her peers have already wed. Kitty and Walter move to Shanghai, where he sets up a practice and she takes a lover, the British Vice Consul Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber). When Walter learns of his wife's infidelity, he becomes furious, and impulsively volunteers to travel to China to work in a village stricken with a major cholera epidemic. While Walter's actions are meant to punish Kitty rather than reflect his own benevolence, the daily trials of living in a community in crisis have a striking impact on the couple, giving them a new and deeper perspective on their relationship. The Painted Veil is the third screen adaptation of Maugham's best-selling novel of the same name; a 1934 version starred Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall, while Eleanor Parker and Bill Travers played the leads in a 1957 remake titled The Seventh Sin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi