We Need to Do Something
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
press release: Premiere Showcase
USA | 2021 | DCP | 97 min.
Director: Sean King O’Grady; Cast: Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy
Seeking shelter from a vicious storm, a dysfunctional Middle-American family of four find themselves trapped in their generously-sized bathroom by a large fallen tree. While alcoholic father Robert (Healy) rages against the situation as hours turn into days, his wife Diane (Shaw) tries to comfort their young son and teenage daughter (McCormick), who just might have something to do with the evil forces that begin to descend on the house...and maybe the entire outside world! Tense and effectively staged by director O’Grady in one claustrophobic location, We Need to Do Something is an innovative piece of suspense and horror adapted from the novel by Max Booth III.
Screenings mostly take place at 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Once-a-month Sunday afternoon screenings take place at the Chazen Museum of Art, 750 University Avenue. In accord with current UW Madison policies, masks are required for entry to our venues. All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public. Please visit our website for a complete listing of programs and descriptions from September 3 through December 18.
Crafted with the same curatorial acuity we bring to our repertory series, the Premiere Showcase presents exciting new documentaries and feature films by contemporary directors that would otherwise have no theatrical venue in the area. Fall 2021 selections include Swedish satirist Roy Andersson’s final film, About Endlessness; A new work of claustrophobic horror, acclaimed at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, We Need to Do Something; Michel Franco’s prize-winning and shattering depiction of a Mexican military coup, New Order; Cane Fire, a look at how indigenous Hawaiians struggle to find themselves represented in movies filmed on location in the islands, presented through the Asian American Media Showcase; and the dark fantasy-comedy A Dim Valley, from UW Madison PhD Brandon Colvin.