One of the highlights from this year’s SXSW is arriving next month. Ted Geoghegan’s Brooklyn 45, starring Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ezra Buzzington, and Kristina Klebe, follows five military veterans who gather in the ornate parlor of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they’ve reunited to support their troubled host–but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal. Trapped in their host’s lounge, the Greatest Generation now finds themselves put to one final test, with their only route to freedom being more bloodshed. Ahead of an NYC premiere at IFC Center on June 1 and Shudder and AMC+ release on June 9, the first trailer has now arrived.
Jake Kring-Schriefels said in his review, “It’s supposed to be a nostalgic, supportive night. On December 27, 1945, five military veterans and friends from childhood gather inside a Brooklyn brownstone to reminisce about old times, celebrate the end of World War II, and comfort a grieving host whose wife has recently passed. But what starts with sentimental banter and a strong whiskey buzz quickly spirals into an unexpected séance that conjures the paranormal, sparks some paranoia, and builds to a possession that seems hell-bent on staining the wood-paneled parlor with as much blood as possible. That’s the fun, gory, alarming premise behind Brooklyn 45, Ted Geoghegan’s third feature film that asks a lot of heavy questions in-between its abrupt moments of splatter. When does the war really end? Who decides when it’s over? How do you determine ethics in the midst of battle? Within the useful limitations of a one-night, one-location get-together, Geoghegan mostly makes good on his script, which feels as if adapted from a stage play and provides enough cinematic flourishes to warrant a 90-minute conspiratorial conversation.”
See the trailer below.
Brooklyn 45 plays at IFC Center on June 1 and arrives on Shudder and AMC+ on June 9.