For those of you who don’t know Ben Wheatley, he’s the eccentric British director who created a racket when he directed the freaky Kill List in 2011 (why Neil Maskell doesn’t get more love, we just don’t understand). He proved he had a unique universe, constantly going places people didn’t expect, as in the dark comedy Sightseers and the polarizing J.G. Ballard adaptation of High Rise (a book long thought to be unadaptable), in which Tom Hiddleston eats a dog.
Ben Wheatley isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon, and what a busy bee he’s been. First, he produced what looks like one of the weirdest films to come out this year, a psychological horror film, Tank 432, which looks pretty insane, bug-eyed villains and all. Knowing Wheatley, he wouldn’t put his stamp of approval on something not worth a least a little bit of your time, and even though it might be stranger than all hell, you won’t leave feeling nothing when you check out the film in theaters or OnDemand on November 25th.
Next in line is Free Fire, easily in our top 3 for most anticipated flicks of 2017. It looks like what could be best described as Reservoir Dogs on crack. This arms-dealing-gone-bad film looks absolutely batshit crazy, and will most likely contain some of the best performances we’ll see next year, as Weathley’s surrounded himself with some of the best actors working today in Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Jack Reynor and Sharlto Copley. If it delivers (and judging by the early reviews it does), this could easily become a cult film. Unofrtunately we’ll have to wait till March 2017 to find out.
Last but not least on the Wheatley news front, it was also announced that he is about to tackle an adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic Hard Boiled. The comic is an ultra violent dystopian tale that David Fincher previously attempted to adapt (one of the many projects he had) but was unable to come to an agreement with the studio on. This looks like Wheatley’s first big budget movie as Warner Bros is producing it. Luckily they didn’t hire him to make yet another superhero film, instead placing him at the helm of something far more unique.
Another reason to be excited about Hard Boiled, is the fact that Wheatley is thinking of Tom Hiddleston for the main role, an actor who has already proven that he’s got the chops for demanding parts. Wheatley is a man known to work fast and let’s hope this film arrives sooner rather than later. Even though Fincher couldn’t get a grip on the project, let’s pray Mr. Wheatley does a great job and kicks our asses again.
