While I was waiting for the screening of “Unfriended,” I was sitting with some friends and the conversation turned to “Roar”, as it often does if I'm involved right now.
After all, if there is any film being released theatrically this year that deserves to be obsessed over, it is “Roar.” This oddity from 1971 was rediscovered by Tim League and the rest of the amazing Drafthouse Films team, and they're releasing it in limited markets starting this Friday. I've written my review of the movie, and I mean it sincerely when I say that the pull quote they used from me in the trailer for the film is one of the proudest moments of my entire career writing about movies.
What makes the film special? Why have I seen it five times and I'm still willing to drive from Anaheim to Sherman Oaks after a long day at Celebration just to see the film for the sixth time and then do a Q&A? Because this is a movie that simply should not exist.
One of my favorite things about movies is that they drive people insane. Genuinely gloriously insane. When you watch “Burden of Dreams” or “Hearts Of Darkness” and you see those private moments where Francis Ford Coppola or Werner Herzog are in their darkest places, they are not themselves. They are possessed by something, driven by it, and it is both terrifying and completely necessary if they are going to finish these monumental undertakings.
I have no idea what drove Noel Marshall and tipi Hedren to make “Roar,” but I am so excited to be talking to John Marshall after the film. It's not because I want to laugh or joke, either. I am genuinely fascinated by the entire process, and the end result is a singular thing. You will never see another movie like it. Still not sold? Then please… check out the exclusive clip we embedded above, and welcome to my anxiety attack. In the meantime, here's the trailer because awesome:
If you're in Los Angeles, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease come to the Arclight Sherman Oaks tomorrow. I think this is going to be a special one, and I am excited to see this with an audience for the first time.
“Roar” is in select theaters on Friday.