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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was on Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with MOVIEPEDIA, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. |
Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea is a 2023 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Tony Olmos and written by Brian Patrick Butler. Butler also leads the ensemble cast that includes Kimberly Weinberger, Aimee La Joie, Randy Davison, Merrick McCartha, and Nick Young. Olmos and Butler produced the film together through their companies Rosewood Five and Charybdis Pictures. The story focuses on tenants who grapple with each other while attempting to oust their fascistic landlord.
The film is set in a fictional dystopia in Riverside County, California but was filmed in San Diego County with a microbudget in 2021. Some key aspects of the film involve capitalism and fairy tales, as well as slasher film and zombie apocalypse tropes. The film premiered in 2023 at Digital Gym Cinema for San Diego Film Week, screening at Oceanside International Film Festival and Hemet Film Festival in 2024. It was released on video on demand on November 26, 2024 where it was distributed by BayView Entertainment.
The film was received as a political satire with mixed reviews from critics. Some complimented the originality, humor, special effects, and performances of Weinberger and Butler, while others found issues with pacing, some dialogue, and unlikable characters. Butler received nominations for acting, screenplay, and editing at the 13th Oceanside International Film Festival.
Plot[]
During an epidemic in Hemet, California that is turning bath salt users into cannibals, landlady Liz Topham-Myrtle (Brian Patrick Butler) grows more vicious toward her tenants every day. For some, she revokes privileges such as their parking spot, while others are faced with eviction, all for no reason other than Liz’s seemingly random cruelty. With the local law enforcement also under her thumb, Liz seems unstoppable.
A tenant named Rosie (Kimberly Weinberger) tolerates Liz in fear of what might happen if she is evicted, while Gary (Matthew Rhodes) formulates a plan to overthrow his oppressor. When Gary begins enacting his plan, Liz amps up her abuse of the tenants, drawing Rosie into a web of paranoia that hurtles them all down a path of explosive violence.
Cast[]
- Kimberly Weinberger as Rosie Perkins
- Brian Patrick Butler as Liz Topham-Myrtle
- Aimee La Joie as Kate Myrtle
- Randy Davison as Sheriff Hunting
- Merrick McCartha as Martin
- Matthew Rhodes as Gary
- Nick Young as Tank
- Pierce Wallace as Howie Stumpp
- Jake Golden as Willy Christensen
- Mia Gascon as Emma Myrtle
- Derrick Acosta as Mickey
- Mark Atkinson as Keith
- Aleksander D'Avignon as Jason
- Sandy Nissou as Madeleine Duncan
- Michael J. Kim as Prostitute
- Mark Allyn as President Phil Graves
- Derrick Mangin as Deputy
- Alice Bé as Homeless Woman
- Marie Cuvadar as Newscaster
- Tony Gorodeckas as T.V. Reporter
- Scott Schramp as New Tenant
- Tanya Ruth Linsdau as New Tenant
- Roger Guy English as Saltie
- Savannah Hayworth as Saltie
- Allie Pizzo as Saltie
Production[]
Brian Patrick Butler came up with the idea in 2018 and principal photography took place in the summer of 2021 in San Diego County, California. He said by the time he was finishing the script, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had "much more material to work with" than when he'd started, referring to the state of the world. The budget of the film was $29,000 and the setting is in Hemet, California. Exterior scenes were filmed in Ramona, California and interior shots in La Jolla.
Release[]
Hemet premiered on November 18, 2023 at the Digital Gym Cinema as part of San Diego Film Week. It screened at the 13th Oceanside International Film Festival on February 24, 2024 and at the Hemet Film Festival on November 9, 2024. It was released on video on demand on November 26, 2024 and was distributed by BayView Entertainment. In 2025, it was released on Tubi.
Video[]
Hemet, or The Landlady Don't Drink Tea - Official Trailer - BayView Entertainment
