Since I don’t think I am the only one who is starting to get really tired of all the Marvel and DC movie and TV adaptations, with an annoying lack of ideas and with some unoriginal plots that it is impossible to call the attention to any sector of the audience that is the not die-for fans of the franchises, it is always a pleasure to see filmmakers who decide to give a new twist to the subgenre. After titles like James Gunn’s Super (2010), Defendor (2009), Kick-Ass (2010), and the recent Project Power (2020), now we gotta add one new movie to the collection of alternative superheroes, Archenemy (2020).
Archenemy (2020) has been directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, after he made himself a name in the industry with his previous horror and fantasy films Some Kind of Hate (2015), Daniel Isn’t Real (2019), and the segment “New Year’s Eve” in horror anthology Holidays (2016). He has also been the author of the story and has written the screenplay together with Luke Passmore, also the writer of The Day (2011), co-writer of Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018), and one of the main people behind The Walking Dead: Webisodes (2011–2013).
The movie centers on a teenager name Hamster who meets a mysterious man named Max Fist who claims he lost his superpowers after arriving from another dimension. Together, they take to the streets to wipe out a vicious crime boss and his local drug syndicate.
The movie is starred by Joe Manganiello, who is already familiar with superhero productions since he starred as Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man (2002). Skylan Brooks, Zolee Griggs, Paul Scheer, Amy Seimetz, and Glenn Howerton complete the main cast.
Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision banner is producing the movie. It had its world premiere at Beyond Fest on October 7, 2020. It was also part of the Sitges Film Festival where it was nominated as Best Motion Picture in the Official Fantàstic Competition section. RLJE Films owns the distribution rights of the film, that is available on-demand since December 11, 2020. Here you can watch the trailer for Archenemy (2020).
