Jim Cummings (no, not the beloved, wholesome voice of Winnie The Pooh – the other one) has been on a roll of late. From his darkly comic grief-stricken breakout movie Thunder Road, to last year’s bloody horror comedy The Wolf Of Snow Hollow, he’s emerged as a major indie filmmaking talent and a captivating performer too – a multi-hyphenate who writes, stars, directs, and often edits his own work. Now, he’s back with The Beta Test, a twisting thriller co-written and co-directed with his costar PJ McCabe – in which a decision to attend a seemingly no-strings-attached hotel sex party comes with… well, not so much strings attached, as a tangled web of consequences. Watch the trailer exclusively here.
As with all of Cummings’ work, there’s a swirl of genres here – a darkly comic satire of Hollywood power dynamics, explorations of the vast interconnectivity of digital culture, and good old-fashioned thriller elements in there too. Here’s the official synopsis: “Shortly before his wedding, ruthless talent agent Jordan (Jim Cummings) receives a mysterious envelope offering no-strings-attached sex with a stranger in a hotel room. Initially amused, then intrigued, he becomes obsessed by the idea of a secret erotic adventure and impulsively accepts. But will he regret his choices when his meticulous, superficial world threatens to collapse under the weight of his burgeoning lies?”
Check out the striking poster here:
The Beta Test was a festival hit earlier this year when it debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival, and it’s coming to UK cinemas on 15 October. Just, don’t respond to any weird purple mystery letters in the post between now and then, OK?