Movie Reviews
‘The Ballad of Judas Priest’ Review: Leather-Clad Heavy Metal Pioneers Are Nice Working-Class English Lads Who Enjoy a Good Cup of Tea
The studded leather stage garb, the ear-splitting falsetto and thrashing guitars of a bunch of heavy metal gods suggest a stereotype bordering on satanic. Even the name given to the industrial birthplace of this lovingly assembled rock doc’s subjects, “The Black Country,” sounds like a demonic spawning ground. But one of the chief takeaways from fanboy co-directors Sam Dunn and Tom Morello’s entertaining legacy salute, The Ballad of Judas Priest, is how endearingly this canonical band comes across.
Sure, they helped define heavy metal culture by dressing like a biker gang, sparked a culture war trial over accusations of subliminal death messaging and superfan Jack Black describes their sound as “the song you want to fuckin’ play on the electric chair; it’s the song you want to play before you fuckin’ head off into oblivion.” But these guys seem approachable, unpretentious and refreshingly uninclined toward bad-ass macho-aggressive posturing. They are the kind of nice, self-deprecating working-class English lads you could take home to meet Mum and Dad. Maybe it’s the delightful Birmingham accents.
The Ballad of Judas Priest
The Bottom Line The sweeter side of hardcore headbangers.
Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale Special Midnight)
With: Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Scott Travis, Richie Faulkner, Tom Morello, Jack Black, Darryl McDaniels, Dave Grohl, Lzzy Hale, Billy Corgan, Scott Ian, Kirk Hammett, Ozzy Osbourne, Andy Sneap
Directors: Sam Dunn, Tom Morello
1 hour 38 minutes
That’s not to imply that Dunn and Morello’s film makes the pioneering metallurgists seem in any way inauthentic or soft. But when you partly frame a Judas Priest doc with longtime frontman Rob Halford, now a cheerful septuagenarian, strolling down to his local to order fish and chips with mushy peas and a pickled egg, you inevitably demystify your Metal Lords.
Then again, Judas Priest appear never to have cared much about cultivating an offstage mystique to match their hard-edged, high-energy performance style. Any band in their genre that would craft a metal power anthem out of Joan Baez’s introspective folk ballad “Diamonds and Rust” clearly isn’t just playing to expectations.
The movie has surprising warmth and heart, notably so in its handling of Halford’s sexuality. The singer was never in the closet with his bandmates or management, but he was encouraged to hide that side of himself as their popularity grew in the 1970s. Halford acknowledges that metal was an alpha male-dominated sphere in which he himself believed there was no place for an openly gay man.
That created a struggle between success and fame on one side and loneliness and angst on the other, leading to a period of alcoholism, which he kicked with a 30-day rehab stint. But when Halford casually came out during a 1998 MTV interview, and the news traveled round the world in 24 hours, he was astonished at the outpouring of love and acceptance from the metal community.
The doc makes wry points about going back and looking for hidden queer meaning in the band’s lyrics, yielding not exactly subtle clues like Halford strutting around the stage singing “Grinder! Looking for meat!”
Earlier, they switched from sequins and satin into their defining leatherwear look, finding the initial pieces in a gay sex shop in London’s Soho. There’s humor in Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, a San Francisco native, recognizing the look from late 1970s Castro leather boys: “I was thinking, huh, maybe it’s different in Britain.” But Halford drolly specifies: “There was never any equation to S&M, because I’m the most vanilla guy in the gay world.”
The doc mixes present-day interviews with the band, archive material and input from contemporaries like Ozzy Osbourne and next-gen rockers Dave Grohl and Hammett. Black’s contributions are both reverential and light-hearted.
But some of the most insightful and witty commentary comes from co-director and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Morello. He talks about starting a heavy metal appreciation club while he was at Harvard, which would meet every week to discuss Harvardian topics like “The social impact of the twin axe attack on ‘80s metal post Defenders of the Faith.”
In subsequent years, Morello started organizing similar gatherings of like-minded friends to discuss metal at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles. One such meeting, extensively excerpted here, is a “Judas Priest Round Table,” at which Morello is joined by Run-DMC vocalist Darryl McDaniels, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, Scott Ian from Anthrax and Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale.
The group’s Priest love is contagious, and there’s a nice note of inclusivity in the fact that two Black musicians, Morello and McDaniels, were instrumental in getting Judas Priest into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame after the band had been passed over on two previous ballots.
Perhaps the most interesting chapter looks back on the “Satanic Panic” period, when mainstream America’s fear of the heavy metal subculture peaked. Concerned mothers formed the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) to scapegoat hard rock as a pollutant of their children’s minds, while Senate subcommittee hearings pushed for censorship.
The most significant offshoot of all this came in 1990, when a Nevada civil action funded by Christian conservatives went after Judas Priest for $6 million, alleging that subliminal messages in the band’s music prompted the suicide pact of two young males. This would seem ludicrous today if not for the far right’s habitual moral hysteria. But watching a courtroom full of people straining to hear vague signals like “Do it” in a Priest song raises eyebrows, especially when it’s determined that the subliminal words were never there. “The common-sense thing is, why would you tell your fans to fucking kill themselves?” observes Halford.
While the band was cleared of any suspicion, the experience of their music being put on trial left behind a heavy cloud. They argue that, rather than feeding loneliness and despair, metal allowed misfits to find their communities. Hammett gets emotional talking about it, calling the music “medicine.”
This is more of a celebration than a warts-and-all study, with relatively little on the personal side. Conflicts are glossed over, line-up changes happen without drama and any life or relationships outside the band are mentioned only in passing. LGBTQ audiences might wish to know if Halford ever managed a clandestine relationship over the 25 years of fame during which he remained closeted, or indeed since. But Dunn and Morello make no apologies for sticking to the music and the rapport among the band members.
As with any group that’s been recording and performing in various configurations for more than half a century (Morello calls them “the Willie Nelson of heavy metal”), time takes its toll.
Longtime guitarist K.K. Downing’s departure in 2011 was a blow, though he’s vague about the reasons, beyond saying it started to feel more like hard work than joy. Even more saddening was the Parkinson’s disease diagnosis that struck Glenn Tipton, Downing’s other half in the twin axe “guitarmony” component so essential to the band’s dynamic. (The late Osbourne makes touching comments about the sense of solidarity he felt as a fellow Parkinson’s sufferer.)
The biggest change to the band came in 1992 when Halford decided to step away for a while to pursue solo projects. That lasted 11 years, but despite any rancor the break might have caused, when the time came for him to return, Tipton says, “He didn’t need to ask.” Nevertheless, that negotiation took place, in quintessentially British style, over a cup of tea.
I confess that aside from a handful of Led Zeppelin bangers, I’ve never been much of a metal fan and before The Ballad of Judas Priest, I couldn’t have named even one of the band’s hits. But watching them perform at the 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony, with all four core members — Halford, Downing, Tipton and bassist Ian Hill — together again on stage, I found myself thinking “Priest! Fuck, yeah!” as my index and pinky fingers involuntarily formed devil horns.
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz star in The Invite.
A24
hide caption
toggle caption
A24
The new comedy film The Invite centers on an unhappy married couple who host another couple — they live upstairs — for an uncomfortable, and revelatory, evening of dinner and charcuterie. The film’s screenwriters, Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, are actors who are also longtime writing and producing partners.
Jones and McCormack met decades ago, when McCormack’s sister (actor Mary McCormack) set them up on a date. It didn’t work out as a romantic pairing. Instead, it was the start of a long-running creative partnership.
“We’re really like brother and sister who dated briefly, which is not weird,” McCormack jokes. “I think we both knew right from the very beginning that we were connected and that we had to be in each other’s lives. And it took us a minute to sit down to write, but finally we did, and I’m so glad we did.”
Jones says she and McCormack share a voice: “The two of us have the same clip, the same rhythm, and we’re so different in so many ways, but we just kind of like fit like puzzle pieces conversationally very quickly, which is a wonderful thing to have with a writing partner.”
Inspired by the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs, The Invite takes place over the course of one night in a chicly appointed apartment in San Francisco. Two couples gather for dinner, and as the evening unfolds, the stories they’ve been telling themselves about their relationships and about themselves fall apart.
McCormack describes the film as a sex comedy that’s not really about sex. “It’s about wanting to be seen and heard and valued,” he says. “You live with someone for so long and it’s really hard.”
Jones says it’s no accident that their work tends to focus on relationships and middle age: “Selfishly, it’s great that we can channel the thing we’re most interested in, which is relationships, living with other people, being parents, losing parents, being alive, getting older, being middle-aged, looking straight down the barrel of the back half of life. All these things we got to bring to this script.”
Interview highlights
Will McCormack and Rashida Jones attend the Los Angeles premiere of The Invite on June 23, 2026.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
On their working relationship
Jones: We write separately. We write together. We’re in an open relationship as writers, a very healthy, open relationship. But when we come together, there’s a thing that happens.
McCormack: I think we always found the same things funny. … And I think also the same things sort of broke our hearts, and I think that we wanted to try to say something together. There were movies that appealed to us both, and there was a voice that we shared from the beginning. There was just an easy rapport.
On acting out the dialogue together as they’re writing it
Jones: Well, we act while we’re writing, but that’s our discovery process of dialogue because we’re lucky, we both started as actors and can do a good job with that. So often we act out the scenes and if it’s not working, it doesn’t feel right … that’s easy to fix.
On why they’re drawn to stories about heartache
McCormack: Life is really just a series of losses. It’s one loss and one heartbreak after another. When your little summer ends and you don’t want it to end, and then you get your heart broken, and then you have kids, and they’re gonna break your heart, and then your parents die and then [you] start to lose bone density. …
Those moments can actually be the funniest because they’re so raw. And it’s when we feel connected, right? Like, heartbreak is the thing that binds us. Like, no matter who you are or no matter where you are or no amount of how old you are, like you’re gonna go through heartache. … And to be able to dig into some of those moments with Rashida has just been such a gift, and I don’t take that for granted to be able to do that for a living.
On Quincy, her documentary about her dad, Quincy Jones, and experiencing anticipatory grief
Jones: I filmed for six years, and the second to last year of filming, he went into a diabetic coma, and we stopped filming, and luckily my brother filmed a little bit in the hospital because we were going to kind of show him what he had been through if and when he came out and we were so lucky he did come out at 82. … But having that moment where he was that close to death, and then deciding to put that in the film and show him overcoming that, I think was my way of sort of preparing for the inevitable, you know? And I was so lucky to have him for another nine years after that, but ultimately, I knew what was coming, and it was really a love letter to my dad, but also a way to hopefully reach out to other people and say, listen, we’re all going to go through this and we want to be honest about what it’s like for our family to come to the other side of this.
My dad is obviously an icon and a culture shifter, and he had been documented a lot before. And what I felt like people missed, because he’s so successful at what he did, was they missed his personality. They missed the personal side of him, which is a very important part to why he was successful. It’s not just his talent and his hard work, but he had this gift with people. And he had a way of relating and being honest and getting to the heart and the honesty of something and the intimacy of something so fast with a stranger, with his kids, with the people who loved him, the people didn’t know him. And I really wanted that to be on screen.
On what they bring out in each other
Jones: Will is like my closest chosen family in a way. … I don’t wanna get emotional, but I feel like Will, and I see the child versions of ourselves and can really take care of that little kid in each other, because we’re both very hard on ourselves. … We sort of like, very kind of gently, love and respect each other and give each other the benefit of the doubt that we might not give ourselves. And then, I think, born of that is this sort of thing that lives in the intersection between pain and humor, and maybe hopefully something divine, like hopefully we leave some room, as my dad always said, “for God to walk in the door,” because that’s really our job ultimately is to channel. And so hopefully there’s something about us coming together that allows that to happen.
McCormack: I don’t want to get emotional either, but what she said.
Ann Marie Baldonado and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Meghan Sullivan adapted it for the web.
Way back in 2017 I reviewed a film called Demon Hunter (which was recently rereleased as Taryn Barker Demon Hunter), a moody character driven horror action hybrid that I enjoyed very much. After a very long wait, a sequel, Demon Hunter: Time 2 Kill, has finally been released in the world.
Read on for my thoughts on the film
Synopsis
Taryn Barker is just your average everyday monster slaying, wise-cracking, demon hunter on the hunt for two pieces of an ancient artifact, The Necrox. Standing in her way is Elysia Cronika, the CEO of Illumini Industries and a member of the Satanic sect The Stygian.
Cronika plans to obtain the Necrox to unleash Hell on Earth. The problem is Taryn is hard to kill and with every demon sent to eliminate the demon hunter getting wiped out, she gets closer to saving the day.
As a last resort, Cronika sends Taryn through time alongside a band of innocent teenagers to the year 1987 and now Taryn needs to protect the group from a notorious summer camp slasher Lucien Krull, whilst finding the Necrox and a way back home to the present
Demon Hunter: Time 2 Kill was written and directed by Zoe Kavanagh. The film stars Niamh Hogan, Lisa Wilcox, Angel Nichole Bradford, Kevin O’Malley, Anthony Cespedes, CJ Dorsey, Valeria Arango Gomez, Jada Krueger and Desiree Xu.
After all these years, it was nice to see Taryn Barker return. She’s a little less moody and more grown up and she has a stronger sense of humor. One thing that hasn’t changed is that she’s an absolute badass. I was really impressed with the increased action, fight scenes and stunt work. Niamh Hogan does a great job as Taryn. She kills it at the fight scenes, she’s got great comedic timing and she’s just genuinely fun to watch.
I was really happy to see Kevin O’Malley return as Ethan, as I felt he was one of the strongest characters in the first film and I really enjoyed his chemistry with Taryn. He’s given a lot more to do here and that was exciting. The cast includes a lot of new additions and there was definitely some highlights.
Angel Nichole Bradford (one of my absolute favorite indie actresses) plays Deborah, a character who shares a sisterly energy with Taryn. I loved the way they looked out for each other and always had each other’s back. Enea Pagni’s Jay and Jacob Rainer’s Lawrence were 2 characters I was able to root for. I loved their friendship. Last but not least is Desiree Xu’s Azumi, a demonology expert who is also a ninja. She was definitely a badass and I loved seeing her work together with Ethan.
The story here is much different than the first film, including time travel and a strong slasher element, which I really enjoyed. It gave Demon Hunter: Time 2 Kill a unique feel and set it apart from the first film. Given the slasher elements, it’s much gorier than the original film, which is sure to please those who enjoy that sort of thing. I loved how the film ended and am curious to potentially see where the series could go from here.
Final Thoughts
Demon Hunter: Time 2 Kill is an excellent sequel that increases the action, has some well executed fight scenes and ups the body count. Demon Hunter: Time 2 Kill is supernatural slasher/action film that is well worth a checking out. Highly recommended.
Earnest, preachy and melodramatic to a fault, “Mississippi Scholar” is exactly the sort of movie that the independent cinema was born to create.
Director and co-writer Marcus Bleecker’s film may traffic in tropes and cliches. But it has a vivid sense of place and a clear notion of the message it wants to send, and that message’s relevence.
Set in an unnamed small Mississippi city — it was filmed in Baldwyn, Saltillo and Fulton — the film is “a mind is a terrible thing to waste” in cinematic form. Our “Scholar” was born into a world of substance abuse, the racist legal traps of the country’s remaining marijuana laws and has a baby-mama-in-waiting and a drunken parent whom our teen hero is responsible for as his burdens.
But he has a world of promise that one dedicated teacher, his dead father (whom he still converses with) and even he himself can see if he can just “stay focused” and keep his eyes on this very personal prize — college and a better life beyond Ole Miss.
Shannon Brown is James, a kid with great grades and an ill-tempered mother (Gisla Stringer) who crawled into the bottle a long time ago and has no interest in crawling out.
But he’s got an ad hoc support system helping him through his senior year. His aunt (GiGi Marie Gaines) feeds him and keeps him advised of his mother’s latest tumbles. His dead dad (co-writer Obba Babatundé) passes on wisdom about his mother in fortune cookie-sized bites when father and son chat — at the cemetary or elsewhere.
“Hurt people hurt people.”
His English teacher, Mr. Keating (Sonny Marinelli) has high hopes for him, hopes he’s willing to nag the kid to achieve — “It takes only five seconds to get in trouble, and 25 years to get out of it!”
His school principal (Lance E. Nichols) expects greatness, but has learned to never get his hopes up over any Black boy at his integrated high school.
Even Ray-Ray (Jeremy Isaiah Earl), the ex-con drug dealer, takes a brotherly interest in the kid who is his “best distributor.” That money is what keeps a roof over James’ and his mother’s heads, and pays for his Jordans.
His white boy bestie (Dominic Arvielo) may act “Black,” but will he have James’ back when things get real?
And girlfriend Tammy (Aysa Branch) may be far and away the prettiest girl in school. But she’s taking the easy route, relying on her looks to achieve the limited goals the script sketches out for her.
“We’re gonna have ourselves a baby as soon as we graduate!”
Bleecker’s film covers all of the bases, all of the tropes and most of the cliches as James faces Big Choices with perils to his plan at every turn. Maybe taking him to visit the football-mad University of Mississippi isn’t the deal-maker his teacher hopes it is, as James doesn’t “see anybody who looks like me.”
Only a real civil rights hero (Dr. Donald Cole) can set him straight, relating the story of what James Meredith and generations before him did to give James this chance. Or can he?
“Mississippi Scholar” is well-crafted and an easy film to like, with relatable if “stock” characters and decent performances from all but the most amateurish (James’ classmates) cast members. But it’s entirely too predictable to surprise and too pre-digested to have an edge.
Worthy subject and novel setting aside, we’ve seen this story on the big screen and the small one too many times to count, seen this kid’s hand played out in every variation the cards have to offer.
But it makes a fine calling card for its cinematographer turned director, and let’s hope we see Bleecker’s name and hear his voice in another Deep South indie film, and soon.
Rating: TV-14, violence, profanity
Cast: Shannon Brown, Gisla Stringer, Sonny Marinelli, Jeremy Isiaah Earl, Aysa Branch and
Obba Babatundé
Credits: Directed by Marcus Bleecker, scripted by
Obba Babatundé, Marcus Bleecker and P.J. Leonard. A Narrative Distribution release on Amazon Prime.
Running time: 1:24
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoRitzy Pasadena hotel settles lawsuit for allegedly price gouging wildfire victims
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoBrother Nature at Night: Jack’s backyard & kayaking the Huron River
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoHardin Fire in Napa County burns 55 acres near Pope Valley
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoFormer Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa runs for Dallas Mayor
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoSouth Florida mother arrested for leaving daughter chained to fence, police say
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoBoston man charged after allegedly assaulting Burger King employee, punching customer
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship, becomes first in family to attend college
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoSeattle very much in running for another World Cup
