In 1966, director Sergio Corbucci and protagonist Franco Nero created the western cult character Django, who has been an integral part of the genre ever since. More “Django” movies followed – especially in Germany, because in this country other western characters were simply dubbed and so-called “Django” sequels were made, which actually don’t exist. After Quentin Tarantino recently referenced the classic with “Django Unchained”, there is now a “Django” series from Sky that freely interprets the original.
In a total of ten one-hour episodes, character actor Mathias Schoenaerts (“The Old Guard”, “The Taste of Rust and Bone”) takes on the role of the cowboy who wants to solve and avenge his family’s carnage. As of today, February 17, 2023, the first two episodes of “djangoavailable on streaming service WOW. Two more episodes will follow weekly on WOW and every Friday on Sky Q. From 21 February, the TV will be broadcast every Tuesday from 8.15 pm in double episodes on Sky Atlantic.
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This is the story of “Django”
Texas, late 1800s: After Django (Mathias Schoenaerts) discovers that his daughter was not killed years ago in a massacre of the rest of the family, he sets out to find her… and eventually finds her in a place called New Babylon , which promises all outsiders an equal life in freedom. There, young Sarah (“Dark” star Lisa Vicari) is about to marry town founder John Ellis (Nicholas Pinnock) and doesn’t want to know about her father, whom she blames for the massacre at the time.
But Django is persistent. To stay close to his daughter, Ellis hires him to defend the city against his powerful and ruthless adversary, Elizabeth Thurman (Noomi Rapace). But he has no idea that Ellis is also connected to his dark past. Little by little the truth emerges…
Also new at WOW: horror tip “The Black Phone”
With “Sinister”, Scott Derrickson shot the horror film that was even declared the scariest of all time in a study. After a Marvel stint with Doctor Strange, he returned to his favorite genre for The Black Phone. If you missed the film in cinemas in 2022, you can now stream it for the first time at no extra cost with a streaming subscription.
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In the film adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story, 13-year-old Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) falls into the clutches of a child kidnapper and serial killer (terrifyingly played by Ethan Hawke) named “Grabbers”. While the police are deadlocked and his apparently clairvoyant younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) searches for him, Finney finds himself in a soundproof basement with a black phone. Although it is not connected, it suddenly rings…
We give the official FILMSTARTS review a solid 4 stars and close with the conclusion: “A great cast in a technically furious and atmospherically dense horror film that constantly bubbles awkwardly and then really gets under your skin in the third act.”