Could you imagine a world where watching people die for your entertainment was the norm? Twitch would be one hell of a different place if so. Well, “Guns Akimbo” will show people fighting for their survival in tournament based death matches.
The film, described as “hilariously dark, viciously violent, and chillingly prescient sci-fi thriller,” by TIFF, is directed by Jason Lei Howden in what will be his second feature length, following his “Deathgasm” debut back in 2015. The premise will show how Miles Harris (played by Daniel Radcliffe from the “Harry Potter” films) becomes involved in an illegal death-match fight club streamed live to the public. where him and his ex-girlfriends lives are on the line.
It may only be Howden’s second feature length as director, but he has worked on plenty of other films as part of the visual effects team. They include the likes of “Avengers Assemble,” “War For The Planet Of The Apes” and “The Hobbit” trilogy. His resume clearly has depth, so it will be interesting to see how the visual effects artist turned director’s film will perhaps taken inspiration from working on the likes of Marvel and “Lord Of The Rings.”
A fan of video games, clearly, Howden has take great inspiration from gaming, the concept of death matches in first-person shooter games like “Call Of Duty” has become the norm. Speaking to MovieMaker, Howden spoke about violence in the media and guns, saying. “I’ve got a weird relationship with guns. I love action movies and video games, but I actually grew up as a country boy. My room was the gun room. My dad had lines of guns. But if I see someone with a real gun, I just instantly just feel 1,000 percent less safe.” He continued, “I feel like there’s a place for them, and that place is not around me.”
Alongside Radcliffe, Samara Weaving (“Ready Or Not”) will star as Radcliffe’s nemesis. While there is also roles for Natasha Liu Bordizzo (“Hotel Mumbai”), Ned Dennehy (“Good Omens”) and Rhys Darby (“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle”). Saban Films are distributing the film after it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.
READ MORE: 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020
Here’s the synopsis:
Miles’ nerdy existence as a video game developer takes a dramatic turn when he inadvertently gets caught up as the next contestant with SKIZM, an underground gang live-streaming real-life death matches. While Miles excels at running away from everything, that won’t help him outlast Nix (Weaving), a killer at the top of her game.
The film will release on February 28 in select cinemas. Watch the new trailer below.