tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51567792087866721632024-03-14T02:19:26.240-04:00I Wear Black On the OutsideDark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-34981538147001464572023-07-31T22:45:00.002-04:002023-07-31T22:45:54.976-04:00Review--Nocebo--Lorcan Finnegan (2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpt7n4fVSMEzpTcom5a10fBJRSQiG04phh2JWw5thO1AiQ47hfxYeJErXcAGwlRyBEBmLJbSEHqJFD4UmSJzMOB7gTxErc9KkeexXPE-B64enZhVfKh8D5SdmT-onNGmbLDUXP2UcdDxyQIbGp11vqw-bvnGwC4GCNQxTYX5Ykne5OS9KYkAN5xrZv7s/s2048/Nocebo%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="2048" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpt7n4fVSMEzpTcom5a10fBJRSQiG04phh2JWw5thO1AiQ47hfxYeJErXcAGwlRyBEBmLJbSEHqJFD4UmSJzMOB7gTxErc9KkeexXPE-B64enZhVfKh8D5SdmT-onNGmbLDUXP2UcdDxyQIbGp11vqw-bvnGwC4GCNQxTYX5Ykne5OS9KYkAN5xrZv7s/w640-h384/Nocebo%207.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <i>Nocebo</i> (Lorcan Finnegan, 2022) even manages to make Eva Green ugly! Hard to do.<p></p><p>Many people do not take horror films seriously, and just think they are dumb fun without anything really socially relevant to say. Further, those kinds of films rarely get Oscars, which isn't the only way to judge a film, but it is a way many people align films with their worth. Sigh. Sure, some films are more overt about their socially conscious message, but horror films have important things to say about our fears and anxieties, as well as how those fears shape our world. Most horror makes us fear through the process of "othering," rendering characters who might seem different and strange as monstrous. <i>Nocebo</i>, Lorcan Finnegan's newest film after <i>Vivarium </i>(2019) goes back to his Folk Horror focus, initially represented in his first feature <i>Without Name</i> (2016). While I haven't seen either of his previous films, a film starring Eva Green will always be in my "to see" list, especially if it's a Folk Horror film. Win!!! Finnegan's film is an astute exploration of inequality and revenge, and once you get to film's end, the message is damn clear. viewers should be thinking more deeply about where their clothing comes from, and who makes them...but I'm getting ahead of myself.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWX-NT5UcfxNb-R0PioB2KbL3Z0kW2HSImeME3dOE1apaFVYOEzGRue2g0K3pOYgeI3REvDxC36sst2v2-JRmyha8Wdr4015Mg-Mo2WF9UVDh-ATCMMmPNpLa8p6r9RADQgqr44Olvzlgw74VyiFnMxB89xsIs4fuVVDqtxD4afPRp0WNXUP6uWeJWuM/s1200/Nocebo%2013.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1200" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWX-NT5UcfxNb-R0PioB2KbL3Z0kW2HSImeME3dOE1apaFVYOEzGRue2g0K3pOYgeI3REvDxC36sst2v2-JRmyha8Wdr4015Mg-Mo2WF9UVDh-ATCMMmPNpLa8p6r9RADQgqr44Olvzlgw74VyiFnMxB89xsIs4fuVVDqtxD4afPRp0WNXUP6uWeJWuM/w640-h408/Nocebo%2013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Traditional medicine seems to fail Christine, for her symptoms disappear every time she sees a doctor<br /><p>The film is set in both Ireland and the Philippines, making this work a solid coproduction. Spectators are first introduced to Christine (Eva Green) while she's at work. She's a children's fashion designer, and she's putting on a runway show for her latest designs. Having to take a phone call, we only see her side of the conversation, but she appears deeply upset and says "pulling out bodies" at one point. Ruh-roh. My first thought was that either her husband, Felix (Mark Strong) or her daughter Roberta, aka Bobs (Billie Gadsdon), have been in a car accident. This narrative move seems to be more and more common in horror films with female protagonists. While Christine is on the phone, a mangy looking dog walks into the showroom, and slowly shakes itself all over Christine, showering her with ticks. Yeah, it's nasty, but we never learn what the phone call is about until much, much later. Cut to eight months later, and Christine is a shadow of her former self, with a mysterious ailment that she cannot seem to shake. Her symptoms weirdly disappear every time she goes to the doctor, and thus Felix thinks it's all in her head--of course he does, because the unsupportive and suspicious spouse is the go-to in horror films that focus on women protagonists. Then her savior arrives, the lovely and enigmatic Diana (Chai Fonacier). Because of Christine's frequent memory lapses, she's not at all phased that she has forgotten she's hired Diana, a Filipino woman, to take care of the house and her daughter.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTKDx4WzIvo7tiXYNg716f-xF_h2fbPcwPcO29OBz8SUYAJ65D0C4RX0m_Bf2JoK0hBL6spJlbLrYjmQvLa_eJEhD4j_mV_rYnLOBi0SIB178xFieBrYjB7VCJxyju3VR2ZTR0Kdg0F-Brx81C7RSWq5AfaCEZi01Ac_ZpNajmSyQdRahjCXuIjoXwkU/s600/Nocebo%2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="600" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTKDx4WzIvo7tiXYNg716f-xF_h2fbPcwPcO29OBz8SUYAJ65D0C4RX0m_Bf2JoK0hBL6spJlbLrYjmQvLa_eJEhD4j_mV_rYnLOBi0SIB178xFieBrYjB7VCJxyju3VR2ZTR0Kdg0F-Brx81C7RSWq5AfaCEZi01Ac_ZpNajmSyQdRahjCXuIjoXwkU/w640-h432/Nocebo%2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Diana (Chai Fonacier) employs folk practices to help heal Christine's various ailments<p></p><p>Chai Fonacier as Diana is a force of nature in <i>Nocebo</i>, literally and figuratively. She arrives, claiming to be there to help Christine, and she does so, using various folk traditions and practices to pull the sickness out of her. She's a bit mysterious, though, with a shrine set up in her bedroom that she hides away from her employers, and a pile of ash that she leaves in front of her bedroom door--one that a child's footprints are nestled in. Christine grows more dependent on Diana as time passes, and even Bobs becomes increasingly close to her gentle kindness. Yet, what is she hiding? Certainly Felix is extremely suspicious, and feels like he's in an emotional tug of war with her over Christine's well being.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hddOVimGgTpiPqOE7xdOdJQVXhnzAaI4VD54aBqFU6pN_YmwF0xilgN8B81Aw19McXW2OlBAwmJ10k4J-LfAuBIHVdl1mi_aI0oIcdBBKuQ_Nr-Cx7ZaDd0vgyzyjE5nM7oPeXnG6g1_dDgG3cibkVr6ECFuaw7o-JP8A_x-2-xSuROhkLBF5v_7X1w/s1024/Nocebo%2015.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1024" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hddOVimGgTpiPqOE7xdOdJQVXhnzAaI4VD54aBqFU6pN_YmwF0xilgN8B81Aw19McXW2OlBAwmJ10k4J-LfAuBIHVdl1mi_aI0oIcdBBKuQ_Nr-Cx7ZaDd0vgyzyjE5nM7oPeXnG6g1_dDgG3cibkVr6ECFuaw7o-JP8A_x-2-xSuROhkLBF5v_7X1w/w640-h384/Nocebo%2015.webp" width="640" /></a></div> Diana, as a child, being possessed by the Ongo--one that gives her great powers<br /><p>Diana eventually discloses to Christine that her healing powers come from her possession by an Ongo, whose powers were passed to her as a young girl when the Ongo originally passed in her childhood home. Now, Diana has the ability to heal, and to also cause great harm. Like any good Folk Horror, the cultural clash between this rich, white, privileged family and a poor woman of color struggling to make money determines much of the film's conflict. Viewers discover later, through flashbacks to the Philippines, that Diana used to work in sweatshop eking out fast fashion in a Philippine city, and her daughter, who she was forced to bring to work with her, perished when a fire erupted in the warehouse. Crucially, **spoilers moving forward, Diana was making clothing, children's clothing, for Christine. Once viewers think back to the film's instigating incident, and the start of Christine's mysterious illness, the urgent phone call she takes at her fashion show is news of her workers perishing in this fire. They were harmed because they were 1) forced to work in unsafe conditions, 2) asked to increase their quota of garments significantly, and 3) locked into the building in order to prevent them from stealing--something that Christine specifically makes a policy. Diana's long game is revenge.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPLxAVEHScT779XLBSLzSl10e39rR8P6WL8YtjvZho05SQfSxmzCLyEraXy-qm895VEO4lam9Kz6s1K3q273c-31-Ca_ASoJKEUF7HvrWgF2l7r9It0xhAX0Z-v2QuoqiW8mgUdUmF-W1b9VtzEWjq_nUYhTWwQarpetWDt-l5KiHjgUzE0AL3IsWnZM/s2560/Nocebo%2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1401" data-original-width="2560" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPLxAVEHScT779XLBSLzSl10e39rR8P6WL8YtjvZho05SQfSxmzCLyEraXy-qm895VEO4lam9Kz6s1K3q273c-31-Ca_ASoJKEUF7HvrWgF2l7r9It0xhAX0Z-v2QuoqiW8mgUdUmF-W1b9VtzEWjq_nUYhTWwQarpetWDt-l5KiHjgUzE0AL3IsWnZM/w640-h350/Nocebo%2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Diana's rituals escalate as she "helps" Christine to understand her complicity in her daughter's death<br /><p>Christine's husband Felix was suspicious of Diana from the start, but Diana expertly uses Bobs as a way to cast doubt on his trustworthiness, asking her to lie in order to turn Christine against him. Then a fortuitous fall over the bannister lands Felix in the hospital, and Diana conveniently steps up her treatment of Christine's illness, including having her slave over a sewing machine in intense heat and without breaks. While I'm not going to give a way the film's ending, it's pretty damn satisfying.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUET0tyzdfbIn9OJmaxupYoSqBEaHxw4MO3DwBFaY2xqO93lCpL9_lHVBQ19iEWe15w9Sqx_fztyHO40PyWqlLfN3G2pPLNCeXPHO-EGsrioKUQM0ZdPS_0rZ5N3txM-lO_et5LqeSBa5Dh2tDYuAAxa-uInakf0hxBjXm0ANhvGcqsDozye7TUIM7bqw/s1800/Nocebo%2018.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1800" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUET0tyzdfbIn9OJmaxupYoSqBEaHxw4MO3DwBFaY2xqO93lCpL9_lHVBQ19iEWe15w9Sqx_fztyHO40PyWqlLfN3G2pPLNCeXPHO-EGsrioKUQM0ZdPS_0rZ5N3txM-lO_et5LqeSBa5Dh2tDYuAAxa-uInakf0hxBjXm0ANhvGcqsDozye7TUIM7bqw/w640-h374/Nocebo%2018.webp" width="640" /></a></div> Bobs, as the new Ongo, collects valuable herbs in the forest<div><br /></div><div><i>Nocebo</i> is unique for its clever mixture of occult and supernatural rituals--with a specific Philippine focus--as well as its frank and powerful indictment of white privilege, fast fashion, and sweatshop labor. While I do love Eva Green, her character Christine is pretty hard to like by film's end, and her fate seems fair for the crimes she, however unwittingly, commits. A comment by Diana, that she'll always be with Christine's daughter, Bobs, plays out as true and rather poignant, as viewers witness in the film's final images the young girl communing with the nature that surrounds her. Finnegan's work here actually makes me want to give <i>Vivarium</i> a try! <i>Nocebo</i> is currently streaming on Shudder, and highly recommended.</div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-76075757315023223862023-07-12T19:01:00.001-04:002023-07-12T19:01:50.541-04:00Review--The Twin--Taneli Mustonen (2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_KZuZbbpFIvVm2Z2WastHGUYAk9gSCV9ffU_pS-87d4J2_gab18xxoRsRuR0O3zHL2Gx7CDI6P95_IkdM0MFkT5YJY-WzBK_rGl-a7X6h-cc-u9E9nqtFNmaF9RuV8LoI5YibVuBlkWZ82uDhdcyaTeKvex0AcWIYOUAQLjNjgIqb4AgqAmKNPlBCsM/s450/The%20Twin%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="450" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_KZuZbbpFIvVm2Z2WastHGUYAk9gSCV9ffU_pS-87d4J2_gab18xxoRsRuR0O3zHL2Gx7CDI6P95_IkdM0MFkT5YJY-WzBK_rGl-a7X6h-cc-u9E9nqtFNmaF9RuV8LoI5YibVuBlkWZ82uDhdcyaTeKvex0AcWIYOUAQLjNjgIqb4AgqAmKNPlBCsM/w640-h426/The%20Twin%205.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>One Creepy kid (Tristan Ruggeri) and Finnish folks with dorky hats are in <i>The Twin </i>(2022)<p></p><p>I was really, really digging <i>The Twin </i>(Taneli Mustonen, 2022) through most of its run time! Then came the film's ending, and I was so outraged. Outraged! </p><p>Sometime in the 1980s, Rachel (Teresa Palmer) and Anthony (Steven Cree) are struggling with immeasurable grief, as they lost one of their twin sons, Nathan, in a car accident. Haunted by this incident, they leave New York City with their son, Elliot, in tow, and travel to Anthony's homeland, a small village in Finland (it was actually shot in Estonia). The majority of the film takes place here, as the couple and their son hastily move into a giant house in the Finnish countryside in order to start anew. The house in which the film is set has multiple floors, and seems to be the setting for a former funeral home or mortuary? It's kind of unclear. Elliot immediately decides to live at the very top of the house, in the attic, with a super sinister round window at the top, and asks that Mom and Dad put a twin bed in for his dear, departed twin. Rachel acquiesces to his request, while Anthony immediately pushes back, suggesting that this situation is exactly what "the doctor" warned against. This set up easily slides into the Haunted Heroine horror film, where a female protagonist struggles with seemingly supernatural events, while everyone else--the local folk, Anthony, and even Elliot--actively question every single move that Rachel makes. Yet, there's a ton of creepy stuff afoot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9QEyojoZCwthWc69gq3Z-KvC6OjJupW_Yx0tJlJ4QixTB20MiRXdNgcHQL4xysiY8MfKa8CWxi82aVJqEYsWScTRFR8cUQOF43o9aJJ3PqU0fDIzdTImYu9jmnWSLxBkXc4WgJze8dQxAUBKC5Z3tkSLbPtMda4j6fMYoeh_FJcFrES9sSMxpggJJIk/s1920/The%20Twin%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9QEyojoZCwthWc69gq3Z-KvC6OjJupW_Yx0tJlJ4QixTB20MiRXdNgcHQL4xysiY8MfKa8CWxi82aVJqEYsWScTRFR8cUQOF43o9aJJ3PqU0fDIzdTImYu9jmnWSLxBkXc4WgJze8dQxAUBKC5Z3tkSLbPtMda4j6fMYoeh_FJcFrES9sSMxpggJJIk/w640-h360/The%20Twin%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Rachel and Elliot cling to each other in the menacing Finnish forest<br /><p>First, the family visits a local pagan shrine, where if you press your hand against the red handprints on the rock, and make a wish, your wish very well might come true. Elliot proceeds to "make a wish," and you just know he's wishing for his brother's return. Then at a welcoming party that the family attends, everyone seems to ignore Rachel, except for the elderly Helen (Barbara Marten), who the villagers believe has a screw loose. She pulls Rachel aside and tells her that she dreamed of her, and that her son has made a wish, and it was granted. Ruh-roh. Not only is Rachel not fitting in, but she and Anthony are compelled to climb onto some giant wooden "wedding" swing as another "pagan" tradition of the town. As the pagan traditions start to add up, I was getting really excited about a potential Folk Horror title to add to my very long list. Helen appears to be the only person really willing to talk to Rachel, or take her seriously, especially when Elliot disappears, and then comes back, claiming that he's Nathan. Sure, Helen equates pagans with Satanists, which is rally sloppy for 2022, but I went with it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmztjR-2IB9MkpJTu8--5DPjLnnlTz-8xRcrg-osEAFVatWGo_VYW6kJ-bhGfnSfbOhvKxOzLvZayA6AJXnSV0qOkBSr2ly6dArJcpDCAJSILy7oeznqJ0IuhWXCuM506QECtQVbK05MGCscskZmz61yvnNQpoDtI0C20AfOmiQot4sYVYhGCJV4DFgw/s1200/The%20Twin%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmztjR-2IB9MkpJTu8--5DPjLnnlTz-8xRcrg-osEAFVatWGo_VYW6kJ-bhGfnSfbOhvKxOzLvZayA6AJXnSV0qOkBSr2ly6dArJcpDCAJSILy7oeznqJ0IuhWXCuM506QECtQVbK05MGCscskZmz61yvnNQpoDtI0C20AfOmiQot4sYVYhGCJV4DFgw/w640-h360/The%20Twin%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Rachel, dressed up as some May Queen, is tended to by a bunch of nuns/cultists? <br /><p>The strange folk of their new town are rendered stranger at every turn. At first, they stand around silently, looking disapproving and whispering behind Rachel's back. Then her visit to the doctor about Elliot's claims (that he's Nathan) just serves to piss her off. Helen then brings up a cockamamie story about her husband being possessed by some demon, his face twisted into an obscene grimace as he dies a pretty awful death. There's even one scene that juxtaposes Teresa's weird nightmares/visions with Helen's to suggest that these two women are struggling within a foreign environment (Helen is British) intent on destroying them. At this point in the film, like Rachel, viewers do not trust anyone, especially Anthony, who comes from this pretty grim place. Helen also suggests that there are some weird town-related conspiracies involving circles, and we then see numerous rituals on bleak hillsides, where the strange folk are standing in circles, doing who knows what.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2a5PCv4LGQSlnf_B1LPBjAdTgkDnYgNKNuNMwIiYE9t3kGrDsz1U3EBjEaieZoYxx-AMx2fD_e0TVR-LXgJNFqBKwIG4ChtEi6sZ9gHfeb0AuSOuRiwp1ou4-3tlg7qLRgYwpckZ-aZTdeFI-_zJP-7mG7IDXYrD3KaLTKay9MIM8b0uxoVEZ5-PgQ8/s1920/The%20Twin%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2a5PCv4LGQSlnf_B1LPBjAdTgkDnYgNKNuNMwIiYE9t3kGrDsz1U3EBjEaieZoYxx-AMx2fD_e0TVR-LXgJNFqBKwIG4ChtEi6sZ9gHfeb0AuSOuRiwp1ou4-3tlg7qLRgYwpckZ-aZTdeFI-_zJP-7mG7IDXYrD3KaLTKay9MIM8b0uxoVEZ5-PgQ8/w640-h360/The%20Twin%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Rachel looks pretty awesome in mourning garb<br /><p>If not for Teresa Palmer's persuasive portrayal of Rachel, this film would be dead from the start, but she's so convincing, that viewers care about the stakes here. The husband and son are not very well-developed, but after they move to Finland, Anthony comes across as a gaslighting mastermind, who has the whole town convinced that Rachel needs medicating. In fact, there are numerous shots of Rachel waking up in bed after being dosed with a hypodermic. What are these people up to, you wonder, as clumps of townsfolk stare, and stare at her. As I said, the explanation jettisons all the potential Folk Horror/possession/haunting possibilities. **SPOILERS FOLLOW Turns out, according to that jerk, Anthony, that he and Rachel never had a twin, that Nathan died in a car crash where Rachel was driving, and that she's just crazy, hallucinating another twin when there isn't one. Oh, and Helen's clearly crazy too, just as the rest of the town thinks she is. Sure, the Haunted Heroine narrative always oscillates between supernatural happenings and unreliable narrator madness, but something about <i>The Twin</i> felt cheap and dirty in choosing to end the film this way. Leaving the cemetery one last time, with her family's two gravestones in front of her, Rachel climbs into her car to discover that EVERYONE'S ALIVE, including the imaginary twin she created. Basically, the ending completely negates all of the spooky stuff happening throughout the earlier portions of the film, rendering any supernatural questions pointless. The "it was all just a dream/delusion" finale does not feel earned, and I'm still angry at the bait-and-switch. Perhaps the "she was always just insane" approach has worn thin for me, but <i>The Twin</i>, now streaming on Shudder, disappoints. NOT recommended.</p>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-46114850485238811982023-07-10T20:17:00.002-04:002023-07-10T20:17:30.525-04:00Review--Huesera: The Bone Woman--Michelle Garza Cervera (2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzF499_IgmJOY5n8UPw_2CJrzF7cSGbORySqqIqONGo16FWaIZcjc9wG_hCuMP7R8VO-kRFsnXpyvxBhVKFdNsNx2Ex239Yav-opmAUB0rKTlkLf3pGIBzbYDa8ss1uHjb5GeKHePGcZB5HVJu-DRVcVlqQZWMv4sPK_OPDyr5jBqlQ5lW0_bD8ohZmDE/s1920/Huesera%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzF499_IgmJOY5n8UPw_2CJrzF7cSGbORySqqIqONGo16FWaIZcjc9wG_hCuMP7R8VO-kRFsnXpyvxBhVKFdNsNx2Ex239Yav-opmAUB0rKTlkLf3pGIBzbYDa8ss1uHjb5GeKHePGcZB5HVJu-DRVcVlqQZWMv4sPK_OPDyr5jBqlQ5lW0_bD8ohZmDE/w640-h360/Huesera%207.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> The baby causes grave consequences in <i>Huesera: The Bone Woman </i>(Michelle Garza Cervera, 2022)<p></p><p>First off, a warning: If you hate the sounds of knuckles cracking, and bones breaking, that snapping sounds that makes one flinch, then this film is not for you. I'm just pointing out one of the chief ways that horror is produced in <i>Huesera: The Bone Woman </i>(2022). Pregnancy horror has been a hot horror topic for quite some time, including everything from <i>Rosemary's Baby</i> to the recent 2021 film <i>False Positive, </i>but Michelle Garza Cervera's debut film provides a unique perspective on the topic. The film has many of the common tropes--unsupportive family members, insensitive partners, tone deaf medical practitioners, a woman alienated from her own body--but it views these challenges in a woman's life through a queer viewpoint. The film is not only a deeply empathetic character study of its protagonist, Valeria (Natalia Solian), but also mixes in Mexican folklore to create a truly chilling portrait of the ambivalence, depression, and despair many women feel when they are compelled to fit into a heterosexual world and its restrictions--including having a child.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVZvg_7GgZfi2d0cKnq5VJtwEPSz5FnaE2LpFE7YU7P43-DQCLw2y1L84OuZw6gAe5X--WGQetYp_X8Te9O2IKIchGD1FFs0eq3AAmOrws2a-r32iZ1w-yYu3kxtWuDdemcj9GFDGsbXaXz92mWqk0iGC15KeOI6z-NXmaPujTgEh7gtMgg39zvgyL3U/s1366/Huesera%208.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1366" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVZvg_7GgZfi2d0cKnq5VJtwEPSz5FnaE2LpFE7YU7P43-DQCLw2y1L84OuZw6gAe5X--WGQetYp_X8Te9O2IKIchGD1FFs0eq3AAmOrws2a-r32iZ1w-yYu3kxtWuDdemcj9GFDGsbXaXz92mWqk0iGC15KeOI6z-NXmaPujTgEh7gtMgg39zvgyL3U/w640-h346/Huesera%208.webp" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Raul (Alfonso Dosal) only treats Valeria (Natalia Solian) with impatience as the film evolves</span></div><p>Valeria is married to Raul, who works in advertising, and she's trying to get pregnant, with the usual après sex legs-up calisthenics common to this desire. Their married sex is very perfunctory. She actually prays to the Virgin Mary with her mother in order to achieve this goal, and lo and behold, she's pregnant. What so few women realize is that in both Mexican and U.S. culture, childbearing and rearing are what women are supposed to do, and they are not fully prepared with the loss of individuality and the push toward conformity that motherhood entails. In flashbacks, viewers discover that Valeria was once a free-wheeling punk in a queer relationship, preparing to leave town with her girlfriend, Octavia (Mayra Batalla). With the sudden death of her brother, Valeria makes the choice to stay with her conservative family, instead of escaping the expectations that confine her. She has made the choice to make her family proud by marrying a man, and conforming to the heterosexual life that her family demands she have. The tensions around her queer sexuality come across in numerous jabs and insults that her parents and sister hurl at her, reminding her of some babysitting accident in her past that taints her, and just telling her to suck it up as she struggles with her new condition mentally and physically.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI91OMqZttlAnZkmkdoL-dYOMbrstp0JQPT0MV74Qd2O3H4VCOwnQ6Zf-J4Q9VIIgI_m5E6cmq4wawjG5dQW-zOV2IWweM9-gzwEYi08qIfRczb6GadU_-y9tyVwC9K89XeIVjZQUJI1qKM9SulfhOb17VfUT-eYkXlbIDBmYR5K-txyqwn3OFG0fNbBU/s2006/Huesera%2015.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2006" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI91OMqZttlAnZkmkdoL-dYOMbrstp0JQPT0MV74Qd2O3H4VCOwnQ6Zf-J4Q9VIIgI_m5E6cmq4wawjG5dQW-zOV2IWweM9-gzwEYi08qIfRczb6GadU_-y9tyVwC9K89XeIVjZQUJI1qKM9SulfhOb17VfUT-eYkXlbIDBmYR5K-txyqwn3OFG0fNbBU/w640-h344/Huesera%2015.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Valeria's sneaking of a cigarette will soon be punished beyond imagining<br /><p>As a young, fledgling furniture designer, she makes unique furniture, but is told by her doctor that she should quit, because of the fumes. Soon she's left home alone, and bored, while Raul is off to work. One evening, upon waking, she sneaks a cigarette, only to watch a woman across the way, climb on top of a balcony and jump. Yet, when Valeria looks at the ground, the woman slowly rises, her bones cracking as she stumbles upright, her body unnaturally shifting and moving in a jarring manner. Raul convinces her that it's all a dream, but it isn't, and watching everyone gaslight Valeria and think that she's crazy is a bit frustrating. The film implies that watching this death has tainted her, and dark magic must be used to help her escape from the horrors that consume her, and her newborn daughter.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1dJSoXAtrQ4zTj2-Maxm3Q46fI8AAWjCZh-yqGqVRi7twNOHUXKmaAJv3iaOmeoXZnDMW8uNU9Ln3J8ur3DcxSE8ww0Ew_5q5gycaLo3PxLU4Ag08-USUTqmR_7H7UjhHo3OsSJ9_qrd6gkQUVZJESgIRLa5wDvedm0VyWtEsxq-Glp0RhJcZeGnNLQ/s600/Huesera%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1dJSoXAtrQ4zTj2-Maxm3Q46fI8AAWjCZh-yqGqVRi7twNOHUXKmaAJv3iaOmeoXZnDMW8uNU9Ln3J8ur3DcxSE8ww0Ew_5q5gycaLo3PxLU4Ag08-USUTqmR_7H7UjhHo3OsSJ9_qrd6gkQUVZJESgIRLa5wDvedm0VyWtEsxq-Glp0RhJcZeGnNLQ/w640-h360/Huesera%206.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Valeria's journey to motherhood and beyond affects her body significantly<br /><p>The Mexican folklore that the film employs is fascinating. Here's a summation of the legend from a <i>Nerdist</i> <a href="https://nerdist.com/article/huesera-the-bone-woman-body-horror-film-review-mexican-myth-motherhood-examination-michelle-garza-cervera/" target="_blank">review</a> of the film: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #000006; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 16px;">The film’s title itself stems from </span><a class="info-target-blank" href="https://www.claudiafineart.com/huesera" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #fa2727; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 16px; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the legend of La Huesera</a>. <span style="background-color: white; color: #000006; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 16px;">This Mexican myth is about a woman who collects animal bones—specifically from wolves—until she has a complete skeleton. She sings life into those bones, bringing the creature back from another realm. It runs free towards an open horizon, sometimes transforming into the shape of a woman. The bones represent the life force within us that doesn’t want to be tamed. And La Huesera seeks to restore what is lost." This folklore translates perfectly into Valeria's despair over her now "tamed" life, for she has chosen to conform to the expectations that Raul and her family have for her. She repeatedly escapes, to the punk clubs and to Octavia, to experience that untamed freedom once more. While Raul shies away from having sex with Valeria after she conceives, proclaiming a fear of hurting the baby, she finds someone comfortable with her body and desires when she visits Octavia. Their relationship is loving, supportive, and buoyed by their shared desires and understanding. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LLgGDkTrCgLqPuVyr62fYpPN7oiR2pvngX2BvCzBuxG8IGmRhc7QEKZlqWyphhexMosyOP46g0ufJ21zwHZotoiWI3u81wmY7_oVxDhNTc2CGtbmbVqrPtAWtZTqy2LYzy9l-xMX_g8O8z4UZCN_5Sq52ewIIaZH-VRWBOtZ6Xy3fYDGdlAWPurvcrM/s1200/Huesera%2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LLgGDkTrCgLqPuVyr62fYpPN7oiR2pvngX2BvCzBuxG8IGmRhc7QEKZlqWyphhexMosyOP46g0ufJ21zwHZotoiWI3u81wmY7_oVxDhNTc2CGtbmbVqrPtAWtZTqy2LYzy9l-xMX_g8O8z4UZCN_5Sq52ewIIaZH-VRWBOtZ6Xy3fYDGdlAWPurvcrM/w640-h360/Huesera%2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Valeria goes to some <i>brujeria</i> to help free her from the Bone Woman's influence</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While some spectators might be disappointed by the relative lack of blood and gore in the film, cracking bones and writhing bodies are certainly unnerving, and the hallucinatory events that occur once Valeria visits the <i>brujeria</i> are both beautiful and revelatory. I found myself completely invested in Valeria's emotional landscape, and I also found the ending very satisfying and fair. Not everyone might agree, but the struggle between her desires and everyone's expectations that Valeria undergoes is concluded without any real plot holes, and is also distinctly sympathetic and supportive of her queer identity and her desire for her daughter's health and happiness. <i>Huesera: The Bone Woman </i>is currently streaming on Shudder. I highly recommend it!</div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-47328894194931402822023-07-06T20:12:00.002-04:002023-07-06T20:12:43.004-04:00Review--Infinity Pool--Brandon Cronenberg (2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17s1j-WAnsMFi3nR8UhZC1IoB0ezWoM0Ia_7D8EKOMnknO-jE5MXyH1kFG3kOlphKtiDaJIx2XmlUqY6-tdBl6V7ElG9CYTXh7Ve73z6Z0S7bLD-aTbbreMdmYGFT3fg8iNsEjve4pT8mXpiU8PERFyLPw6TVSx34V20Rc4Qf0zBoue9_tHuaUEDJK6w/s780/Infinity%20Pool%2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17s1j-WAnsMFi3nR8UhZC1IoB0ezWoM0Ia_7D8EKOMnknO-jE5MXyH1kFG3kOlphKtiDaJIx2XmlUqY6-tdBl6V7ElG9CYTXh7Ve73z6Z0S7bLD-aTbbreMdmYGFT3fg8iNsEjve4pT8mXpiU8PERFyLPw6TVSx34V20Rc4Qf0zBoue9_tHuaUEDJK6w/w640-h360/Infinity%20Pool%2016.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">It's hard to feel sorry for James (Alexander Skarsgard) in </span><i style="text-align: left;">Infinity Pool</i><span style="text-align: left;"> (Brandon Cronenberg, 2023)</span></div><div><br /></div>I really loved Brandon Cronenberg's last film <i>Possessor </i>(2020), so a new film starring Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth was high on my list. I was only slightly disappointed by the film, but as a visually arresting spectacle, it was a trippy and provocative experience. Like <i>Mandy</i> (Panos Cosmatos, 2018), the film has some fun drug trip representations, which places it's narrative in that liminal space between waking and sleeping, real and fantasy. The story is fairly straightforward, but the soundtrack, visuals, and "message" combine to create truly unique cinema. This film may not be for everyone, but I dug it!!<p></p><div><i>Infinity Pool </i>starts in media res as James Foster (Alexander Skarsgard) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) wake up in their hotel room at a posh resort in Li Tolqa, a fictional place that was filmed in Sibenik, Croatia, with some scenes shot in Hungary. They go to grab some breakfast and James soon encounters a fan of his book, Gabi (Mia Goth), and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert). For context, James is a "one book" novelist basically kept by his rich wife, and his one book was published by her father. He and Em have come to Li Tolqa for "inspiration" since he's had writer's block for years. To actually find someone who has read and LIKED James's book stokes his wounded ego, and he and Em decide to hang out with the other couple...to their detriment. They go to the beach, and...let's just say Gabi gets handsy on the beach, and James does not say no. Ugh. He's already such a loser.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJeV_CqwwJUiO3fA7BoDlmUIlU87htUzZkA4tn8RaDCBJa_A2b8BqZYBiaYg5MBASrl1bK6FrDvvbRdD84zDy2GCFo_0Nbmi4fchSO42omEvcjE24RALH4XU8kxKIOQKAPEa3ORy7ijHHQAjS2nO-43jfbUZx-8tAWljzcTxVtoI9u7XBnT8tGlAR3oQ/s720/Infinity%20Pool%2014.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="720" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJeV_CqwwJUiO3fA7BoDlmUIlU87htUzZkA4tn8RaDCBJa_A2b8BqZYBiaYg5MBASrl1bK6FrDvvbRdD84zDy2GCFo_0Nbmi4fchSO42omEvcjE24RALH4XU8kxKIOQKAPEa3ORy7ijHHQAjS2nO-43jfbUZx-8tAWljzcTxVtoI9u7XBnT8tGlAR3oQ/w640-h360/Infinity%20Pool%2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> James and Em decide to hang out in the afternoon with Gabi and Alban outside the resort<br /><div><br /></div><div>Of course, everyone gets too drunk to drive, and James gives it a go, but with the car's electrical system failing, he hits someone driving back to the resort. Gabi and Alban insist that they should not call the police. Nevertheless, James and Em are roused out of bed by the police and taken to the station to sort this mess out. As the trailer gives away, SPOILER, Li Tolqa has some very unique rules, including tourists not leaving the resort compound. If you commit a crime, the punishment is EXECUTION! Yes! I think I would have done my homework before vacationing in this place, but just like everywhere, if you're rich, there's a workaround for that. As Thresh (Thomas Kretschmann), the head of the police, explains to the couple once they admit what happened, if you pay enough money, you can have a double made--someone identical to you. Don't get too hung up on the process by which this happens in this so-called poor country--it's the film's conceit, but an important one. James gets smothered in red goo, and then he wakes to find out there's another one of him, identical in every way.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCJ4RnkYa06nRG7tP3uc7KzPuWS7uOE4mx2fDZLqnY4C82CedBqv41jsduHy6mLv-snHQjQHJESQEr7Ngg3My6kZ4bVlTEt59caZzYIkEJ5GgQ_kE9-llYDwQ2PeclxiIOx4A33jDOt4gM3CB3kGdxnd0aRs5kOCxuuYRKY_yc6SCW0jJ7iam5jBOoAo/s1170/Infinity%20Pool%207.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1170" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCJ4RnkYa06nRG7tP3uc7KzPuWS7uOE4mx2fDZLqnY4C82CedBqv41jsduHy6mLv-snHQjQHJESQEr7Ngg3My6kZ4bVlTEt59caZzYIkEJ5GgQ_kE9-llYDwQ2PeclxiIOx4A33jDOt4gM3CB3kGdxnd0aRs5kOCxuuYRKY_yc6SCW0jJ7iam5jBOoAo/w640-h352/Infinity%20Pool%207.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> James prepares to be cloned or doubled<br /><div><br /></div><div>Once the double is made, the eldest born son of the person who was killed must murder the criminal that did the deed, or its double, while the OG criminal (maybe) must watch himself be stabbed to death. Pretty sick. Once that experience is over, Em wisely wants to get the fu** out of there, but James's passport is missing, so he cannot leave with her. He gives her permission to leave without him, and since she's still utterly destroyed by what she was forced to watch, she's thinking that this place, this marriage, THIS GUY is not for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, James seems to have a new lease on life, now that he can murder someone and get away with it. He thinks it's his entrée into a rare club of rich folks, led by Gabi and Alban, who commit crimes and then watch themselves die, repeatedly. He's definitely along for the ride. As the locals celebrate before the monsoon season hits, and most of the resorts shut down, our gang of rich white a-holes wear some pretty freaky masks, and then run around hurting people and committing crimes.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlGJRG7Ph3I_CWiYMA3AVm1GltWEIf4yNXReAvacp2wVL1H8D7J8LrfyYIPX33I6FRYKktNHS614OTmNOpF5VB5qCvbND3t0gh7DJ-5HaBYIBuG_Lh0dOF8XV-Ydbk3oZ5hKS0p5pH1yTqJkHt2BGsaSUaUyAQmpKJsIkmQNr96dPRCLXtEvzapIXTJA/s500/Infinity%20Pool%2010.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="500" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlGJRG7Ph3I_CWiYMA3AVm1GltWEIf4yNXReAvacp2wVL1H8D7J8LrfyYIPX33I6FRYKktNHS614OTmNOpF5VB5qCvbND3t0gh7DJ-5HaBYIBuG_Lh0dOF8XV-Ydbk3oZ5hKS0p5pH1yTqJkHt2BGsaSUaUyAQmpKJsIkmQNr96dPRCLXtEvzapIXTJA/w640-h380/Infinity%20Pool%2010.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> Gabi encourages James to shoot some people already! Everyone's doing it!<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7f_2buE4yGnFkoIXDpyKy_pXlSCvZxLpVDDqR7V38GbcwIVc51gp26q0j9t3Wle9n2xT6qlNkJSEMhKvI6EQ-zYhQUWE63S8KUaKNGHIXIP52Blcd7wcpvH82sBCvO7JD4FSw6uEZH8dekQNeoH0UJ4pLmavUsdJlHmxr1774Q0frYWH8IMraYI-o7o/s1920/Infinity%20Pool%2011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7f_2buE4yGnFkoIXDpyKy_pXlSCvZxLpVDDqR7V38GbcwIVc51gp26q0j9t3Wle9n2xT6qlNkJSEMhKvI6EQ-zYhQUWE63S8KUaKNGHIXIP52Blcd7wcpvH82sBCvO7JD4FSw6uEZH8dekQNeoH0UJ4pLmavUsdJlHmxr1774Q0frYWH8IMraYI-o7o/w640-h360/Infinity%20Pool%2011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Gabi shows James how it's done in her own inimitable way<br /><div><br /></div><div>Mia Goth, as Gabi in <i>Infinity Pool</i>, is giving this performance at ELEVEN. Seriously, you know she's kind of terrible, but at the same time she's so magnetic and out of control, she's really the heart of this film. I loved watching her easily convincing James to commit ever increasingly horrible acts of violence, and she is luminescent onscreen. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a film that centers sex and violence, <i>Infinity Pool</i> is visually gorgeous--largely due to several drug trips the characters take in the course of the film. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-pNDWiR-v2Khn-tGIPzKHZpXAdnbPZ_L-WEe_gxn2HyM8obKRFsSeBAzz867EODYFU-WQEfWq8VOzgCiBoS00xd--0hsGq8CvPBKyA5lPU4hi6nM26or5jamjxmzzG-vNQwt5qGRqdIdl9dUiV4mu-RyuZgUbvUgOa8D3whVTREhn48bum8hiha-ccM/s1405/Infinity%20Pool%2018.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1405" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-pNDWiR-v2Khn-tGIPzKHZpXAdnbPZ_L-WEe_gxn2HyM8obKRFsSeBAzz867EODYFU-WQEfWq8VOzgCiBoS00xd--0hsGq8CvPBKyA5lPU4hi6nM26or5jamjxmzzG-vNQwt5qGRqdIdl9dUiV4mu-RyuZgUbvUgOa8D3whVTREhn48bum8hiha-ccM/w640-h358/Infinity%20Pool%2018.webp" width="640" /></a></div> Mia Goth, luminescent as Gabi in a drug-fueled orgy<br /> </div><div>Because the film is entirely through James's subjectivity, the line between fantasy and reality is almost always unclear. Add some hallucinogens to the mix, and it's hard to tell who he's having sex with and how. SPOILERS FOLLOW. The nasty rich gang coerces him into participating in the brutal beating of Thresh, the head cop, and he inhales drugs in order to amp up his violence, only to discover that he was actually pounding the crap out of his own double--something Gabi and friends think is funny. "It's just a prank, James." When he runs away from this scenario, and returns to his room at the resort, he hurtles into the bathroom and grabs his passport, which he was hiding taped under the toilet. Yes, he hid his own passport, so he couldn't leave with his wife! Yet, when he finally tries to leave the resort, the nasty rich folks are not having it, and spectators discover that Gabi, et al, have something even more vile in store for him.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejf-SmInr_eX-r0cxkjbYhmqijanurIJiT1BSg87ENBAl_GJprIVK-xjezYQ1iyTVolHB9CQVmcFbJB4iP6HDNDkJhhbE1oPcimtUj6EhQP75sS1wdChXga0cGEiCgoH54qIJFaa1mk17i2rvfTxx2jXyYTYiL-4dB6D2BSwPSwMfCXmKVSbixA2Nrrg/s780/Infinity%20Pool%2020.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejf-SmInr_eX-r0cxkjbYhmqijanurIJiT1BSg87ENBAl_GJprIVK-xjezYQ1iyTVolHB9CQVmcFbJB4iP6HDNDkJhhbE1oPcimtUj6EhQP75sS1wdChXga0cGEiCgoH54qIJFaa1mk17i2rvfTxx2jXyYTYiL-4dB6D2BSwPSwMfCXmKVSbixA2Nrrg/w640-h360/Infinity%20Pool%2020.webp" width="640" /></a></div> James's latest double on a leash, and ready to kill him<br /><div><br /></div><div>Key to enjoying the film's ending is caring one iota about James, which I just never do. He never strays from his pathetic path, and he's in this mess all due to his weak ego, and his fertile desire to belong to the wealthy class. The breastfeeding scene (yes, there is one) suggests that James has been reborn, and in a way, he has been. The question is how many times? Quite frankly, who knows how many doubles are out there by film's end--or who is the OG James. I'm not giving away the ending, but it felt very meh to me, and I'm much more interested in what Gabi's up to in Los Angeles. Still, <i>Infinity Pool</i> is a visually provocative film worth watching, and if you are not too upset by the weirdness, give it a spin. The film is currently streaming on Hulu.</div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-60288389439441604832023-07-02T18:23:00.000-04:002023-07-02T18:23:05.370-04:00Review--Unwelcome (Jon Wright, 2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW--x6gZ6Q2JS9DDnNBS2ySoiGDrIqS0kzFNggxTxZwXmJRfiq13SDB7e-7KSD1lrkqNZJ9TXRxU3_K2Osspia4FeYvaCcqRl_OaW0-xq4Ldz-ftqbbl8Gi8XT1SH3CYzll19YsLdAf78OWXBAOwiQD-uM6nIFAD6gOcnHbtdEAW7-y7amqFQQl_K10Pk/s676/Unwelcome%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="676" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW--x6gZ6Q2JS9DDnNBS2ySoiGDrIqS0kzFNggxTxZwXmJRfiq13SDB7e-7KSD1lrkqNZJ9TXRxU3_K2Osspia4FeYvaCcqRl_OaW0-xq4Ldz-ftqbbl8Gi8XT1SH3CYzll19YsLdAf78OWXBAOwiQD-uM6nIFAD6gOcnHbtdEAW7-y7amqFQQl_K10Pk/w640-h360/Unwelcome%206.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>After a brutal home invasion, Jamie (Douglas Booth) and Maya (Hannah John-Kamen) move to Ireland<p></p><p>As I'm working on a book on Folk Horror television right now, I'm always eager to watch anything that might be categorized as Folk Horror. Jon Wright's <i>Unwelcome</i> (2022) is a demented little film that I really enjoyed, as it combines home invasion, folk horror, and creature feature into a fun package. Yes, I'm "spoiling" the film a bit by highlighting the home invasion in my caption, but this break-in provides the motivation for Maya (the always fabulous Hannah John-Kamen) and Jamie (Douglas Booth) to move into his Aunt Maeve's place in rural Ireland. A helpful neighbor, Neve (Niamh Cusack) impresses on the couple that Maeve practiced "the old ways," and that she left a blood offering for the Redcaps nightly, in order to satisfy their hunger. When Maya takes this information in, she finds it quaint and rather silly; she's a Londoner, so she has no clue what Irish folklore--and stories of the far darrig--might entail. Of course, all this "discussion" gets viewers primed for the Redcaps, and inevitably, Maya forgets to put out an offering, so....</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qnDkzS0hqvZ1OJ4Kw1UHc66MlBuLNZVMY-Dz5XUZ2YrNooNLLIUM-W3zbrkGyZY8BZQcOx5ycXWdY8lxEmlTerIpwFPoJLcaHX-LPaqMK2opFYR2vemQWpGwEdtSRVmQBRgNtbzz0pMXOQvktWhjYYCcy3Yc0VevpDB5CAOymsx-T2J40yDTeQ9eTHs/s900/Unwelcome%2014.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="900" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qnDkzS0hqvZ1OJ4Kw1UHc66MlBuLNZVMY-Dz5XUZ2YrNooNLLIUM-W3zbrkGyZY8BZQcOx5ycXWdY8lxEmlTerIpwFPoJLcaHX-LPaqMK2opFYR2vemQWpGwEdtSRVmQBRgNtbzz0pMXOQvktWhjYYCcy3Yc0VevpDB5CAOymsx-T2J40yDTeQ9eTHs/w640-h462/Unwelcome%2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> The Whelans at work--Eion (Kristian Narn) and Aisling Whelan (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell) cause trouble<p></p><p>Since Maya and Jamie have a huge hole in their roof, amongst other home repair issues, they hire a local Irish family, The Whelans, to do the repairs. Led by "Daddy" Whelan (Colm Meaney), this bunch are stereotypically scary country folk who harass the new homeowners at every turn. This rough bunch come across as shockingly similar to the home invaders that attacked the couple at the film's beginning, and the locals are not fans either. The Whelans bring the necessary conflict to make the heavily pregnant Maya even more terrified in her new home. Thus far, the supernatural elements seem less threatening than the Whelans.</p><p>Maya lets her curiosity lead her into the land of the fae, behind an ancient wooden door. Here she finds a mystical forest, and an underground series of tunnels. She also happens to encounter Eion Whelan (Kristian Narn), an abused son of Daddy, who takes a liking to Maya and her kindness. As soon as spectators think that Maya and Eion are bonding, he takes things too far and Mays screams for help. Suddenly and brutally, Eion is pulled off of her, and she tears out of there, running in terror back to her home.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTt8uXtHSXq9L12-gnSOmGvGqYPs0O6GweZNXNzdAkU5HKq5w6Q9C9GVLMEJEZJwZdLIVq4xpboGjB-8-3mUGT-yZHn5AzFapyPltICxpQGr11RZwIK9Qu7wyYmDDi1mv-n_V2P_OTkt0Z2ECdeJ9MIeNbQpAjLeV0NMCbj14HTN-bcwUSO608mUI1Z_0/s1024/Unwelcome%2010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="1024" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTt8uXtHSXq9L12-gnSOmGvGqYPs0O6GweZNXNzdAkU5HKq5w6Q9C9GVLMEJEZJwZdLIVq4xpboGjB-8-3mUGT-yZHn5AzFapyPltICxpQGr11RZwIK9Qu7wyYmDDi1mv-n_V2P_OTkt0Z2ECdeJ9MIeNbQpAjLeV0NMCbj14HTN-bcwUSO608mUI1Z_0/w640-h352/Unwelcome%2010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Maya's curiosity compels her to explore what lies behind the old cottage door<p></p><p>Once Jamie returns home, he finds Maya terrified, recounting the story of what happened in the forest beyond the door. Jamie doesn't believe her, and goes off to the pub, thinking she has "baby brain." While he's away, she has a visitor.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-9_zzE_2bQrJ_IJbsFedO79inwWh9-go4EiwJr3QIx5OJ2FhpyeY2edPsOJ9k3DVnO77EwIdG8-23E95PmwBP-m9qKf85w_PsFIN6N0DtgCxWzDLqZQPAAm49IirtZkZY3JGuE6jISq5nZckeAG1cAuHTmfsI-BcnBBse9Z-0pypiHr4AwLnINEvioE/s1337/Unwelcome%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1337" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-9_zzE_2bQrJ_IJbsFedO79inwWh9-go4EiwJr3QIx5OJ2FhpyeY2edPsOJ9k3DVnO77EwIdG8-23E95PmwBP-m9qKf85w_PsFIN6N0DtgCxWzDLqZQPAAm49IirtZkZY3JGuE6jISq5nZckeAG1cAuHTmfsI-BcnBBse9Z-0pypiHr4AwLnINEvioE/w640-h356/Unwelcome%201.png" width="640" /></a></div> A Redcap visits Maya while Jamie's away<br /><p>The film takes a rather drastic tonal shift once we see the Redcaps for the first time, as they are rather hilarious in a Jim Henson kind of way, rather than a terrifying way...until they bring Maya a gift--Eion's head in a plastic bag. That's around the time when the film goes bananas, and pretty much stays that way until the very end, with gallons of bloodshed, a surprise birth, a trip down to the Redcaps cave, and the anointing of a new leader for the Redcaps to worship and revere. Makes you want to move to rural Ireland immediately. NOT.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgtmR0V1i8BjXNYhuhqPUc2FQtXySqG1M0KhvuhXy6oHi3pyDawVnDSVJqX8ttshKL24w7O9_YJDlowjyUSEQKiTV8LjLEvuqUrqVJk3Pdxpm52seB1egyhv5EI9mgTH9gCJ30IfGAPIw1-b0aPTfIchDFxrbknt7Jz_d25dC4Lvtew0Wmk9_7Cblbqc/s1340/Unwelcome%2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1340" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgtmR0V1i8BjXNYhuhqPUc2FQtXySqG1M0KhvuhXy6oHi3pyDawVnDSVJqX8ttshKL24w7O9_YJDlowjyUSEQKiTV8LjLEvuqUrqVJk3Pdxpm52seB1egyhv5EI9mgTH9gCJ30IfGAPIw1-b0aPTfIchDFxrbknt7Jz_d25dC4Lvtew0Wmk9_7Cblbqc/w640-h360/Unwelcome%2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Blood rains down on Maya<br /><p>While <i>Unwelcome</i> hits many familiar notes, it's the Redcaps that keep you glued to Maya and Jamie's struggle. The film is equal parts menacing and goofy, making for a relatively light-hearted, fun watch in the end. It's not particular frightening, but horror doesn't always have to be, especially when a film deliberately injects comedy into its veins. Definitely worth a watch. <i>Unwelcome </i>is streaming on Shudder right now.</p>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-81832411193598333432023-06-27T19:25:00.001-04:002023-06-27T19:25:21.252-04:00Review--She Said (Maria Schrader, 2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyg-MEoHD91L-CEf-8gZ6nQeYnI_cwkA_kgkgAxvQ_lc2E1LjVutMrhfZ-r4a-i-4ekXgSPCFPfqmDwgQJS6NMH1sZSIQwiIwzAa2R-fA5kr7xCubN2-HFosbMM7T0PxLVYd4xaHzp2eWruio3LxVKVN4mulE2K6YEbP7uGRoTz4mxhvTAwiSpRquJlg/s4352/She%20Said%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="4352" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyg-MEoHD91L-CEf-8gZ6nQeYnI_cwkA_kgkgAxvQ_lc2E1LjVutMrhfZ-r4a-i-4ekXgSPCFPfqmDwgQJS6NMH1sZSIQwiIwzAa2R-fA5kr7xCubN2-HFosbMM7T0PxLVYd4xaHzp2eWruio3LxVKVN4mulE2K6YEbP7uGRoTz4mxhvTAwiSpRquJlg/w640-h360/She%20Said%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) expose Weinstein in <i>She Said </i>(2022)<p></p><p><i>She Said</i>, Maria Schrader's stunning 2022 film is a different kind of horror story. One with which all women might identify. Working, living, and loving in U.S. patriarchal society tends to play the horror of sexual harassment, exploitation, loss of bodily autonomy, fear of rape and murder, and other systemic inequalities on an endless loop. I had heard about this film, and have had the book by the two journalists on my "to be read" pile for quite some time, but I cannot believe I waited so long to see this utterly riveting, powerful film. Also, the terrific Maria Schrader, director of 2021's <i>I'm Your Man</i><u>,</u> and star of the incredible <i>Deutschland </i>series ('83, '86, '89, streaming on Hulu<u>),</u> directs some gifted actors in this film--Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Samantha Morton, and Jennifer Ehle, to name a few luminaries. Even though we know the ending of this tale, which focuses on the explosive publication of the Pulitzer prize winning news story that took down Harvey Weinstein, I think you'll still be compelled by this film's strong storytelling.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialA5h-9gWkry8Kf3VchjSdh5wz2dhv1rLTyw5LWAnnCIoc3IAdq2ThriDUjt39wAYYr8dNgTi93aGNtve0b0qAujEGjLTjMorXV0u-VMO3MI5Mhc3_Col6SRbqrSRm5Xi_w-jZow_kdoBsdQu1a5pl9AeESHUGGongUdZYNIse_-7aR4Jmyn_XVkem88/s1200/She%20Said%209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialA5h-9gWkry8Kf3VchjSdh5wz2dhv1rLTyw5LWAnnCIoc3IAdq2ThriDUjt39wAYYr8dNgTi93aGNtve0b0qAujEGjLTjMorXV0u-VMO3MI5Mhc3_Col6SRbqrSRm5Xi_w-jZow_kdoBsdQu1a5pl9AeESHUGGongUdZYNIse_-7aR4Jmyn_XVkem88/w640-h426/She%20Said%209.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div>The film opens with a lovely Irish lass heading over to a film shoot, where they are filming some pirate ship on the water in 1992. Cut to this young woman running through the streets, crying and holding her clothes close as she tears away from something terrible. The film comes back to this event later in the narrative's trajectory. Suddenly we're in 2016, and now <i>New York Times </i>reporter Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) is meeting with a woman who plans to come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. As Twohey moves forward with the article's publication, she gets a call from the Orange Blob himself, calling her a "disgusting creature." Another jump in time has this guy winning the U.S. presidency, starting the "nothing matters" era that seems to be the world in which we're living. Megan's pregnant with her first child--what a world to bring a kid into--and the film shifts momentarily to her eventual partner-in-crime, Jody Kantor (Zoe Kazan), who's chasing a story on sexual harassment and misconduct in Hollywood, zeroing in on another creepy big guy with too much power--Harvey Weinstein.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxWvo4UnXIZX6w4YUv8TY720dMT3Er2E3QgqcvIEnbLef1OoWRYwL0Ee3Qwz4GKVa5dYKSvwbuBBJv8cx0TeyhJChMHiMu10nmpmB8F333uCKJq6TAh5_Ttfj8BIdc0jq_P3_B2PwRV0I0RLVkbj9imxDU3xMvsAgGF4b0aYPWCfEsRpBm5TiTCXEEiA/s318/She%20Said%2014.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxWvo4UnXIZX6w4YUv8TY720dMT3Er2E3QgqcvIEnbLef1OoWRYwL0Ee3Qwz4GKVa5dYKSvwbuBBJv8cx0TeyhJChMHiMu10nmpmB8F333uCKJq6TAh5_Ttfj8BIdc0jq_P3_B2PwRV0I0RLVkbj9imxDU3xMvsAgGF4b0aYPWCfEsRpBm5TiTCXEEiA/w640-h320/She%20Said%2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> The painful experience of postpartum depression consumes Megan<br /><div><br /></div><div><i>She Said</i> focuses on women's experience, whether its at home, in marriage, or in the workplace. I was both surprised and delighted about the integration of Twohey and Kantor's personal lives. When Megan returns to <i>The New York Times</i> after maternity leave, her boss, Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) comes across as both caring and concerned about Megan's physical and emotional wellbeing. Her support of both journalists seems a little bit "too positive," regarding <i>The Times</i>' position in all this, but I'm willing to allow for it, considering all the time viewers spend at the NY office. Jody reaches out to Megan, and here again, their conversation about being a new parent, and what a struggle it is, seems incredibly sensitive. Likewise, the portrayal of their marriages is also thoughtful, really showing the challenges of creating a work/life balance. Kudos to them both for finding such supportive partners!</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZgQhX8R4rFXEvFRxdzq_ZWQEt0lOqlZmczWMdeoI0PLhePC3EjFJdZAda0IEkgKL0D1I_dyHtL-qZOC-g73i_5hoKU-41EwIUQu7HWUkiHU2179iq8iRdsK5JNnIpViESk03bL82txLkfXQ-zV3cQpWbEX3tdiZrIFeeGNISQH7gqsYeXF3K_-LMq7Q/s500/She%20Said%2011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZgQhX8R4rFXEvFRxdzq_ZWQEt0lOqlZmczWMdeoI0PLhePC3EjFJdZAda0IEkgKL0D1I_dyHtL-qZOC-g73i_5hoKU-41EwIUQu7HWUkiHU2179iq8iRdsK5JNnIpViESk03bL82txLkfXQ-zV3cQpWbEX3tdiZrIFeeGNISQH7gqsYeXF3K_-LMq7Q/w640-h360/She%20Said%2011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Jody (Zoe Kazan) holding another heartbreaking interview with a Weinstein victim<br /><p>Once Megan signs on to help Jody with the story, the rest of the film consists of the two interviewing woman after woman, trying to get each of them to go on the record about their experience working for or interacting with Weinstein. Just like the journalists, viewers realize how high the stakes are getting, as well as how terrified the victims are, as these experiences become more and more ubiquitous. (Side note: I was lucky enough to be attending the Sitges Film Festival when the news broke, and "the shitty media men" list was circulating as well. I said to a fellow critic at lunch that I didn't know if any of this stuff would make a difference. Little did I know! October 2017 was the beginning of a reckoning that still has legs). Ashley Judd, as one of the only actresses initially willing to put her name and reputation on the line, cameos as herself in the film. Weinstein torpedoed her career when she rejected his grabby hands, and it's amazing to see these events retold within this film.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiShPav6NgWb8MbTmDfuqe9r4945s2WZ1RK_h96lRvOesjF__KrJt8-PhGzPX3tBtO1vswzTu13zVyYVb_FLJPXc02srZkG8ii-Gle0vy2pNZ8DMdb3eGkPwHOvN3b5iGtjMTi4lpX3uLnGyPceCFq_kdjLqeuo9JW3__5zhMKXB7277hc4uKIjm2Ot4/s500/She%20Said%2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiShPav6NgWb8MbTmDfuqe9r4945s2WZ1RK_h96lRvOesjF__KrJt8-PhGzPX3tBtO1vswzTu13zVyYVb_FLJPXc02srZkG8ii-Gle0vy2pNZ8DMdb3eGkPwHOvN3b5iGtjMTi4lpX3uLnGyPceCFq_kdjLqeuo9JW3__5zhMKXB7277hc4uKIjm2Ot4/w640-h360/She%20Said%2012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Zelda Perkins (Samantha Morton) bravely hands over incriminating documents to Jody<br /><p>The thing that some people do not realize, especially people who have never experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault, is that the experience marks you, stains you, changes you. Your place in the world feels tenuous and precarious, your worth questionable. You blame yourself, just as others will assuredly blame you. <i>She Said</i> not only captures the stories of some of these incredibly brave women coming forward, but also examines the ripple effect that sexual assault creates--everyone whom you confide in or love will likely be touched by these experiences. These moments do not just "go away", and justice is seldom achieved. The film keeps ratcheting up the suspense for much of the runtime as repeated women meet with Jody and Megan, but are too afraid to go on record. That's why when women ] start saying they will come forward, viewers cry the same tears Jody does while watching. The film is intense, but not in a bad way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY7hwxvttCW844XHfea_3DVYjS9C-bCPcyzlLxPxTN_ZnXGg0LJAhyQY2Fv2b81ULLqR8L61y0bQ783pLXwhHHwPNhwtWoaEInkPXA15a9vkpKdEXGKg1pWSlrYGbqnlF2x_Q0NmBRvm5ctjAtNri0CqivrL5mVEPfIO8MBI74LY8YUQFJwSCa_CRSVg/s306/She%20Said%2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="306" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY7hwxvttCW844XHfea_3DVYjS9C-bCPcyzlLxPxTN_ZnXGg0LJAhyQY2Fv2b81ULLqR8L61y0bQ783pLXwhHHwPNhwtWoaEInkPXA15a9vkpKdEXGKg1pWSlrYGbqnlF2x_Q0NmBRvm5ctjAtNri0CqivrL5mVEPfIO8MBI74LY8YUQFJwSCa_CRSVg/w640-h345/She%20Said%2013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Weinstein enters the <i>New York Times </i>offices with his lawyers<br /><p>By the time Weinstein enters the New York office to confront the journalists crafting the story, with women lawyers to boot, I just wanted him to pay already. Of course, he denies everything, and bullies Megan as she meets with them, silently listening to their defense, the camera slowly zooming in on her stoic features. The film emphasizes the team effort it takes to bring this story forward, and the long hours and numerous disappointments that it took to get there. After reviewing it again and again, the editor of <i>The New York Times</i> performatively presses "publish" onscreen. The rest we can easily recall. As just a reminder, in February of 2023, Weinstein would get an additional 16 years added to his 23 year sentence after his trial in Los Angeles.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQX7ok_VRV3IFh2bLRkJIDm27VjcS8c6o5bZWzL5DaA94a-vjhnobbLsFwqsQOZdyVyx8GxIh4iaephq3YRO_gjzIiD-qc7u-1GFCmWMANyQVsC0cfqoIB-wJzg31oH50vH9sf_d3gLX-2aIX2SF4zMoLBhKDy07F7EVThsLppNRzW3yzHdQks2ir8R5Y/s1200/She%20Said%202.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQX7ok_VRV3IFh2bLRkJIDm27VjcS8c6o5bZWzL5DaA94a-vjhnobbLsFwqsQOZdyVyx8GxIh4iaephq3YRO_gjzIiD-qc7u-1GFCmWMANyQVsC0cfqoIB-wJzg31oH50vH9sf_d3gLX-2aIX2SF4zMoLBhKDy07F7EVThsLppNRzW3yzHdQks2ir8R5Y/w640-h266/She%20Said%202.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Thankfully, the film barely shows Weinstein, although his presence looms large. The film's focus is on Twohey and Kantor, two persistent women journalists who broke a huge story, and pushed a snowball that was big when it started, and is HUGE now as it continues to roll over some of these "shitty men" in its path. Yet, for all the complaints about "cancel culture," and the fragility of men now in terms of their so-called victimization, plenty of them are not yet canceled--Mel Gibson, Kevin Spacey, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Louis CK, among others. <i>She Said</i> stands as a testament to what holding men accountable looks like, and we should keep doing it, especially for those who think of themselves as potential leaders for the United States. The film is a triumph, and is available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription. I'm excited to see what Schrader does next, and this film should have won a ton of awards and accolades. Highly recommended.</p></div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-13060288076072669612023-06-23T13:04:00.000-04:002023-06-23T13:04:24.169-04:00Review--Consecration--Christopher Smith (2023)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii49KlpOh1Y4kx1GgmtJmPf7W_y_CqPfAXLLJMvxIDQu5zgg5a8zpAXI5MqogXna5hPxzyV1tASqd3BkA1gG9kozrOCML9AeTWE56ECWDUic5y7crzK3nqIo55hKdH84W7cu7pqBaYkxtDxZF3rwu8BIUvOXzp40CvIYPmBtjuW-eU4Iba9ecZV2Ywl6w/s512/Consecration%206.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii49KlpOh1Y4kx1GgmtJmPf7W_y_CqPfAXLLJMvxIDQu5zgg5a8zpAXI5MqogXna5hPxzyV1tASqd3BkA1gG9kozrOCML9AeTWE56ECWDUic5y7crzK3nqIo55hKdH84W7cu7pqBaYkxtDxZF3rwu8BIUvOXzp40CvIYPmBtjuW-eU4Iba9ecZV2Ywl6w/w640-h640/Consecration%206.png" width="640" /></a></div>As a someone who was raised Catholic, I think almost all religious films, and religions, are scary. My take is that Catholicism is a cult just like any other, and the Pope and his cadre of guys are the cult's leadership. I'm also a pretty big fan of Jenna Malone, the star of Christopher Smith's latest horror thriller, <i>Consecration</i> (2023), so ignoring the disappointed and disappointing reviews of the film, I jumped right in.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2Y1CksxpZBv2H6lcnjkv1xcu5rMo4wmd0hXwT5tkwZx-z8XUqhtS5B52rnHHNAaoOzrO3Zl9rBDzm86-1Stwvx6kViM6BdTIP6N7y1KXAY_z8VsbHHzcQ0ky9umUwDHaI8YLesID-aSYfBxcv4xllaxOpXWX4idbLqooGja2YRw1k9OQ2gc72U8WTK0/s1298/Consecration%2011.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1298" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2Y1CksxpZBv2H6lcnjkv1xcu5rMo4wmd0hXwT5tkwZx-z8XUqhtS5B52rnHHNAaoOzrO3Zl9rBDzm86-1Stwvx6kViM6BdTIP6N7y1KXAY_z8VsbHHzcQ0ky9umUwDHaI8YLesID-aSYfBxcv4xllaxOpXWX4idbLqooGja2YRw1k9OQ2gc72U8WTK0/w640-h332/Consecration%2011.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> Grace (Jenna Malone) is a hardworking ophthalmologist trying to help her patients <br /><p>In the first few minutes of <i>Consecration</i>, Grace is walking down a London street when suddenly a nun in a pristine white habit points a gun at her...fade to black. I like this beginning. Call me intrigued and ready for more! Switching to the present day, Grace is meeting with a blind woman and her husband, and suggests that there is a way to bring her sight back. She then receives a phone call that her brother, a priest named Michael, was involved in what the police believe is a murder/suicide at a Scottish convent. Grace doesn't believe that Michael could kill someone, let alone himself, and goes to the Mount Savior Convent on the Isle of Skye to investigate. Cue sweeping vistas and sky-high seaside cliffs, as well as some really lovely drone shots of driving through the scenery. Stunning. The film actually reminds me of Mariano Baino's 1993 Nunsploitation shocker <i>Dark Waters</i>, with equally weird and malevolent nuns and just a touch of Folk Horror. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCycF615LzwhAMU4wfXMxuFGD94ox8RIchHtcMg8B29hbWiWenBJpLpc6ZPIx8_eDrce7-Pf1y8iu-ozsNAs0aLTzMkOmS4nBR7b2tJQtBVZ5kePSJG86I9I3sKHi_M5RACcGgHP90gHuKlqkArrhhLxi07UUI5fe2ws0hqkB9Vg0bk-YdvbXVhdypRg/s1920/Consecration%208.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCycF615LzwhAMU4wfXMxuFGD94ox8RIchHtcMg8B29hbWiWenBJpLpc6ZPIx8_eDrce7-Pf1y8iu-ozsNAs0aLTzMkOmS4nBR7b2tJQtBVZ5kePSJG86I9I3sKHi_M5RACcGgHP90gHuKlqkArrhhLxi07UUI5fe2ws0hqkB9Vg0bk-YdvbXVhdypRg/w640-h360/Consecration%208.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> Grace sees the body of her brother Michael's body (Steffan Cennydd)<br /><p>Grace is not buying the story the nuns are giving to the cops, particular DCI Harris (Thoren Ferguson), who is in charge of the investigation. Why isn't there sand all over him if he died on the beach, she asks. Well, Mother Superior and her mysterious fellow nuns are definitely hiding something. Also on the case is Danny Huston's Father Romero, sent by the Vatican to consecrate the church and deal with a missing relic situation. He appears to be helping Grace, but one scene gives away the game when Grace is not present. Of course, as a Vatican "enforcer," he's not to be trusted. He provides Grace with a book in secret code written by her brother--one that only she can read. Kind of cool. Lots of religious talk about there being "one true God," etc. Again, like <i>Dark Waters</i>, viewers are not quite sure what God that might be, since the practices by the nuns are rather strange. </p><p>Upon reading her brother's coded journal, Grace starts to experience a stream of confusing visions and hallucinations. She has a very strong connection to Michael, in life and death, and not only does his spirit warn her, but she "sees" his torture by a priest and nuns when she touches an area where he has been. What gradually unfolds is a traumatic past full of religious zealotry, child abuse, and children kept in cages. Further, when the two children are on the way to being adopted after their mother's death by their father, a priest boots little Michael out of the vehicle and tries to chloroform Grace. Things do not go well. She also has strange flashbacks to experiences a century ago, where she's a little girl wearing a weird mask, and worshipping some deity above. Definitely some folk horror practices going on. Time bounces back and forth without clear boundaries, as Grace seems to see things from the past and the future. No wonder in adulthood, Grace turned to science, while Michael fell deeper into religion. Now, it seems there's a reckoning, as Grace investigates the secrets the convent is hiding, and how they connect to a traumatic past she is eager to forget.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9f4Rv9wuP_yKrzpDlWrVVPCwxmNmsvEqyJTLSv57R5FQCA1vEmNvNw8FFn1OF_gOOFJKl9JsjYKKQCL0ex2Dpno5HZIM8pMeW4IGwSiD_Lx30aovnuk_MDJuMa5THBot2Qx4s1gCBmAk1KDYHKgpc7B2bjbc3rXa7KcwLRcdDXWYJdJ6fNntFSIs3Yk/s1024/Consecration%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9f4Rv9wuP_yKrzpDlWrVVPCwxmNmsvEqyJTLSv57R5FQCA1vEmNvNw8FFn1OF_gOOFJKl9JsjYKKQCL0ex2Dpno5HZIM8pMeW4IGwSiD_Lx30aovnuk_MDJuMa5THBot2Qx4s1gCBmAk1KDYHKgpc7B2bjbc3rXa7KcwLRcdDXWYJdJ6fNntFSIs3Yk/w640-h360/Consecration%205.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Mother Superior (Janet Suzman) believes that the "relic" is Grace herself<br /><p>Throughout the film, Grace is progressively stripped of her independence, as the convent places more and more restrictions upon her. Also, nuns seem to end up dying right and left, by their own hand. One minute they are brandishing a scary knife. The next, they are dead. Grace becomes more and more frightened as she watches these "murders" unfold, and the cops are highly interested in her. Strangely, DCI Harris, when faced with these strange occurrences, steadfastly thinks it's all hooey. Despite the occasional moment with another character, for expositional purposes, viewers are never far from Grace's side, and we are consistently meant to identify with her as she investigates these mysteries.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmmeZHsxke7wCbCeltixfSMxFBQxRPtJPrlzVzpzkji5xre1b6DgYM5XoYV9n4xXZrgs234aO3FBODmGqDGmT8jRsdR9VdxZV_bc1wqqrE913ExWhVN_Gpk3qWj2QUNuSuVqWt1khXleUk6LldiSku85p0LhXvrtfxU2dickIxf7KsQjETc7CA-XLgXI/s1280/Consecration%2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmmeZHsxke7wCbCeltixfSMxFBQxRPtJPrlzVzpzkji5xre1b6DgYM5XoYV9n4xXZrgs234aO3FBODmGqDGmT8jRsdR9VdxZV_bc1wqqrE913ExWhVN_Gpk3qWj2QUNuSuVqWt1khXleUk6LldiSku85p0LhXvrtfxU2dickIxf7KsQjETc7CA-XLgXI/w640-h360/Consecration%2010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Grace begs Father Romero for help, surrounded by nuns<br /><p>One of the penultimate showdowns between Grace and this cult is quite a spectacle, and the choreography of their religious rituals is definitely one of the visual highlights of the film. Father Romero keeps saying "my child" to Grace in the most disingenuous way, but based laid cult plans! I have to say, when viewers start to get answers to what's going on, I thought, "Oh. That's really dumb." Yet, you cannot just accept the film's "conclusion" at face value, because there are two, count them, two explanatory codas, that make spectators question everything that came before. Like his previous film, <i>Triangle</i>, <i>Consecration</i> is certainly twisty, with some last minute reveals that sometimes hit <i>and </i>miss. Still, the nun with a gun comes back, and the very last death in the film is kind of great. Sure, the death is a little cliché, but for me, that particular jump scare never gets old. <i>Consecration</i> is not a great film, but it's pleasantly watchable, with a good performance by Jenna Malone, and a bunch of creepy nuns. If you find religion terrifying, this film will hit some of your sweet spots. It's streaming now on AMC+.</p>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-79377191293594943182023-06-21T19:21:00.003-04:002023-06-21T19:21:44.518-04:00Review: The Invitation (Jessica M. Thompson, 2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4TkDsYH-TU89285hkGVIF-Qwe1YFStIMwO96lPdmvMlapLYd1mR7_FZsm9FbF2r1mATBqm9CPliFp4nCGe0RPFCwF5dw0Ebdx1bb-tvh9QPy4ttlOLW_USdFG9EkYmKZoJ40bBXAccw52Upgj_n8MYeRxo7QtdRmKxff3mEFN6-5kzWwlDz7r_lR/s540/The%20Invitation%209.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4TkDsYH-TU89285hkGVIF-Qwe1YFStIMwO96lPdmvMlapLYd1mR7_FZsm9FbF2r1mATBqm9CPliFp4nCGe0RPFCwF5dw0Ebdx1bb-tvh9QPy4ttlOLW_USdFG9EkYmKZoJ40bBXAccw52Upgj_n8MYeRxo7QtdRmKxff3mEFN6-5kzWwlDz7r_lR/w640-h426/The%20Invitation%209.gif" title="Walt and Evie are Dreamy in The Invitation (2022)" width="640" /></a></div> Walt (Tom Doherty), and Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) are dreamy in The <i>Invitation </i> (2022)<p></p><div>Jessica M. Thompson has crafted a really fun gothic Vampire romance in her film <i>The Invitation</i> (2022), and I'm actually really surprised that the film has received so many milquetoast reviews, although I do agree with two complaints: the trailer gives the film away, and it's just not very scary. Neither of these issues is a deal breaker, and as a critic who hungrily devours trailers, I knew what I was in for. Further, while the film isn't a jump scare gore fest, I find bullying, microaggressions, and full-throttle gaslighting pretty scary, so if viewers identify with Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel), the film definitely has its share of terrors, albeit more psychological than visceral. Most importantly, in a genre dominated by white women, <i>The Invitation</i> stars a BIPOC woman, who is savvy, funny, and heroic! Yes!</div><div><br /></div><div>Evie and her fabulous bestie, Grace (Courtney Taylor) are dodging grabby hands as they cater a posh event. Evie tries to make ends meet while pursuing artistic work as a ceramicist. Just keep in mind that this film is all about fantasy, so no need to question why she has a ridiculously amazing apartment--just go with it. Evie's an orphan, and her Mom, to whom she was close, passed away recently, so when she discovers a DNA kit in the swag bag she snagged from the event, she decides to give it a try. Why not. She soon discovers that she has family, and that she's a cousin of the incredibly posh Alexander family, who reside across the pond in London. Conveniently, her cousin Oliver is in New York on business, and asks if they can meet up. Over dinner, he invites her to a family wedding in London, in order for her to meet her new family, who are eager to welcome her into the fold. Noteworthy point: the Alexanders are white, and her line on the family tree is connected to her great grandmother's dalliance with a black footman. This plot point is also patently ridiculous, but Oliver offers a free trip to London, so Evie decides to--just go with it.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhoRc3goxknGUVyoNGzAVmRTpGuBWGSyW0_P72CKoPIfd2QKQSxZiSGtdn6UJ3qKnVAejc2pJwlRBdgGXWDR4fMXsD1JF8_BjWFad3zG8XYbxiCd18HW3yDLjqs0XekJssbz1EwubW5tt6-H4wEnbfUp1YlCigYZM-i2VYa9FzlOO677eynxRcBN1r90/s1280/The%20Invitation%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1280" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhoRc3goxknGUVyoNGzAVmRTpGuBWGSyW0_P72CKoPIfd2QKQSxZiSGtdn6UJ3qKnVAejc2pJwlRBdgGXWDR4fMXsD1JF8_BjWFad3zG8XYbxiCd18HW3yDLjqs0XekJssbz1EwubW5tt6-H4wEnbfUp1YlCigYZM-i2VYa9FzlOO677eynxRcBN1r90/w640-h312/The%20Invitation%206.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Evie meets the "lord" of New Carfax Abbey, Walter DeVille--he immediately seems very interested<br /><div><br /></div><div>She observes some staff showing up, and accidentally bumps into a young woman carrying a tray of glasses. Blam!! There's a mess, she's apologizing, and Mr. DeVille's butler (Renfield) mistakes her for the help until Walter sets him straight. The first hour of this film is just gorgeous set piece after gorgeous set piece as Evie gets seduced and charmed by Walter--spoilers, you know he's a vampire, as the film reveals "someone" feeding on the help in the dark. Sending a maid to get a specific bottle of wine is clearly the mark of death in this film, and if anyone gets out of line, to the cellar they go, or the library, or wherever else Walter is hanging out, alone and hungry. Interspersed with these moments are Evie's interactions with Walter, her extended family, the Alexanders, and then two other families that have shown up for the wedding. They have rehearsal dinners, and soirees with fireworks, and each time, Walter gives Evie an absolutely beautiful dress to wear to every function. As fantasies go, this film has it all--a dishy heartthrob suitor who is fabulously wealthy and absolutely fascinated with Evie. Grace, whom Evie checks in with daily because "cell phones," is pretty supportive about this</div><div>potential Mr. Right, but the fact that Evie's the ONLY POC in the whole film is impossible to ignore.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZp5vsqpbsRmrP66_j39DYpVdm7K-V7puZNdQHbPMUxja1eu3im08bZwFW-tvBXTTveQayGMlsQxvAg5pRzp36L-52O-0lxKepf8EPTe9BbpM5LOyV-86KY-kzCqsM3sHOrCyw_Rv2XsAcFWokmEJH2vcqTfUhArMGB9HLJZl-tLBiGxFjB0eGz6Ydv4/s2864/The%20Invitation%2011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1522" data-original-width="2864" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZp5vsqpbsRmrP66_j39DYpVdm7K-V7puZNdQHbPMUxja1eu3im08bZwFW-tvBXTTveQayGMlsQxvAg5pRzp36L-52O-0lxKepf8EPTe9BbpM5LOyV-86KY-kzCqsM3sHOrCyw_Rv2XsAcFWokmEJH2vcqTfUhArMGB9HLJZl-tLBiGxFjB0eGz6Ydv4/w640-h340/The%20Invitation%2011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Lucy (Alana Boden) is definitely the sweeter of the two other brides (of Dracula)<br /><div><br /></div><div>I really appreciate how <i>The Invitation</i> gives a decent backstory to Dracula's brides, and what their origin story might be. We meet Lucy (Alana Boden) and Vicktoria (Stephanie Cornieliussen) when they show up for the the wedding festivities. Viktoria is not pleased by Evie capturing Walt's attention; Lucy is just eager to have a "sister" in the family. While the film is not explicit, its pretty clear that Lucy and Viktoria are Walt's brides, women from two families to which Walt offers protection, power, and eternal life. The film opens with the Alexander bride killing herself rather than continuing to live...like a vampire, I guess. So Oliver sets his sites on Evie as soon as the DNA test results prove a match, however mixed race Evie is. For vampires, the blood, and the blood line, is what ultimately matters.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6eHtALozvbA-Dx3rRbqlSMn2hP1saZ1T-AoHDkKndoLvKkieXconAjQaS5J86V2vMDhMJVC0alMuA2Z4igHXpEcxeM3As2sMWDc4X_yUcHcgZ_L9brUBcKz04LRMeHC_m54xHc0IId8DHjVx4C2_WLReFNj2uvSLYfVbDmNDDBF2nQTlcprlNhaNI5E/s800/The%20Invitation%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6eHtALozvbA-Dx3rRbqlSMn2hP1saZ1T-AoHDkKndoLvKkieXconAjQaS5J86V2vMDhMJVC0alMuA2Z4igHXpEcxeM3As2sMWDc4X_yUcHcgZ_L9brUBcKz04LRMeHC_m54xHc0IId8DHjVx4C2_WLReFNj2uvSLYfVbDmNDDBF2nQTlcprlNhaNI5E/w640-h360/The%20Invitation%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div> Evie is not a happy bride on her special day</div><br /><div>When Evie realizes what is in store, and that the wedding is actually <i>hers</i>, she looks pretty disturbed and shocked. She goes along with it all <i>to a point</i>, but the bloodletting/wedding ceremony is where things go wrong for Walter and his minions, all wearing weird animal masks because??? Some stuff seems to be throwing spaghetti at a wall, but quite a bit does stick. I found the ending satisfying, but a bit abrupt, with several potential storylines unexplored. Look for a shout out to Mina and Jonathan Harker, and be prepared to identify with Evie, but know quite a bit more than she does through the whole film. <i>The Invitation</i> is currently streaming on Netflix, and definitely worth it if you like old school gothic flair.</div><div><br /></div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-73891233512008243812023-06-03T19:59:00.001-04:002023-06-03T19:59:27.333-04:00Review: Influencer (Kurtis David Harder, 2022)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC2SBdiS5xoFx7EAmR9xuCJ6mkc2o9i_8wZvAtwQvenRVUIpJyTIpSQmNU_qH6cnbkeZD0DDMo4dpuHBrZkI4Xc8__Hc-_uBTS0yDpkXC6_FOjVNeekcYdyNvYFf7RAkRZ7ynxvSWQiqMfa3MrQbCo28NmofEXN_G6YZHanAGvmweauVIbFVnR_aC/s1200/Influencer%201.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC2SBdiS5xoFx7EAmR9xuCJ6mkc2o9i_8wZvAtwQvenRVUIpJyTIpSQmNU_qH6cnbkeZD0DDMo4dpuHBrZkI4Xc8__Hc-_uBTS0yDpkXC6_FOjVNeekcYdyNvYFf7RAkRZ7ynxvSWQiqMfa3MrQbCo28NmofEXN_G6YZHanAGvmweauVIbFVnR_aC/w640-h266/Influencer%201.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> Madison (Emily Tennant) never has her phone far away in <i>Influencer</i> (Kurtis David Harder, 2022)<p></p><p>I've never been to Thailand, but <i>Influencer</i> (2022) definitely made this beautiful place seem extremely tempting. Bangkok streets, winding roads, jungle, and deserted beaches glimmer under the sun in this well-crafted and sumptuous film. Pre-credits sequence, viewers get a hint of what's to come, as the camera zooms overhead, supplying viewers with an aerial image of a body, seemingly female (but it's ambiguous) lying face first on a deserted beach. With that little teaser, the film cuts to Madison (Emily Tennant) as a young woman "influencer" on a trip to Thailand, recording every moment with selfies, and video streams of her adventures. She seems to be on her own, as her boyfriend Ryan has ditched her at the last minute. She's lonely and a little bit bored, filling her time with getting her picture taken at local hotspots, and recording testimonials for products she's compelled to shill. </p><p>Still, the places at which she stays are gorgeous--truly gorgeous! The hotel she stays at is luxurious and appears to provide every possible comfort. An apartment that she rents is a modernist showpiece, perched on a hill with its own infinity pool. The film implies that she is making bank as an influencer, but in some ways, her lifestyle seems hollow. Pretty on the outside, by but empty and shallow on the inside. At one point, she gets hit on by an older gentleman at the hotel bar. He seems relatively harmless, but still annoying, and when another young woman staying at the hotel watches her exchange, she quickly asks Madison if she feels like "a walk"--promptly rescuing her from the older man's attentions. Madison's savior is CW, a sultry brunette who carries herself with ease around Thailand; a birthmark under her right eye only enhances her unique beauty. CW (Cassandra Naud) and Madison quickly become inseparable, and when Madison's hotel room is broken into, her passport and identification stolen, CW quickly takes the impressionable influencer under her wing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31NSGcunkv1rC0GIlXIsqRiDKQCTH4FX0LCGCS6wnwuRXcGi9Ww1trwkRxIDdfCU95isaDKwcWyhzJGqSe6HSILgZ2zhb3h6ybUizXvCQ5Xh7ez1_x-HYUJCzdyGuKjFbvRURZCADKnbZ1eK2LaGPuYcadu16dTa1ycrYpZvKzGHqo95gAfC0zQp9/s1000/Influencer%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31NSGcunkv1rC0GIlXIsqRiDKQCTH4FX0LCGCS6wnwuRXcGi9Ww1trwkRxIDdfCU95isaDKwcWyhzJGqSe6HSILgZ2zhb3h6ybUizXvCQ5Xh7ez1_x-HYUJCzdyGuKjFbvRURZCADKnbZ1eK2LaGPuYcadu16dTa1ycrYpZvKzGHqo95gAfC0zQp9/w640-h266/Influencer%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> CW (Cassandra Naud) is the main reason to watch <i>Influencer</i><br /><p>While Emily Tennant's Madison does a commendable job bringing viewers into the story, Naud's CW is what kept me riveted to the film's last moments. Things might get a little <b>spoiler-y</b> from here on out...just a warning. Rooting for the villain in a horror film is not really groundbreaking, as the love of Freddie, Jason, and Michael Myers suggests, and enjoying the demise of really unlikeable characters is often par for the course. One of my favorite villain-loving films is <i>Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon</i>, Scott Glosserman's 2006 slasher satire focusing on rising slasher-in-the-making Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel). Baesel makes this deadly killer so unfailingly likeable, that you want him to get away with everything!! If you haven't seen the film, Robert Englund (Freddy Kreuger) plays wonderfully against type as the "Ahab" chasing Vernon's whale. Delightful. Cassandra Naud's CW is equally entrancing, and as the film shifts to following her character, I weirdly did not find her as morally questionable as I should.</p><p>A couple of highlights the film brings to the fore: CW quickly encounters a new influencer, Jessica (Sara Canning), who is a little less trusting than Madison; and Ryan (Rory J. Saper), Madison's a-hole boyfriend, makes a surprise visit, looking to hook up with his cash cow, as Madison's "influencing" is something he "manages" for her. Eye roll. Heavy sigh. CW handles these two with aplomb, involving a stiletto heel and a small motorboat. Let me leave it at that...Honestly, I could have watched CW wandering around Thailand for another hour. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhBLU5Q9D6Z4NnxfarZWIFRvNJFnHPUI2yQBq-LL--mI0TMF84jHfGU8LRiZRJWPtNqQVavGrRTQk9o5qGIaM4oYgnPydujYDvhUzizAJI_NyvY0abzZKMt27ElmXxmCv4uu5vvla2QrESy--pLEXhtlK5WQoMgbF6aa2eahW_zl90k0KSf-guJNI/s780/Influencer%202.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="780" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhBLU5Q9D6Z4NnxfarZWIFRvNJFnHPUI2yQBq-LL--mI0TMF84jHfGU8LRiZRJWPtNqQVavGrRTQk9o5qGIaM4oYgnPydujYDvhUzizAJI_NyvY0abzZKMt27ElmXxmCv4uu5vvla2QrESy--pLEXhtlK5WQoMgbF6aa2eahW_zl90k0KSf-guJNI/w640-h414/Influencer%202.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> Madison and CW take a trip to a deserted island<div><br /></div><div>As the film draws to a close, I was really worried as to how Harder was going to end things. I could think of a couple of really lame endings immediately. While I wouldn't say that the film's conclusion is wildly unpredictable, I do think it's pretty satisfying, and even draws a smile from CW in the end. <i>Influencer</i> is streaming now on Shudder in the U.S. I highly recommend it!</div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-31527429753658104302023-05-31T16:41:00.000-04:002023-05-31T16:41:03.619-04:00Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism (Damon Thomas, 2022)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj926IzdBfEU9RWG_n96xzCipgsG8uT2MloO8-1weXkmUCcBeslK1cLVj1Wgo91SNL_ibuhkJnKO7mfXlQ3f66EpyYThDdx2u0kvulB6HiMMvMVnlRNSdir2czmiWa8ujBfxrsDA92JSB5VRf2-6POFW7uNF7aiOqKoqXQe5T_KqJApkG2B4daZBNRM/s696/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="696" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj926IzdBfEU9RWG_n96xzCipgsG8uT2MloO8-1weXkmUCcBeslK1cLVj1Wgo91SNL_ibuhkJnKO7mfXlQ3f66EpyYThDdx2u0kvulB6HiMMvMVnlRNSdir2czmiWa8ujBfxrsDA92JSB5VRf2-6POFW7uNF7aiOqKoqXQe5T_KqJApkG2B4daZBNRM/w478-h269/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%207.jpg" title="The Girl Squad from My Best Friend's Exorcism (2022)" width="478" /></a></div> <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism's </i>Girl Squad (Damon Thomas, 2022)<br /> <p></p><div>I'm not immune to the plethora of horror film texts these days that look to the decade where I came of age--the 80s--with cultural nostalgia. For me, it's largely the needle drops, for my tastes were formed by postpunk and new wave music from that period. Likewise, I'm drawn to horror centering on women protagonists, so Damon Thomas's recent adaptation of Grady Hendrix's novel, <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism</i>, hits many of the marks. The film zeroes in on Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller), best friends in the emotional hellscape of high school, who along with their two buds, Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu) and Glee (Cathy Ang), head to a girl's night of fun at Margaret's parents' summer cabin-in-the-woods. Of course, the girls decide to pull out the Ouija board and see if any spirits are around, but initially their only surprise visitor is Margaret's crass and excessively horny boyfriend, Wallace (Clayton Johnson). Oh, and the 5 of them decide to take LSD--although it never actually appears to work. Abby and Gretchen decide to check out an abandoned and supposedly haunted house in the woods, because <i>80s horror film vibes</i>, but are soon separated by a presence mimicking their voices and leading them astray. I'm not giving too much away to say that something strange happens to Gretchen.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavDZ6hnMZhgClekLMJGdfdeY4uMVrAYB0z-A9OiOOiFL8pUc8eDpjkMw659wvQ1FjR0kmYU07ddCVjP3MMOgrQVL7tF0xIipgAeJ3R8rUJL5cW748qjD8D8v4icTbHNAZXbdP0jO8TZjdoWzj7h9ErZqyX5KowOzt-PZV6GkRYiIOoICFVeykmobu/s500/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%202.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="500" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavDZ6hnMZhgClekLMJGdfdeY4uMVrAYB0z-A9OiOOiFL8pUc8eDpjkMw659wvQ1FjR0kmYU07ddCVjP3MMOgrQVL7tF0xIipgAeJ3R8rUJL5cW748qjD8D8v4icTbHNAZXbdP0jO8TZjdoWzj7h9ErZqyX5KowOzt-PZV6GkRYiIOoICFVeykmobu/w379-h281/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%202.gif" width="379" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>Abby and Gretchen's charming (and queer leaning) friendship</span><br /><div><br /></div><div>While I'm sure viewers will read <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism</i> anyway they want, I could not help but be charmed by how adorably queer Abby and Gretchen are--even while trying to fit in to the requirements of girlhood circa 1988. I mean, they both want to "marry" Boy George, for goodness sake, but Abby kindly is willing to relinquish The Culture Club lead singer to Gretchen, as long as she can just live with them both. Their friendship has a heartbreaking time limit though, for Gretchen is moving two states away with her snobby Christian parents. This note of melancholy hovers over the entire film as Abby tries desperately to help Gretchen at every turn. Meanwhile, Gretchen's transformation through possession hits very few original notes. She basically becomes a mean girl to all of her friends, and hurts them in a variety of personal and creative ways. What happens to Margaret is the most disturbing, and gets some good gross-out moments into the film.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMew2c1fYGoEfT90xycqrwrGDl768LWPARacGh9aGSFDCKwcDln3F1sO6s5R2g61jDK2crNkxV-nSwYGMjYkuF-pkJiNJUJDNqpSplUzSlGFJK539c8iSD1H-7pQyNXruJZCOrVcLauhmZgtcltQvEn_QSGl2OXBL-mal5VV5Rg5RvHCGVE8tYoD2h/s780/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMew2c1fYGoEfT90xycqrwrGDl768LWPARacGh9aGSFDCKwcDln3F1sO6s5R2g61jDK2crNkxV-nSwYGMjYkuF-pkJiNJUJDNqpSplUzSlGFJK539c8iSD1H-7pQyNXruJZCOrVcLauhmZgtcltQvEn_QSGl2OXBL-mal5VV5Rg5RvHCGVE8tYoD2h/w449-h253/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%203.jpg" width="449" /></a></div><span> The Lemon Brothers perform for their High School</span><br /><div><br /></div><div>I keep telling other people that have lived through the 80s, that culturally, in many ways, we're right back to where we started. Fear of nuclear annihilation because of Russian aggression? Check. Prejudice and hatred toward gender fluidity and non-normative gender performance? Check. The rise of the religious right and their endless culture war? Check. Fierce fighting over women's bodies and reproductive health? Check, Check, Check!!! Yet, <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism's </i>approach to Evangelical Christianity is relatively gentle and amused in its critique, especially when it comes to The Lemon Brothers and their zeal for Jesus. Unsurprisingly, they are hired to "perform" their literal song and dance at the private religious school to which Gretchen, Abby, Margaret, and Glee attend, espousing the pleasures of "faith" and "fitness." The Brothers are a trio of Himbos that run around, lift weights, and shout about religion with delight. Yet, when Christian spots the sulking Gretchen in the crowd, his face turns from pleasure to horror, as he seemingly witnesses something lurking in her depths. Since he possesses "the sight," when Abby searches him out after employing every other avenue to help her best friend, he tells her of the demon within. The pair decide to go back to Margaret's parents' cabin and perform an exorcism.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4brtnkFqKlWzwoHf2giX-0gNvOa5vho_MNTHNedxAAzg4IEFDGM2wWYIIeh6tlObb6xHqj312i3IT4QgCodJ5SR8Rh2bNTSAFhHWcls676S3p4RZs4F19EUOuVOTVdLw5PHBmUQNg2YCodjPd9XOa33kAQRM_u2jB50QHTwZ9FGjc4ABOXSdsKpn/s678/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="678" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4brtnkFqKlWzwoHf2giX-0gNvOa5vho_MNTHNedxAAzg4IEFDGM2wWYIIeh6tlObb6xHqj312i3IT4QgCodJ5SR8Rh2bNTSAFhHWcls676S3p4RZs4F19EUOuVOTVdLw5PHBmUQNg2YCodjPd9XOa33kAQRM_u2jB50QHTwZ9FGjc4ABOXSdsKpn/w640-h360/My%20Best%20Friend's%20Exorcism%205.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> It's not an exorcism film without some gratuitous backbends and body mortification<div><br /></div><div>Once the exorcism is underway, the focus on Abby and Gretchen's friendship veers a bit, as Christian's humorous approach to exorcising demons takes center stage. Of course, when things get messy, he freaks out and runs away, leaving Abby to her inevitable standoff with the demon. Then....things just kind of end. Full disclosure, the last half hour of the film gets tedious, and you'll want to stick around to find out what happens, but there are no shocks or twists involved. While the film is a fun riff on <i>Heathers</i> with exorcisms, unless you're plugged into the 80s nostalgia train, and willing to take that ride, the film is not very groundbreaking. Still, it's fun, and streaming on Amazon Prime.<br /><div><br /></div></div>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-66013731408900239282023-05-22T23:40:00.002-04:002023-05-22T23:40:52.691-04:00Review: Soft and Quiet--Beth de Araújo (2022)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIUGduc0AyWfs2fpq7ugSXyHiPlawbpvEs4ibTcuIMv1bybiywZ-TStDiTPiWzb7itk8qwHCteRNKYmXk6r-PzoBzqKTDRRDQwHaUOcaW0iM5GGU53afsyEXOCTKLOiahmcMzxJWOENepPjUdomFhhjVCCAFfL_PgHhdJ5v1wYhgbRwQWVfaI_GHX/s500/Soft%20and%20Quiet%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIUGduc0AyWfs2fpq7ugSXyHiPlawbpvEs4ibTcuIMv1bybiywZ-TStDiTPiWzb7itk8qwHCteRNKYmXk6r-PzoBzqKTDRRDQwHaUOcaW0iM5GGU53afsyEXOCTKLOiahmcMzxJWOENepPjUdomFhhjVCCAFfL_PgHhdJ5v1wYhgbRwQWVfaI_GHX/w491-h276/Soft%20and%20Quiet%201.jpg" width="491" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ringleader "Karen" Emily (Stefanie Estes) from <i>Soft and Quiet </i> (2022)</div><p>I've eagerly followed Beth de Araújo's <i>Soft and Quiet</i> ever since it premiered at SXSW, but had not had the chance to see it before, as it's just emerged onto Netflix recently. The film primarily follows Emily (Stefanie Estes), a Gwyneth Paltrow-looking woman and kindergarten teacher, meeting up with some like-minded women after what appears to be a typical school day. Yes, I had read about the film, so I knew that "like-minded" equated with "Nazis," but I still did not understand for what I had signed up. Emily cries heartfelt tears in the bathroom as she eyes a pregnancy test. Is it positive or negative? Turns out that Emily is not becoming a mother today, something she desperately wants to experience, and as the film unfolds, this viewer felt pretty damn glad about it.</p><p>The camera stays close to Emily as it follows her out of the bathroom to a sidewalk, where she sees one of her pupils waiting for his mom. The first hint of horror occurs as a Hispanic female custodian loudly pushes a cart past Emily and the boy, blocking out any conversation they may be having. The booming sound of the wheels on the pavement, and the blank look on the custodian's face as she goes about her work, highlight the mundane qualities of the job. Yet, Emily seems inordinately disturbed by the woman's presence, and convinces young Brian to confront the custodian, and demand that she not mop the floors until all the students have left school. Once Brian's mom shows up, Emily leaves with a pastry box in hand, walking on a winding journey through the woods, ultimately arriving at a local church, where a group of women, friends old and new, are meeting. Only when Emily opens the box on her homemade pie do we get our first clue--there's a swastika carved into the top, and everyone chuckles. "It's just a joke," replies Emily, but it's anything but.</p><p>This group of white women start to air their grievances regarding the world in which we all live, although their discussion is littered with racial slurs as they lay their victim cards one-by-one. Marjorie complains that she was passed over for a promotion for a "brown" woman, and dismisses her boss's reasoning--that she does not have the proper "leadership skills." Jessica, a mother of four with another on the way, talks about her generational membership with the Klan, and that she's now more invested in "Stormfront." Kim wants to put her journalism degree to work by creating a newsletter full of white supremacist talking points. Alice eagerly takes notes for the group, and Leslie, the youngest and newest member of this coffee klatch, misses being told what to do--much like what she experienced when under the protection of a white nationalist group during her time in prison. All of these women seem incredibly "normal" on a surface level, but this meeting of the "Daughters for Aryan Unity" is much more than your average suburban book club. They each, in turn, complain about the insidious spread of multiculturalism, but understand that they must approach distributing their ideas to the mainstream in a more careful way. Ergo, the title, <i>Soft and Quiet. </i>Emily and her band of bigots are neither.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwCZ9XYM7wg0zvtaFwPvgRRKAFcBQ9RnLxu_89hozuJO7IdR5NnKpcSHQjhUKX0gRSMdo15jbx9bt91C-LAjftBdmBOleH7k3vkt09LhdKC768OJBCSf2f_uJ-T5ODYbR_sPOA2083ranxt2AdpgH_biFWww0nFdKwqlAQ9w8bT_i6xuiRwJDhE_1/s600/Soft%20and%20Quiet%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwCZ9XYM7wg0zvtaFwPvgRRKAFcBQ9RnLxu_89hozuJO7IdR5NnKpcSHQjhUKX0gRSMdo15jbx9bt91C-LAjftBdmBOleH7k3vkt09LhdKC768OJBCSf2f_uJ-T5ODYbR_sPOA2083ranxt2AdpgH_biFWww0nFdKwqlAQ9w8bT_i6xuiRwJDhE_1/w459-h241/Soft%20and%20Quiet%202.jpg" width="459" /></a></div> a confrontation at Kim's market sets the group off<br /><p>Let me be clear: this film will make anyone with empathy or a conscience incredibly uncomfortable, as it should. The film is shot in what appears, through the magic of invisible editing, as a 91 minute long take, with events unfolding in real time. This technique creates some really effective discomfort and dread, for even if viewers think the "Mothers for Aryan Unity," are ignorant, bigoted, awful people, Araújo and her DP, Greta Zozula, never turn away from remaining close-up and tight with these women. However "soft and quiet" they may appear on the outside, their inner rage is just waiting to find an outlet--a bitter cauldron of resentment and entitlement that gets unleashed on two unsuspecting mixed-race sisters, Anne and Lily.</p><p>Significantly, the aggressions that Emily and her gang release onto unsuspecting women are entirely Macro, not Micro. Anne and Lily unfortunately stop by Kim's market for a bottle of wine while Emily, Marjorie, Leslie, and Kim are also there to do the same. Tensions escalate quickly, as the women surround the sisters, harassing them verbally and blocking their exit. They are just about to make it out the door, when Emily turns on them, riling up the other women into a frenzy. You know things are bad when Emily's husband, Craig, is the level-headed one who tries to calm everyone down. I won't give it away, but Anne and Emily share a history, and that connection in some ways motivates the women to participate in a petty revenge scheme. Craig comes along after Emily uses a variety of gay slurs, and makes some serious emasculating comments that would make Tucker Carlson proud.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulroWXPvGslHKFkmkK3_YbkH7d07I3cmXeMmP_RZbe0Y4MdICRBOo6K5Dhv84ImigN_7T9oQBijLzQX-acBm1BtIG1vQHmogcrlIlAru2gv5vInw6G50xr2ztHNaHvpeTO2TFibFYttA0ZYdBifrXD96FZEXzPuZ_hx6xoODmSKhmIc9eWtBbsR52/s299/Soft%20and%20Quiet%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulroWXPvGslHKFkmkK3_YbkH7d07I3cmXeMmP_RZbe0Y4MdICRBOo6K5Dhv84ImigN_7T9oQBijLzQX-acBm1BtIG1vQHmogcrlIlAru2gv5vInw6G50xr2ztHNaHvpeTO2TFibFYttA0ZYdBifrXD96FZEXzPuZ_hx6xoODmSKhmIc9eWtBbsR52/w440-h247/Soft%20and%20Quiet%203.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Emily fights for control with Leslie (Olivia Luccardi)</span><br /><p>The rest of the film follows Emily and her gang of angry "Karens" as they decide that a home invasion is the proper next step to take, wanting to mess up Anne and Lily's home. Marjorie and Leslie repeatedly express envy and disgust that the two women live better than they do, and how their comforts are "unfair"--presumably because they are not white, and therefore revel in a host of multicultural perks and privileges. I have to give props to Olivia Luccardi as Leslie. While she initially seems like a woman willing to do anything in order to be accepted by the group, Leslie eventually gives viewers plenty to consider regarding her time in prison, and why she might have been in there. She is the chief catalyst in escalating events an inflaming mob violence. Initially, she just seems like a puppy, eager to please and join in the fun, but Leslie has a deep, deep axe to grind--and she possesses an intensely fierce loyalty towards the women she ostensibly just met. When Anne and Lily return home a moment too soon, all hell breaks loose. Even cool and collected Emily tearfully apologizes to Leslie several times during the violence unfolding at the house, as she's clearly terrified of Leslie's rage and aggression turning on her. Leslie spends the rest of the film screaming at everybody, even when she's constantly told to be <i>quiet</i>.</p><p>Araújo and Zozula are careful to capture the frenzy of the women as things go increasingly out of control. While most of the physical violence is offscreen, the implied acts perpetrated on these women of color are incredibly horrifying; yet we are forced to stay with these vicious women until the bitter end. In many ways, the film reminds me of Sebastian Schipper's <i>Victoria</i> (2015), for as spectators we helplessly witness these women making terrible choices. I found myself siding with Craig, for he gets out before things go from very bad to even worse. Nevertheless, <i>Soft and Quiet</i> contains a moment at the very, very end that is oh, so satisfying. You do have to sit through all the other stuff to get to it, but I think it's a pretty brilliant way to end this truly disturbing film. A must-see on Netflix right now.</p><p><br /></p>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-1009031142811586222019-07-18T18:07:00.000-04:002019-07-18T18:07:28.212-04:00Fantasia 2019--THE DEEPER YOU DIG (John and Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, 2019)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kurt (John Adams) appears to be seeing ghosts in <i>The Deeper You Dig</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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Films are notoriously hard to make, even if some filmmakers make it look easy. As I teach in a film department, and have even endeavored to make films of my own (all pretty terrible), as well as acted in some productions, I know of which I speak. Not only must one have dedicated actors and crew who are willing to work for <i>no money</i>, but a story capable of being told on the cheap. Then you have to figure out how to get people--with power, money, and connections--to see the damn thing. For every film screened at Fantasia, there are a dozen more that didn't make the cut. One way to resolve some of these issues is to exploit your family members and friends--so many great horror films hinge on getting just the right location, and frequently that location is your Uncle's house (with Mom and Dad providing "craft services" and a bunch of crew camping out on the floor of the set). Still, getting all these factors in place is pretty rare, and that's why Toby Poser, and John and Zelda Adams' <i>The Deeper You Dig</i> (2019) is such a delightful accomplishment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You'll float too!--Toby Poser as Ivy and Zelda Adams as Echo in <i>The Deeper You Dig</i></td></tr>
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<i>Deeper</i> begins with two narratives that will soon interconnect. It follows mother and daughter Ivy and Echo as they experience an average winter day in Upstate New York (the Catskills, to be precise). Echo wants to go sledding, and Ivy reminds her that she cannot be with her because she has a client meeting--Ivy's a "psychic" who does tarot readings and bilks customers for a chance to talk to their loved ones from beyond the veil. Meanwhile, Kurt, their new neighbor, is tearing the house apart next door in order to flip it. His clients are also likely wealthy New Yorkers who want a country getaway not too far from the city. As is wont to happen, a snowstorm blankets the area, and during Kurt's drunken drive back from the local dive bar, he hears a "thump, thump" and stumbles out of his car to discover what he has accidentally hit. As you can guess, it's not a deer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIj-tb3s1dUPLpsUkBhwJbU6j8fTR7836CS8P_8ad1eG_sm7Ztx6lBXr_BZbZYFpruXr4AcpQpZ9sRh35JEiLRwwJk4jkuMGud-_528vbpW64W4M0gLujYjbCk_hh3WoeDOvGKQdQmDyk/s1600/Deeper+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIj-tb3s1dUPLpsUkBhwJbU6j8fTR7836CS8P_8ad1eG_sm7Ztx6lBXr_BZbZYFpruXr4AcpQpZ9sRh35JEiLRwwJk4jkuMGud-_528vbpW64W4M0gLujYjbCk_hh3WoeDOvGKQdQmDyk/s640/Deeper+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Echo awakens in confusion</td></tr>
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Here's where the film takes its fateful turn, and speaks to the carefully crafted nature of its story. Most people (one hopes) would call 911 and get some emergency personnel out there to handle the situation. Not Kurt...and what he decides to do shortly thereafter further seals his doom. Ivy is not just sitting around either, and contacts the local authorities, files a missing persons report, and puts up "missing" posters all over town, even paying Kurt a visit to ask for his help in finding her. What happens to Kurt is more than just a guilty conscience; as he slips deeper and deeper into the darkness, Ivy and Echo's <i>real</i> connection to the supernatural becomes impossible for him, and the audience, to ignore. The film combines ghostly hauntings, paranormal phenomena, and possession in a wicked brew that is quite persuasive for a film budgeted at $11,000--as the filmmakers divulged in the film's Q & A.<br />
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How did they pull it off? Well, Toby and John are a couple, and Toby wrote the script and co-directed with John, and his daughter Zelda operated the camera, and all three of them star, using their home in Upstate as well as a house John was "flipping" as their primary locations. While the film does have a DIY vibe, the soundtrack is quite evocative and sinister (crafted by John) and the beats of the story, as well as its practical effects, are superb. <i>The Deeper You Dig</i> (2019) is a family affair, and the 5th feature film on their roster (the other films made by "The Adams Family" are available to screen on Amazon Prime). John explained that he first got the idea for the family to make films when they were living out of an RV (with eldest daughter, Lulu, now off at college) driving around the country. Only recently have they decided to try their hand at the horror genre--and the Fantasia audience was certainly glad that they did!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One cannot have enough creepy clowns!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Still, <i>The Deeper You Dig </i>is not just coasting on its "origin story," but is a deeply unsettling, well-acted, and beautifully composed dark fairy tale in its own right. Toby, John, and Zelda are immensely talented and easygoing artists, and I really hope that more people get a chance to see this low budget, indie horror gem than the fans who cheered and embraced "The Adams Family" at Fantasia. I'm hoping to bring them in as guests to my college, because I think our students will find them really and truly inspiring. <br /><i></i>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-30048745961923797932019-07-16T01:47:00.000-04:002019-07-16T01:47:31.360-04:00Fantasia 2019--LITTLE MONSTERS (Abe Forsythe, 2019)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lupita Nyong'o plays the charming Miss Caroline who protects her young charges from zombies in <i>Little Monsters</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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Most kids are annoying. It's true, and it's not just that other people's kids are annoying. Don't let those parents fool you--they think <i>their</i> kids are <i>also</i> annoying, but they aren't supposed to say so, and...well, you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube. Horror is common ground for <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2015/07/goodnight-mommy-veronika-franz-and.html" target="_blank">evil kids</a> getting up to mischief, but little urchins as victims--either of their own parents, or "stranger danger" evildoers--are even more ubiquitous. These "children in peril" horrors also inevitably have kids doing <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2015/07/extinction-miguel-angel-vivas-2015.html" target="_blank">really dumb thing</a>s in order to land themselves in mortal danger. Then they grow into the most irritating people imaginable--teenagers--and we gleefully watch them be picked off by some invincible serial killer. <br />
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Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to kids. Cinematic kids are notoriously adorable, and the 5-6 year olds Abe Forsythe chose for <i>Little Monsters</i> (2019) are definitely cuties. Still, none of them come close to the angelic adorableness that Lupita Nyong'o channels as their super-sweet and heroic kindergarten teacher, Miss Audrey Caroline; whom, beyond a somewhat checkered past that landed her in Australia, can only exist in the movies. She is impossibly wonderful, and utterly winning. After seeing Nyong'o in Jordan Peele's <i>Us</i> (2019), audiences expect her to whup some sorry Zombie ass. She does not disappoint.<br />
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If she and those kids were the only people in the movie, I would have been delighted, but nope--we've got to have an overgrown man child in need of a redemption arc and a new girlfriend, so enter Dave (Alexander Englund). Dave is a washed-up heavy metal wannabe who fights with his girlfriend throughout the opening of the film, and crashes on his sister's couch. Said sister, Tess (Kat Stewart) happens to be a single mum to one adorable kid, Felix (Diesel La Tarraca--what a name!), who also coincidentally attends Miss Caroline's kindergarten class. You see where this story is going, right? When Dave is conscripted to bring Felix to school, he takes one look at Miss Caroline and falls in LUV. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Caroline plays Taylor Swift songs on the ukulele--and she makes it seem sweet rather than cloying</td></tr>
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Frankly, you cannot blame him, but really, there is zero chemistry between these two since Audrey can surely do infinitely better. He eagerly volunteers to join her in chaperoning the kids to a petting zoo, where a marvelous surprise awaits--Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad), a really horrid children's performer who seems to be part of a trend of evil children's performers (think Pennywise in <i>It</i> and the evil clown/kidnapper/psycho in <i>Happy</i>). Although Teddy is not supernaturally evil--he's just a human a**hole. He serves as a foil for loser Dave, who seems positively evolved in comparison.<br />
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When the zombies show up, Miss Caroline does her best to distract the kids and tell them that it's all a game--high-jinks ensue. While the film is mostly structured for laughs, there are some worrying moments; nevertheless, Audrey wields a shovel with gusto. As frequent readers know, I'm not a fan of horror comedies, but watching this film in a packed house at Fantasia, I found myself cheering right along with everyone else whenever Miss Caroline got out of a tight scrape. Likewise, Dave's nephew, Felix, is probably one of the cutest kids I've seen in a while. As a kid who is allergic to <i>everything, </i>you would expect the little tyke to be ripe victim fodder, but he manages to be much more than his sensitivities. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZziYMF4DI1h_q2DZoeuqbhVXCZSIxbq0Vn2z7q8p0DdDzRAtu-cr7V3rvzqIq85M2UtMRddeJfRgXB1Ar4FnsRWI08tuaOzF50Ad9sLxOJrzK-I8wVq1vAGF9R2RTiVfMYDCbeWAVRc/s1600/Little+Monsters+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="584" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZziYMF4DI1h_q2DZoeuqbhVXCZSIxbq0Vn2z7q8p0DdDzRAtu-cr7V3rvzqIq85M2UtMRddeJfRgXB1Ar4FnsRWI08tuaOzF50Ad9sLxOJrzK-I8wVq1vAGF9R2RTiVfMYDCbeWAVRc/s640/Little+Monsters+3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Little Monsters </i>is mostly fluff, but fun fluff<br /><i></i></td></tr>
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Some of the laughs hit, some miss, but Lupita Nyong'o makes the whole experience worthwhile. She is luminous throughout, and Forsythe really scored when he secured her for Miss Caroline. This woman can do <i>anything</i>. I want her to be the star of <i>all the movies</i>. Dave's arc is hackneyed, but I guess we still need to reassure dickhead white guys that they have some place in contemporary cinema. Be prepared, though--your tolerance for Taylor Swift and Neil Diamond needs to be pretty high to survive <i>Little Monsters</i>.Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-15179328603198428122019-07-04T12:49:00.000-04:002019-07-04T12:50:00.642-04:00Ari Aster's Exploration of Grief--Midsommar review (2019)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOSnXA-5OzeWHmmrbfikIHFcHgUF6ru-JdSRN08bCieYGs7XO7x7NhPU1Vewn2pLE7xb57gZf7bWjXqjNQ7mirp_dOAytyOlOXn43TA6VP3P-ilixcDMQEbmDrDmAHw1uCgSoCeJufb0/s1600/Mid+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOSnXA-5OzeWHmmrbfikIHFcHgUF6ru-JdSRN08bCieYGs7XO7x7NhPU1Vewn2pLE7xb57gZf7bWjXqjNQ7mirp_dOAytyOlOXn43TA6VP3P-ilixcDMQEbmDrDmAHw1uCgSoCeJufb0/s640/Mid+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dani and Christian take a solstice holiday in Ari Aster's <i>Midsommar</i> (2019)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span id="goog_769343557"></span><span id="goog_769343558"></span>I had the good fortune of seeing an Ari Aster double feature last night, with a re-screening of <i>Hereditary</i> (2018) accompanied by the premiere of Aster's second feature film, <i>Midsommar</i> (2019). On the whole, I'm a fan of <i>Hereditary</i>, and watching it again, I unsurprisingly noticed more details and became more sympathetic to the grief-stricken Annie and her family than I was <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2018/06/yet-another-review-of-hereditary-ari.html" target="_blank">the first time</a> I saw the film. To some extent, Annie and Charlie are mere victims of a group of people "hellbent" on maintaining the patriarchy by bringing this low-level demon, Paimon, into the world. Toni Collette is still mesmerizing in her grief, and I really started to sympathize with Alex Wolff's Peter in a much more visceral way this time around. Wolff gives an extraordinary performance.<br />
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I also got into a bit of an argument with this guy sitting next to me, who kept insisting that Annie is entirely unreliable, and the only character worthy of our identification is Steve. Of course, I think Steve (Gabriel Byrne) is by far the lamest character in the film, just politely downing some pills with his scotch rather than <i>actively doing anything of import</i>! Yeah, I still dislike that character, but the guy next to me swore that Steve is the only one who actually knows how to grieve, and he's the biggest victim, mostly of Annie's machinations. Please. I didn't stick around to hear his take on <i>Midsommar</i>, but I bet he didn't like it that much, since spectators are yet again compelled to identify with an "unstable" female protagonist. If he was trying to cling to some male POV, then he's pretty SOL unless he identifies with the wonderful Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) who is always, <i>always</i> on protagonist Dani's side.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4VoP7OCcP7gRVBwq7uJVziTVybxsY66miszGleKrmvLwbai6jjcPGO1kcOt0vpoAEo7ttu97MYbgNpEhqfhsObLHEGNjp3qsLdgH41tZ0ISM1FTEPOyrIwB4STX0VJ8l_N5_q1ipiZk/s1600/Mid+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1400" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4VoP7OCcP7gRVBwq7uJVziTVybxsY66miszGleKrmvLwbai6jjcPGO1kcOt0vpoAEo7ttu97MYbgNpEhqfhsObLHEGNjp3qsLdgH41tZ0ISM1FTEPOyrIwB4STX0VJ8l_N5_q1ipiZk/s640/Mid+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dani (Florence Pugh) is the heart of <i>Midsommar</i> and we are aligned with her POV</td></tr>
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Ari Aster is capable of bringing out these incredible performances from his female protagonists, and Florence Pugh's Dani is a revelation. Her journey is ours. I happened to encounter Pugh in Carol Morley's wonderful <i>The Falling </i>(2014)--her breakout role--and while we do not get enough of her character in that film, one can understand why the other girls, including Maisie Williams' Lydia, are obsessed with her. Initially, Dani is painted as insecure, tiptoeing around her boyfriend Christian's (Jack Reynor's) delicate feelings, concerned that she might scare him away. She beautifully embodies this giving and generous woman who chooses a bro who doesn't really appreciate her. In fact, Aster makes it a point to represent Christian and his bro friends, Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poulter) as dickheads, with Pelle standing out as someone who is especially sensitive and kind in comparison. Pelle has invited the guys to his Swedish village's Midsommar festival, and after Dani suffers an incredible tragedy, Christian reluctantly invites her along. Grumble, grumble say the bros, especially Mark, who clearly just wants to get laid by some beautiful Swedish women.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJx-8_nd8Hri97gqt_mq4gs0HJ_GeJPpHOpsE5_Scegu0S2I5rOYpfnjEtdG-cdNMGvUmkJ8H9itU_GcJbHbfJNHuMJ301sCpxvL5VXecfXLY_Cyilblap7kQw6H25ltUcjW4y6sLQVoY/s1600/Mid+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJx-8_nd8Hri97gqt_mq4gs0HJ_GeJPpHOpsE5_Scegu0S2I5rOYpfnjEtdG-cdNMGvUmkJ8H9itU_GcJbHbfJNHuMJ301sCpxvL5VXecfXLY_Cyilblap7kQw6H25ltUcjW4y6sLQVoY/s640/Mid+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian, Dani, Josh, and Pelle observe the beginning of the 9 day feast and its accompanying rituals</td></tr>
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I'm a huge fan of folk horror--HUGE! So the elaborate occult rituals and all the details involved in this special solstice celebration--one held every 90 years according to Pelle--gave me such pleasure. Sure, there are moments that seem pretty over the top and hearken back to Robin Hardy's <i>The Wicker Man</i> (1973) big time, but Aster really doesn't handle any of these ritualistic scenes in quite the same exploitative fashion as the earlier film. In fact, the pagan rites--intertwined with notions of nature and community--seem no less strange than a variety of different practices which are a part of "acceptable" religions; which, I believe, is exactly Aster's point. Christian and Josh, anthropology doctoral students, see the commune as alien, something to be studied and investigated, and do not really perceive the inhabitants as human. Don't even get me started on Mark, who Aster unfortunately caricatures as this unenlightened neanderthal horndog. Yet, as the film really is filtered through Dani's perspective, her attitude toward the commune and her fellow American guests, gradually, but assuredly, evolves. Our experience of the film as "horror" largely depends on if our perspective changes along with hers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jF6MrA1OkW0Kf80PjSVHF-zHQC6Q8okw5bC13mjH0_68F2ixDYrm9k9PNQMVLcHzo_1sxfvAWeYvLWIR1V8LJv3PlHlQa23RnCkJnIx4Bpa_aFRlpZdRWXFwCDTCap8I-JKvlQ-14Ps/s1600/Mid+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1214" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jF6MrA1OkW0Kf80PjSVHF-zHQC6Q8okw5bC13mjH0_68F2ixDYrm9k9PNQMVLcHzo_1sxfvAWeYvLWIR1V8LJv3PlHlQa23RnCkJnIx4Bpa_aFRlpZdRWXFwCDTCap8I-JKvlQ-14Ps/s640/Mid+2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the Midsommar rituals are not without a little ultraviolence</td></tr>
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One of the reasons the film is not that horrifying is that its images are bathed in the glorious sunshine of summer, and the lush landscape rich with green grass and wildflowers fills the frame with pastoral beauty. Even when the rituals' participants are tripping on some type of hallucinogen (and that happens a lot), the landscape softly undulates. For anyone that's every tripped on mushrooms, LSD, or their ilk, the scenes where some of the guests freak out are hilarious. The effects Aster use are essential to both our identification with Dani's experience, and add to the otherworldly quality of the commune. At one point, I could not stop staring at this flower on Dani's headdress, that just kept opening and closing, opening and closing. Mesmerizing.<br />
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The film has some graphic moments of violence, especially near the beginning as Dani acclimates to the community and its rituals. Pelle and his family are distinctly "othered" as they dance and gesture in their all white clothing, wreaths of flowers in their hair. Once Dani dons their clothing and ornaments, she meshes with the other inhabitants of the commune, baking pies for the feast, and participating in the dance to designate who will be crowned the May Queen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjeNyONKviDCc86AkpVXpSXvcP39tHLX5lwiejOm-bS-SQ4io2Wopl6rCl_x8Lu0AOLv0UiA5kqa0-FMF3cGTfcGppwNApNKmqtJ8jveepPROHzvHlHvtnXUJZKtZ_FKPkI7vwmCqKM4/s1600/Mid+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjeNyONKviDCc86AkpVXpSXvcP39tHLX5lwiejOm-bS-SQ4io2Wopl6rCl_x8Lu0AOLv0UiA5kqa0-FMF3cGTfcGppwNApNKmqtJ8jveepPROHzvHlHvtnXUJZKtZ_FKPkI7vwmCqKM4/s640/Mid+11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pelle speaks of his own losses and encourages Dani to stay</td></tr>
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The real turning point of the film is the heart-to-heart talk Dani has with Pelle, where he explains that after he was orphaned, the commune became his family, and he always feels like he is cared for and loved, that he "felt held." He says he wants that for Dani, and really, the audience wants that for her as well. His words continue to echo as we watch Christian flirt with Maya, some local girl who sets her eyes on him "to mate." As Dani absorbs the warmth and intimacy of these Swedish people, wrestling with her grief throughout the film, she finds a place of comfort and support where she would least expect it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxE0gfwgEkb-1n7WfyjPTNIReVrwBQDtTGZqITb2JgsxJ9EMp1Np8BVZBuYlWfB9YTnjCIzBqELjgSLlK32Ir83EJf-aWLrPU-1g5WPmKkxgzIhnVxvNBHGQXR1YkmhFvmcRJf6sA6i0/s1600/Mid+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxE0gfwgEkb-1n7WfyjPTNIReVrwBQDtTGZqITb2JgsxJ9EMp1Np8BVZBuYlWfB9YTnjCIzBqELjgSLlK32Ir83EJf-aWLrPU-1g5WPmKkxgzIhnVxvNBHGQXR1YkmhFvmcRJf6sA6i0/s640/Mid+9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hagar women feel Dani's pain</td></tr>
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Sure, some of the film's outcomes seem inevitable, and I wasn't surprised by the film's conclusion as much as satisfied with the fates of all those involved. Reviewers have been touting the film as a sick "breakup movie" and "relationship revenge," but I see it rather as a journey where Dani finally finds herself. Once lost and clinging to her boyfriend as a life line, she grows and evolves, working through her stages of grief until she comes out on the other side of all that pain, surrounded by a loving and supportive "family"--finding a new "home" far, far away. I think Aster's film is quite beautiful, but I can imagine that my take isn't the most popular. In comparison to <i>Hereditary, </i>Aster equips Dani with emotional depth without demonizing her <i>or the cult that embraces her.</i> In the end, Dani's smile mirrored my own. Highly Recommended!Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-4675952115637801752019-07-03T15:18:00.002-04:002019-07-03T15:18:54.116-04:002019 Fantasia Film Festival--The Schedule is Up!!! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d31tl1kJyJfLDonHKr82_nFUcX9hnDXpZ2oyw5n71SqKUOkc4KqjRX1aGiqLUv7H0SqYDLw1RgGwWaLIx2dPdTLUXKtqNTAaRNBg1dDiqyQZO3Gxm3fNWHg1sFg1Y1eDQ8gknuR6FFc/s1600/Fantasia_2019_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1275" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d31tl1kJyJfLDonHKr82_nFUcX9hnDXpZ2oyw5n71SqKUOkc4KqjRX1aGiqLUv7H0SqYDLw1RgGwWaLIx2dPdTLUXKtqNTAaRNBg1dDiqyQZO3Gxm3fNWHg1sFg1Y1eDQ8gknuR6FFc/s640/Fantasia_2019_crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2019 Looks to be a Fantastic Festival!!</td></tr>
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Summer is here, and that means the Fantasia Film Festival is just around the corner (8 days from now, and a couple metro rides away, but whatever). As usual, the festival is headlining way too many films that I desperately want to see, so I'll give you my must sees for this year. The festival is always full of discoveries, and my abbreviated stay last year meant I missed out on some great films--I caught them later (and I'll be posting on some of my favorites), but nothing beats hearing the crowd go nuts in one of the two main screening venues. Here we go!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JmKg5kaj8BwzmFkRU2UrlphCBpoUdvmfXQD_Fy3x7zLPV3JG18wAK2KtRSMS9UfLXon0mQ_s5n3wb2FqYFR4XoyUOOLCy7oC2AEyI5g_mEjmFWxYK8nMoYXQx3tfkNWZ-d9GmL1Rpls/s1600/The+Lodge+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JmKg5kaj8BwzmFkRU2UrlphCBpoUdvmfXQD_Fy3x7zLPV3JG18wAK2KtRSMS9UfLXon0mQ_s5n3wb2FqYFR4XoyUOOLCy7oC2AEyI5g_mEjmFWxYK8nMoYXQx3tfkNWZ-d9GmL1Rpls/s640/The+Lodge+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riley Keough is trapped in Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's <i>The Lodge</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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In 2015, only my second year of attending the Fantasia Film Festival, I went to a film that was generating a lot of buzz on the festival circuit--Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's <i>Goodnight Mommy</i> (2014). This stunning and deeply unsettling film blew my mind, and I not only <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2015/07/goodnight-mommy-veronika-franz-and.html" target="_blank">reviewed</a> the film then, but presented on it at a conference and exposed my students to its wonders. So at the top of my list for films to see this year is their follow up film--<i>The Lodge</i> (2019). Again, the film follows a stepmom dealing with a couple of kids who aren't thrilled with her, but this time they are snowed in some remote lodge while Dad is away, leaving all kinds of supernatural things to creep around. Synopses and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCLOqdzAP9E" target="_blank">trailer</a> suggest that Grace (Keough) is the sole survivor of some suicide cult, so that info puts a spin on things. I can almost guarantee that this heroine is <i>haunted</i> by some trauma from her past.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjddSXG9KywfIg-SwF-AKmLSY18O7FgielWr_L4L2PQ0eYV_bBMSqNHpfXSRR9IHhQailPk-hz4NosGqAFjJ19yQkz8whZX7GS3VSmmjWxJ3gLGvCuTpxWViMiErFUA6yv3MNBJVlzgc/s1600/Paradise+Hills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjddSXG9KywfIg-SwF-AKmLSY18O7FgielWr_L4L2PQ0eYV_bBMSqNHpfXSRR9IHhQailPk-hz4NosGqAFjJ19yQkz8whZX7GS3VSmmjWxJ3gLGvCuTpxWViMiErFUA6yv3MNBJVlzgc/s640/Paradise+Hills.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Duchess (Milla Jovovich) keeps her wayward schoolgirls in line in Alice Waddington's <i>Paradise Hills</i> (2019)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I recently read a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/01/midsommar-ari-aster-horror-movie-extended" target="_blank">discussion</a> of Ari Lester's <i>Midsommar</i> (2019) by Charles Bramesco in <i>The Guardian</i> regarding some critical drubbing of the film as "overlong" (at 140 minutes). Bramesco claims that "Personally, when a horror film gets dinged on the grounds of being
“overlong” or “full of bizarre tangents that go nowhere," I take notice
and pay attention. The unwieldy, the inexplicable, the
ambitious-to-a-fault – this is my cinematic happy place." For me, a film that draws complaints regarding its gorgeous cinematography and production design "at the expense of narrative" sounds exactly like something I'm going to like. So Alice Waddington's <i>Paradise Hills</i> (2019) seems ideal. This dystopian film about a reform school for girls, on a mysterious island, run by The Duchess (Mila Jovovich) has been called "beautiful," "gorgeous," "stunning." As Adi Robertson explains in <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/4/18201719/paradise-hills-review-awkwafina-milla-jovovich-alice-waddington-sundance-2019" target="_blank">reviewing</a> the film's Sundance screening, "The film both critiques and revels in an aggressively feminine high-tech aesthetic that’s tinged with eerie surrealism." Sign me up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxnUlzovoYGiYtJDajEVCd5ri2bUNZVzkr0LpNS5UNQt6fOp3H-OJefyAzIBcvEV6kLmu_i54nUWMPKws5VTmu51LGlTAKmnafmMu-whoA16YTDCB0NEOnpivKF1f6thhLFK_eO8rJ7g/s1600/Knives+and+Skin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="928" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxnUlzovoYGiYtJDajEVCd5ri2bUNZVzkr0LpNS5UNQt6fOp3H-OJefyAzIBcvEV6kLmu_i54nUWMPKws5VTmu51LGlTAKmnafmMu-whoA16YTDCB0NEOnpivKF1f6thhLFK_eO8rJ7g/s640/Knives+and+Skin.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teens react to the disappearance of Carolyn Harper in Jennifer Reeder's <i>Knives and Skin</i> (2019)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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You may be noticing a pattern here, and my frequent readers have already sussed out that the films about which I'm most excited are directed by women. This predilection is not always wide-ranging, as I tend to avoid horror comedies even if they are women-directed, but award-winning short filmmaker Jennifer Reeder's feature <i>Knives and Skin</i>, touted as a "feminist teen noir," has me quite enthusiastic! This brief <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_165crKZpM&list=PL2Ed9yu6mS1IkGdsSFwjT6H-_Q8KCf2y-&index=2" target="_blank">clip</a> not only showcases the stylish imagery, but gives us some Cyndi Lauper love as well. Reeder will be in attendance as well, so YAY! I also had to chuckle because <a href="https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3557181/tribeca-review-ambitious-knives-and-skin-emphasizes-style-over-narrative/" target="_blank">one review</a> (written by a man) claims that the film emphasizes "style over narrative." Yep, I'm in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfWPDODI133a09S0QUKU47jStyVJ8t2kA37e0scV_pJSSh4wCXWPBlVsYPSBU_UviWF9QCtpISeo5x_gj1MJY9877tX22PwI-Dm5hvYKyKqvaahSEvriwkF2BaWfSW5rq7ZpgbP3sc2o/s1600/Alien+Crystal+Palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1432" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfWPDODI133a09S0QUKU47jStyVJ8t2kA37e0scV_pJSSh4wCXWPBlVsYPSBU_UviWF9QCtpISeo5x_gj1MJY9877tX22PwI-Dm5hvYKyKqvaahSEvriwkF2BaWfSW5rq7ZpgbP3sc2o/s640/Alien+Crystal+Palace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arielle Dombasle is the writer/director and star of the wondrous <i>Alien Crystal Palace</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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Speaking of women-directed wonders, I'd see Arielle Dombasle's <i>Alien Crystal Palace </i>(2019) no matter who directed it. One look at this gorgeous <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnkaH-dFQsQ" target="_blank">trailer</a>, and I was overwhelmed by vibes from <i>The Hunger, </i>Wim Wenders, with a dash of <i>Liquid Sky</i>. The film's screening is at midnight at Fantasia. Honestly, I don't care what time it's showing, I have to see it! Oh, and it's a musical, which would usually send me scurrying away, but if the trailer is any indication of the kind of music on display, I think I'll be fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0I7z3P8SXFJuLs_JipJnxtOD4shAzMUGu5QYBmJS4_1z6RfXXVCqUHg6HVmu3SKObnjq-uHRtHclYHJisfoOxPqPUqJlkW9lc33IGNMNkmWp8SBZDgyQsaFhWZYdkCMdkMa9xEulgMY/s1600/SHe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0I7z3P8SXFJuLs_JipJnxtOD4shAzMUGu5QYBmJS4_1z6RfXXVCqUHg6HVmu3SKObnjq-uHRtHclYHJisfoOxPqPUqJlkW9lc33IGNMNkmWp8SBZDgyQsaFhWZYdkCMdkMa9xEulgMY/s640/SHe.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Mother shoe masquerades as a man in order to raise her daughter in <i>SHe</i>, </td></tr>
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One of the more outstanding facets of the Fantasia Film Festival is their animation offerings, and they program innovative animators from around the globe that often use very unique and painstaking techniques to tell their stories. This year I have my eye on two films that look incredible. The first, <i>SHe </i>by 28 year old Chinese animator Shengwei Zhou, masterfully employs stop-motion to create a sumptuous tale of a mother (embodied in a red high heel pump) passing as a man (in a leather boot) raising her daughter in a repressive patriarchal culture. The director illustrates these social concerns with shoes! Amazing. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RjdB8tWMgY" target="_blank">trailer</a> is really opulent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAzQBQfWDkWjjYyqfXbCwjA25vbwjJzaCgHg6lABj_Dff84QLne2AV_xG42d4fAnbyMFl8Fj0MR55VeTnAcdc9TDA_xDQcpdaCK8tPkIL7gnAXCtrUuzck1Q7iimc0bQ1WOgkBOWT-WU/s1600/White+Mare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAzQBQfWDkWjjYyqfXbCwjA25vbwjJzaCgHg6lABj_Dff84QLne2AV_xG42d4fAnbyMFl8Fj0MR55VeTnAcdc9TDA_xDQcpdaCK8tPkIL7gnAXCtrUuzck1Q7iimc0bQ1WOgkBOWT-WU/s640/White+Mare.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Psychedelic Visuals stand out in <i>Son of the White Mare</i> (Marcell Jankovics, 1981)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I know as much about Hungarian animation as I do about Chinese animation (umm, nothing), but after watching a <a href="https://vimeo.com/200568781" target="_blank">trailer</a> for Marcell Jankovic<i>'</i>s <i>Son of the White Mare</i> (1981), I am excited to watch this psychedelic trip. Seems like the perfect film in which to indulge in Canada's legal psychedelics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPBNNe_k_N2Cu9JZ0FORX4GTSZHg-KT3VV3oYUZH6jQlRYp02MXEx7rcCY8HZgpv6evlvsuT6Yruhq72A1QhbviJ0dmdYlTfBsNYlovdVKfsUDoor4HxJYiGwsrcFyzwE-S50OJ0wqa0/s1600/Judy+and+Punch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPBNNe_k_N2Cu9JZ0FORX4GTSZHg-KT3VV3oYUZH6jQlRYp02MXEx7rcCY8HZgpv6evlvsuT6Yruhq72A1QhbviJ0dmdYlTfBsNYlovdVKfsUDoor4HxJYiGwsrcFyzwE-S50OJ0wqa0/s640/Judy+and+Punch.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mia Wasikowska plays Judy, an abused puppeteer, in Mirrah Foulkes <i>Judy and Punch</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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Another women-directed project, Mirrah Foulkes' <i>Judy and Punch</i> (2019), has been described as a whimsical and skewed revenge-driven fairy tale; and honestly, Wasikowska's take on characters gives them an extra-special something. Her role as Jackie in Nicolas Pesce's <i>Piercing </i>(2018) really stole the film from Christopher Abbott's bland murderer wannabee, and I haven't seen <i>Damsel </i>yet<i>, </i>but I've heard that she is magnificent in that as well. The first time she caught my attention was back in 2008, when she had a major role in <i>In Treatment</i>. Although I think Burton's <i>Alice </i>films (in which she stars) are just Burton sending his kids to private school (cashing in), she's always riveting, even in dreck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t8Bj4-_RcO8sxUHNaYIq3U-wcf2Sb3K8dkBxDI0ZzdpfDReQpiQR30PlfVmxTmXVQVy87QuWz1P-wBhtepkIuAp4LU3eOfrP6mku-W8EBNcwM-bUSuHhpUoC6efrwSDF038LWnFBDzc/s1600/Dachra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t8Bj4-_RcO8sxUHNaYIq3U-wcf2Sb3K8dkBxDI0ZzdpfDReQpiQR30PlfVmxTmXVQVy87QuWz1P-wBhtepkIuAp4LU3eOfrP6mku-W8EBNcwM-bUSuHhpUoC6efrwSDF038LWnFBDzc/s640/Dachra.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One wonders what this creepy kid has been munching on in Abdelhamid Bouchnak's <i>Dachra</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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This Tunisian horror film, <i>Dachra</i>, has been receiving waves of buzz since its debut in Venice, and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5_WTF7KtYQ" target="_blank">trailer's</a> pacing made me very, very tense (a feeling I quite like). This film is Bouchnak's first, and I'm excited to fall under its spell, especially so I can figure out what on earth I'm looking at in terms of Dachra's poster.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigk-luTzV4ZDRT8MisxjZz4Jb_O0G_Q3JAiWFN52z5g8gCesXcS-cZpZYvDe8j7PJw9tnutUoy43O2CPddv9SwGMo7rZVxm4_bjTPOOAN2U8Ax44zPb0mZAznUHBZp0ZkfBBsO5Y5_WUE/s1600/Dachra+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigk-luTzV4ZDRT8MisxjZz4Jb_O0G_Q3JAiWFN52z5g8gCesXcS-cZpZYvDe8j7PJw9tnutUoy43O2CPddv9SwGMo7rZVxm4_bjTPOOAN2U8Ax44zPb0mZAznUHBZp0ZkfBBsO5Y5_WUE/s640/Dachra+poster.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WTF??</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3j-ElP6uRkPUn98x6B-Mbr1wRqpw9w0UgLx4OyaOEhYNHB3OsxRTvt5EvuIxoyX93xl4sqkcyRoASj08XaxVFN65caYkz7bKa-ici6zSswRFafghLoyPZzD_7YzwtDZkpgnGHsZLGSiE/s1600/Shrinking+wknd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3j-ElP6uRkPUn98x6B-Mbr1wRqpw9w0UgLx4OyaOEhYNHB3OsxRTvt5EvuIxoyX93xl4sqkcyRoASj08XaxVFN65caYkz7bKa-ici6zSswRFafghLoyPZzD_7YzwtDZkpgnGHsZLGSiE/s640/Shrinking+wknd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alba finds herself repeating the same day, less an hour, in Jon Mikel Caballero's <i>The Incredible Shrinking Wknd </i>(2019)</td></tr>
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From my very first attendance of Fantasia in 2014, I've noticed that they have a wonderful habit of programming original and innovative "time travel" films. From <i><a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-house-at-end-of-time-alejandro.html" target="_blank">The House at the End of Time</a> </i>(2013) to <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2014/07/predestination-spierig-brothers-2014.html" target="_blank"><i>Predestination</i></a> (2014), <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/07/fantasia-2017-animals-greg-zginski.html" target="_blank"><i>Animals</i></a> (2017), and <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/07/fantasia-2017-day-sun-ho-cho-2017.html" target="_blank"><i>A Day</i></a> (2017), I simply love them! I also teach a Confusion Cinema/Puzzle Films class, and I'm always adding films screened at Fantasia to my list--every single year. This Spanish thriller by Jon Mikel Cabballero, <i>The Incredible Shrinking Wknd</i>, comes across, from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23j-hHlT4GQ" target="_blank">clip</a>, as more of a thriller than a comedy. Will Ada be able to close the time loop before she runs out of hours in the day? I must find out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86R11q2hT4jnyFEoMoe4o7nGjyy7xcLsArBCFGF0Gg4XAI_KIvtDUd8Vp39TVYQMC4Pn_-FTnbwth1-ibjiZWWXuN9B8gQGJl34j_3zEZU1h2I9I_7mOXzZh_5PlKk7EXvxrghfhBw3I/s1600/Jade%2527s+Asylum.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86R11q2hT4jnyFEoMoe4o7nGjyy7xcLsArBCFGF0Gg4XAI_KIvtDUd8Vp39TVYQMC4Pn_-FTnbwth1-ibjiZWWXuN9B8gQGJl34j_3zEZU1h2I9I_7mOXzZh_5PlKk7EXvxrghfhBw3I/s640/Jade%2527s+Asylum.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is Jade as "crazy" as her boyfriend makes her out to be in <i>Jade's Asylum</i> (2019)</td></tr>
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In May of 2018 I flew to Scotland to present at, and attend, a conference on representations of mental illness in cinema--unsurprisingly, there were very few, if any "positive" or thoughtful representations of madness, especially in horror cinema. I am fascinated by these representations, especially if they are embodied in female protagonists deemed to be crazy--whether "crazy violent" or "crazy and seeing things, aka ghosts." Alexandre Carrière's <i>Jade's Asylum</i> (2019) is exactly in my wheelhouse--Is Jade having a psychotic episode and delusional, or is the supernatural present? The film's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPBZTNqgKFI" target="_blank">trailer</a> does not provide any easy answers. I just hope it doesn't end up demonizing Jade too much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyck-mC6cf-olVmC_kybXq_VPtK008YRB_r41V50eRRkFv-bGXla6vJ68UeF3EYt-uB8EoZamYobZwmHwGI4xfmHeg48PGhhfMQ3YMlvLL26pzCnujC1F7f_kT6A0JF-tgnyuNz23TDf8/s1600/Daniel+Isn%2527t+Real+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyck-mC6cf-olVmC_kybXq_VPtK008YRB_r41V50eRRkFv-bGXla6vJ68UeF3EYt-uB8EoZamYobZwmHwGI4xfmHeg48PGhhfMQ3YMlvLL26pzCnujC1F7f_kT6A0JF-tgnyuNz23TDf8/s640/Daniel+Isn%2527t+Real+poster.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Cool Poster!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yjkn27tnMOXPvsVIb-Z2TfmNBguJpkjnBrHxE1lh3LXO2jRxtwln7Pt7fg5hVxl6-IzcK6d3I_mh3A5t2dCfUh9BkHzw5wydDMuha-YSA6Pqg3VjLVaZn35fK2HrtDXqW13FVZgapFU/s1600/Daniel+Isn%2527t+Real.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yjkn27tnMOXPvsVIb-Z2TfmNBguJpkjnBrHxE1lh3LXO2jRxtwln7Pt7fg5hVxl6-IzcK6d3I_mh3A5t2dCfUh9BkHzw5wydDMuha-YSA6Pqg3VjLVaZn35fK2HrtDXqW13FVZgapFU/s640/Daniel+Isn%2527t+Real.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After trauma<i>, </i>Luke resurrects his imaginary friend, Daniel, in <i>Daniel Isn't Real</i> (Adam Egypt Mortimer, 2019)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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A film that's also getting a tremendous amount of buzz since it's debut at SXSW is Adam Egypt Mortimer's <i>Daniel Isn't Real</i>, which from its title and synopsis, suggests that maybe, just maybe, he is (real.) Comes as no surprise, dear readers, that a film about a guy is going to attract so much more attention since the link between women and madness is seen by society as normal. Especially if we get uppity, have opinions, and claim power for ourselves. Heavy sigh.<br />
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I've just touched upon what the 2019 Fantasia Film Festival has in store for us this year. More to come!!Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-11098294721919534602018-07-30T12:31:00.000-04:002018-07-30T12:31:50.592-04:00Fantasia 2018--Luz--Tilman Singer (2018)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIs6XwroMVzbFiSMDzin-Lhp1fTxXqpqoiQsbmzw4T5F1MMwS4lEuGxSGwkfuw72jF6OhaIk6vdQnivwidZBu6hV22s4IZv6secXWGcNvCqsrmAlZWXyt_BJ-1XyH8RDQN8MlwFodvC8/s1600/Luz+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIs6XwroMVzbFiSMDzin-Lhp1fTxXqpqoiQsbmzw4T5F1MMwS4lEuGxSGwkfuw72jF6OhaIk6vdQnivwidZBu6hV22s4IZv6secXWGcNvCqsrmAlZWXyt_BJ-1XyH8RDQN8MlwFodvC8/s640/Luz+1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Rossini (Jan Bluthardt) gets a kiss to die for in Tilman Singer's super-cool <i>Luz</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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As I waited patiently to file into the screening room to see Tilman Singer's <i>Luz</i> at the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival, a lovely gentlemen said to me, "It's like early Cronenberg, with some David Lynch, and also Zulawski." I replied, "That's awesome, I like all those things!" now exceedingly pumped for a film about which I was already excited. Well, he was right, but <i>Luz</i> is even cooler than all those touchstones, and one of the most lingeringly compelling and aesthetically beautiful films I've seen at Fantasia, this year and all the years. Yes, it's that great.<br />
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A colleague of mine, whom I deeply respect, asked me, when I was waxing rhapsodically about <i>Luz</i>, "what exactly is the point?" Hmmm. I don't think that <i>Luz</i> can be explained in a pithy synopsis, because the film is not a straight-forward, linear narrative. In fact, there is a thread of a narrative, regarding the female cabbie, Luz, and what appears to be a demon for whom she opened a door during her early boarding school days. Intermittent flashbacks show a young, nude woman lying in a pentagram surrounded by candles--cue demon ritual. Said demon really took a liking to Luz back in the day, and now she/he/it is on a "romantic" mission to reconnect with its lost love. Like Justin McConnell's <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2018/07/fantasia-2018-lifechanger-justin.html" target="_blank"><i>Lifechanger</i></a>, the film's supernatural entity is also more or less a body thief, so gender does not really stick. Yet, unlike McConnell's beast, <i>Luz's</i> entity is distinctly odd and inhuman, rendering the body it possesses strange and uncanny. In the scene where the possessed Nora (Julia Riedler) seduces Dr. Rossini (Jan Bluthardt), she moves her body in a jerky, yet seductive, manner, slithering on her bar stool. She fills the small space with her unnatural presence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-t1tDN16VzQeDl-9MG3ZOnC_7JoB2lDOelyV6XNbmSoZb2qC165zaGGPSBNkAZXH6DzL5m5GiZUbo7KDubKmE_TcYNK9G-aUd9hVbFjDz0vxYvdNR0NCl-naZb3HSMz5CIxJdpvrF-sc/s1600/Luz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="933" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-t1tDN16VzQeDl-9MG3ZOnC_7JoB2lDOelyV6XNbmSoZb2qC165zaGGPSBNkAZXH6DzL5m5GiZUbo7KDubKmE_TcYNK9G-aUd9hVbFjDz0vxYvdNR0NCl-naZb3HSMz5CIxJdpvrF-sc/s640/Luz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Rossini/the demon controls Detective Bertillion during Luz's hypnosis</td></tr>
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The term "fever dream" is pretty over-used when it comes to hallucinatory horror films, but here it seems well placed, as the film shifts from different character subjectivities, and between past and present, without any discernible boundaries. Sometimes the camera gets up close to a character, such as its intimacy with Luz, but most of the time, the camera stays at a significant distance, like a wary observer. This type of cinematography lends an eerie quality to the set pieces of the film, whether at the police station, where much of the film takes place, or at a bar, where Dr. Rossini has a very strange encounter with the intense Nora. The scene at a local bar conveys genius on a limited budget, with oddly colored cocktails and shots served up, thrown back by Nora in a primal and predatory manner. The scenes that take place at the entry to the police station, shot both in a long shot and in a long take, almost convey a mad "Jacques Tati" humor straight out of <i>Playtime</i>--although the film is far too creepy to elicit anything other than uncomfortable laughter. A hypnosis scene in the police station's conference room becomes a melding, transformative encounter, as Dr. Rossini asks Luz to describe what happened to her the night she leapt from her moving cab. Gunshots, body swapping, and demonic flashbacks galore explode into a gauzy mist, where characters become indistinguishable in the murky haze.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRTI9dpKP6b8-eZhyWd2fH1U3QYlskDpA4dkn7AOiKgQFDfQccO9G12aZg4RWWaMOomJ2LPlkt77jrWZYE-tQmeGnwn0sH_xHZn-Bfu0ul3tYtyl4CdXJG_sK5_EuOIJRW4ZgYDDCQ2A/s1600/Luz+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRTI9dpKP6b8-eZhyWd2fH1U3QYlskDpA4dkn7AOiKgQFDfQccO9G12aZg4RWWaMOomJ2LPlkt77jrWZYE-tQmeGnwn0sH_xHZn-Bfu0ul3tYtyl4CdXJG_sK5_EuOIJRW4ZgYDDCQ2A/s640/Luz+5.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luz's (Luana Velis) punk attitude and tough exterior hide her occult leanings</td></tr>
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Accompanied by both a seductive and slightly discordant soundtrack, the
encompassing mood of the film is deeply unsettling, and its 16mm grain
gives the film a certain timelessness--even though the decor nods to 70s
and 80s art horror. Thankfully, no one's whipping out a cell phone
here to ruin the mood. Subtitles for this German film are sensitive to the multiple languages used, and Luz's blasphemous Spanish cursing is accompanied by both German and English subtitles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luz's deadly encounter with Dr. Rossini transforms the police station into a liminal space</td></tr>
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All my delicate dancing around the film's subject matter cannot really express how gorgeous, imaginative, unsettling, and utterly unique the film is. So many images leave an indelible impression that continue to haunt long after the film's screening. <i>Luz</i> is Tilman Singer's student thesis film. Yes! I think if one of my students turned in a film with this much confidence, style, and power, my head would probably explode like a moment straight out of <i>Scanners</i>. Fantasia is a place that can make a filmmaker's career, and I can only hope that a platform like Shudder or Amazon Prime will get a hold of Tilman's film and share it with everyone. A standout of Fantasia 2018, it's too soon to tell, but Luz is a contender for my favorite film of the festival! Wow. Find it and see it.Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-83625129855858925592018-07-23T00:59:00.000-04:002018-07-23T00:59:23.958-04:00Fantasia 2018--Under the Silver Lake--David Robert Mitchell (2018)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam (Andrew Garfield) is a study in white male hetero entitled voyeurism in <i>Under the Silver Lake</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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Well, David Robert Mitchell has squandered all of his accumulated cache from 2014's <i>It Follows</i> with the witless slog of his latest white male fantasy, <i>Under the Silver Lake</i> (2018), which had its North American Premiere at the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival. The film had earned mixed reviews from its Cannes film festival screenings, and has subsequently had its release date postponed from June 22nd to December 7th after its lackluster reception. So perhaps I'm not surprised to be massively disappointed by this film that follows grade-A unemployed loser and entitled Silver Lake denizen Sam (Andrew Garfield) as he wanders from apartment to apartment and party to party in search of some mystery girl who he interacted with <i>very briefly</i>, and who disappears from the apartment across the courtyard of his NICE digs in this uber-hip neighborhood of Los Angeles.<br />
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Robert Mitchell sets the tone immediately with his latest film by A) having some weirdo animatronic animal (squirrel? beaver? dog?) fall down splat from above, and then briefly animate before keeling over So, I guess it's QUIRKY!! Then B) he has Sam laying about on his balcony, with binoculars, watching the topless hippy parrot/parakeet owner across the way. Very shortly after that, Sam has sex with someone credited as "The Actress" played by Riki Lindhome, because Garfunkel and Oates are not making the big bucks, as they should, and she has to pay the rent, dammit. May I remind you, that in this film, she is not even given a name. Granted, other women are called "Balloon Girl" and "Bird Lady," so I guess Riley Keough should be thankful that her manic pixie dream girl "Sarah" actually has a name, although she should just be called "manic pixie dream girl" or "Marilyn Monroe Wannabee" for consistency's sake.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah (Riley Keough) giggles, drinks OJ and eats saltines in bed, and gives Sam some sense of purpose</td></tr>
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Sarah catches Sam spying on her from his balcony, and for some very unclear reason, invites him over for a joint, and some OJ and saltines at her place. She shares one rather chaste kiss before she boots him out of her apartment, planning on meeting up with him the next day. Yet, when he goes to meet her, he finds the apartment abandoned, uninhabited, as Sarah and her roommates have somehow "poof" disappeared. This excitement is a bit too much for Sam, who sees conspiracies around every corner, and believes there's some secret message hidden in old images of Vanna White's glances. Aimless Sam has now got an aim (find Sarah) and neither hipster performance artists (like Balloon Girl) or emo bands such as "Jesus and the Brides of Dracula" will get in his way. He will journey from hip underground parties, to cool cemetery film screenings in search of the girl he spent approximately 20 minutes with, all in a single-minded stalker quest to find her. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMkqoS7ym0NS951zGbcHZbo6HM8-zKeyg_YUPCY_uhlGXjNUXGbbO_aB6l9oljhH_YyjUKnJE2rDZnbQUGyExemw0w_McFbTVzoG4_WXrEO3fqjF7z0zSOxPz7Ssx-BTWc_keETv3kJc/s1600/Under+the+Silver+Lake+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMkqoS7ym0NS951zGbcHZbo6HM8-zKeyg_YUPCY_uhlGXjNUXGbbO_aB6l9oljhH_YyjUKnJE2rDZnbQUGyExemw0w_McFbTVzoG4_WXrEO3fqjF7z0zSOxPz7Ssx-BTWc_keETv3kJc/s640/Under+the+Silver+Lake+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the girls want to sleep with loser Sam</td></tr>
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My contempt for most of the narrative compels me to skim over some of the more interesting visual and aural touches that Robert Mitchell scatters throughout the film. The soundtrack is really lush and often echoes noir soundtracks of the past, although no matter how I look at <i>Under the Silver Lake</i>, Andrew Garfield is no Robert Mitchum, nor Bogart, nor even Fred MacMurray. The film's "ode to Los Angeles" is inconsistent though--are we supposed to be mesmerized by Silver Lake's laid back hipness, or disgusted by its shallow pretension? Likewise, the film has some striking moments of violence. One of my favorites has Sam kicking the crap out of two unsuspecting kids, where someone in the audience called out "You get 'em, Spiderman!" Nice. Yet, I'm not sure how to interpret this deadbeat nerd-bro's acts of sudden rage. While they elicited a cheer from Fantasia's audience (look, something's actually happening!), I did not understand what they signified beyond some white male revenge fantasy against petty problems. How dare you ruin my hero worship of Kurt Cobain, old songwriter dude who laughs maniacally! <br />
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Also, there's this really cool sequence that's a live action motion graphic of a local zine created by Patrick Fischler, who is a lovely presence in just about any film. But why is this animated sequence in the film? Cuz it's quirky as fu**. Lots of questions float around that don't necessarily require answers, but provide motivation for our lame-o detective wannabee to move from point A to point B. Why is there an underground bunker, and what does it have to do with missing millionaire Jefferson Sevence? Also, who <i>is</i> the nefarious dog killer, and why are the skunks in Los Angeles so invested in spraying Sam. I guess, the ultimate question is <i>do we really care</i>? Nope.Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-70639623039861144132018-07-22T23:06:00.001-04:002018-07-22T23:06:58.963-04:00Fantasia 2018--Lifechanger--Justin McConnell (2018)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfSyYTHYt-4aATYMnXnjduWOi69Kj7Ep5SIWMQVAh8Mg8nFmHaViEtBBtpe41C8Uf2YiGzHn2QqpEayn91y-ku1W7G5idSBbeya2ayYHMG0WCpHMirj_-m66DVGUixp2olF9L17b5W0c/s1600/Lifechanger+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1024" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfSyYTHYt-4aATYMnXnjduWOi69Kj7Ep5SIWMQVAh8Mg8nFmHaViEtBBtpe41C8Uf2YiGzHn2QqpEayn91y-ku1W7G5idSBbeya2ayYHMG0WCpHMirj_-m66DVGUixp2olF9L17b5W0c/s640/Lifechanger+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drew (Jack Foley in this iteration) gets on with the labor of survival in Justin McConnell's <i>Lifechanger</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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One of Fantasia Film Festival's many pleasures is the ability not only to see amazing new horror films, but also see them <i>first</i>. Fantasia 2018 screened the world premiere of Justin McConnell's thoughtful and gruesome feature <i>Lifechanger</i>, and while I haven't seen the director's other work, this body jumping genre piece really impressed me (and a good chunk of the Fantasia audience that stuck around, full of questions, during the Q & A).<br />
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<i>Lifechanger</i> introduces us to Drew in its first moments through the character's voice-over, a remarkably consistent insight into the character as it jumps from person to person through claiming their bodies, and seemingly their memories as well. Drew has just "taken" Emily Roberts (Elitsa Bako), leaving a rather desiccated corpse double beside it, one of which the body thief will quickly dispose. So, from the first moments, viewers are introduced to the film's monster, quite sympathetically. As we know, subjective narration can really align us with characters that commit questionable actions with equally questionable motivations. Drew states that it takes over people to survive, not with any malicious intent, but out of desperation as its body begins to rot (which creates some nice goopy moments). Over the course of the film, Drew inhabits a variety of differently gendered bodies, although the film loses some of the subversiveness this gender swapping might entail, by 1) maintaining Drew's voice-over by a distinctly male actor (Bill Oberst Jr.) and 2) by having the character's mission be the single-minded pursuit of melancholy Julia (Lora Burke), with which Drew had a "love connection" with a couple of years ago while inhabiting the body of her husband, Richard, who happened to up-and-disappear shortly after the couple's son died. Coincidence? You'll notice that I'm trying to avoid male or female pronouns when discussing Drew, because despite the film's narrative leanings, Drew is definitely "other."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQapj0O2I4uu0vmrlKsybc4TYRa6ou75m-djOBNOpNT5impIdd8RZAqrGR-M1MUWbEfmWGV6swFGmhHIeYPBGIg25dNOaqtiX7O4aFNOKvovVGKNiKQxKIVPUA7QkmNuE6PPlIy7etIg/s1600/Lifechanger+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQapj0O2I4uu0vmrlKsybc4TYRa6ou75m-djOBNOpNT5impIdd8RZAqrGR-M1MUWbEfmWGV6swFGmhHIeYPBGIg25dNOaqtiX7O4aFNOKvovVGKNiKQxKIVPUA7QkmNuE6PPlIy7etIg/s640/Lifechanger+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia chatting with Rachel aka Drew at the Monarch Lounge</td></tr>
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Julia is the very picture of loss, and Drew does whatever it takes to be near her, meeting up at her drinking haunt, The Monarch Lounge, in a variety of bodies/guises. Drew can either accelerate its bodily decay (by snorting prodigious amounts of blow) or stave it off (through antibiotics), and some of the film's most exciting tensions circle around "the authorities" discovering Drew's "body farm" full of previous incarnations, and hunting down Rachel, who wisely becomes Robert (Jack Foley) just when the police are closing in. Another bonus is the fact that Rachel was a dental assistant, so she had access to quite a few antibiotics that Drew uses to slow down his decomp while it courts a sadly clueless Julia as her new beau. Yet, Drew is a monster with a conscience, and it wears the weight of its crimes heavily; when it decides to tell Julia its true nature....well, things don't go quite like it had planned. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikcw1jIhvjV8VhmlpI_Usu4GJt7ZOoX60rKavLHsxi6lHh_oYDTir9P4kmLsjdUdgHugjzk13z9KGXLM3ZOnMeFtL3iW9VqNb8UsBWOOq-EqvwZRctoSQK4SbHw3NOWcLDq9H0lyWR9n8/s1600/Lifechanger+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikcw1jIhvjV8VhmlpI_Usu4GJt7ZOoX60rKavLHsxi6lHh_oYDTir9P4kmLsjdUdgHugjzk13z9KGXLM3ZOnMeFtL3iW9VqNb8UsBWOOq-EqvwZRctoSQK4SbHw3NOWcLDq9H0lyWR9n8/s640/Lifechanger+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The necessity to change bodies more frequently, for its survival, weighs heavily on Drew</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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While some people might be put off by the humanizing of Drew, the film's consistent voice-over led to an increased consistency in relation to the performance of a variety of different actors, all who seem to clearly embody Drew, whether housed in a male or female body. The only thing that really sticks for me, and which the director mentioned frankly in the Q & A, is the "stalking as romance" trope that underlies the majority of the narrative. While McConnell suggests that the film is an examination of toxic masculinity, I think the film also really compels viewers to hope that Drew can capture Julia's heart, no matter what form it takes. The film makes it hard to be really critical of Drew--what's a body thief to do if it doesn't want to die, right?<br />
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Credit thus goes to both McConnell for writing such well-drawn characters, and for the first-rate performers (many of whom took to the stage at the Q & A) who embodied them. Lora Burke's Julia is by turns witty and tragic, and always eminently likeable, while Drew's iterations, shackled with its bodily memories, are each utterly unique, but then subtly changed once they transform into Drew. The fact that the cast pulls off this trick with such agility speaks to both their outstanding talent and McConnell's masterful direction. I've been careful not to give anything away, but the ending of this film is a doozy--kind of gross, and quite thought-provoking. I do hope that <i>Lifechanger</i> gets the screenings it deserves. After theaters and VOD, it would be nice if Netflix or Shudder picked up this gem so that it reaches a larger audience. Highly recommended!!Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-12963962323723789902018-07-17T01:28:00.000-04:002018-07-17T01:28:03.557-04:00Fantasia 2018--L'Inferno (1911) with live score from Maurizio Guarini from Goblin!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5t8cDUAARMlqbQaZ409yVIT8n7pJdxG6qnegH-Hg9VH8_syk60GkQw1wPjI-y2wq1cCTaMC1k_zSdDg_i-ulQFAuAqGuLutdtvSbZEd4j769W7BXNdvkzKbVwGMaI2fPqok2mdoFW1Y/s1600/L%2527Inferno+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5t8cDUAARMlqbQaZ409yVIT8n7pJdxG6qnegH-Hg9VH8_syk60GkQw1wPjI-y2wq1cCTaMC1k_zSdDg_i-ulQFAuAqGuLutdtvSbZEd4j769W7BXNdvkzKbVwGMaI2fPqok2mdoFW1Y/s640/L%2527Inferno+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgil leads Dante past traitors immersed in a frozen lake in <i>L'Inferno</i> (1911)</td></tr>
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Every year, Fantasia has several "special events" that are always a highlight of the festival. I've seen two Grady Hendrix performances, a presentation on the Jean Rollin book <i>Lost Girls</i> by Spectacular Optical, anniversary remastered screenings of <i>The Reflecting Skin</i>, and last year's epic cinematic experience (pour moi), the 4K remastered screening of Dario Argento's <i>Suspiria</i>. At Fantasia 2018, festival goers were able to experience a truly unique event--a screening of the very first Italian feature film, <i>L'Inferno</i> (1911) on its 107th anniversary with a live score composed on site by Maurizio Guarini, best known for some of the most amazing soundtrack work out there (including <i>Suspiria</i> and <i>Deep Red</i>). Not only did we get to watch this remastered silent film, but experience it with this amazing live accompaniment. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKbwS0qzocnl4w9zkMBjKX01DX-ufqebjF6QIr2DmpY5LVFyzKE3Zih0tM_Yp8fB7rnFDT8QHkcnrEGEVCJVmXxNHluTckozOaqeudHkMHoxxMP2Ramz6A2NEkIzM_gbl8uNvsOiGgnc/s1600/L%2527inferno+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKbwS0qzocnl4w9zkMBjKX01DX-ufqebjF6QIr2DmpY5LVFyzKE3Zih0tM_Yp8fB7rnFDT8QHkcnrEGEVCJVmXxNHluTckozOaqeudHkMHoxxMP2Ramz6A2NEkIzM_gbl8uNvsOiGgnc/s640/L%2527inferno+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tinting silent films was a fairly common practice, but they really remastered the film beautifully</td></tr>
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I'm going to crib directly from the Fantasia program here: "<i>L'Inferno</i> was directed by Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan and Giuseppe de
Liguoro, working with more than 150 cast and crew members over a period
of three years. The scale and ambition of its imagery is breathtaking,
with primitive special effects that drip raw inspiration and
hyper-imaginative interpretations of Hell that continue to impress over a
century after they were burned into light. Having made over 2 million
US dollars in its original release, it is also very likely cinema's
first blockbuster." I could not have said it better. Plot-wise, the poet, Virgil, leads Dante through a grand tour of the circles of hell, and it's really a journey to remember. Supposedly the film is heavily influenced by Gustav Doré's illustrations, so I promptly checked these images out after the screening, and their similarities are startling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWkbDmx4085X-VcjTfKYimXJfqjTmikA9gLq1glJ5DQhyphenhyphenYLWB5lUbQdqkLIrhYLrP4VBoqHddAtnePgG1LRPFN2zNQIB394XbJLWicPbDjimcjoa075teWnqjfwwfw3GxSSqSu5Viyyo/s1600/L%2527Inferno+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="958" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWkbDmx4085X-VcjTfKYimXJfqjTmikA9gLq1glJ5DQhyphenhyphenYLWB5lUbQdqkLIrhYLrP4VBoqHddAtnePgG1LRPFN2zNQIB394XbJLWicPbDjimcjoa075teWnqjfwwfw3GxSSqSu5Viyyo/s640/L%2527Inferno+6.jpg" width="506" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These Gustav Doré's illustrations really blow my mind</td></tr>
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So many fantastic images with early special effects and experimental techniques litter this film, I really found it incredibly difficult to tear my gaze away to take notes. Some highlights:<br />
--carnal sinners bathed in a lavender gel swirl above Dante and Virgil's heads<br />
--the entrance to the city of Dis is barred by demons, and they have the best costumes. Luckily Virgil and Dante escape by jumping into a pit, to the consternation of the angry demons.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9kITNQUDHrosmsE3hcZIMgYF_xdbHxewpxOXyQIvre1oHaFsXOAKoOlL3AktCJmlO7oZ2ezI3rNWHBhgTt-WITvFdD5GGECtWReCVPwtIcoRpyQLJwx_TaRSzF6OY7y6pmsRszcCa_k/s1600/Inferno.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9kITNQUDHrosmsE3hcZIMgYF_xdbHxewpxOXyQIvre1oHaFsXOAKoOlL3AktCJmlO7oZ2ezI3rNWHBhgTt-WITvFdD5GGECtWReCVPwtIcoRpyQLJwx_TaRSzF6OY7y6pmsRszcCa_k/s640/Inferno.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angry demons helplessly poke at Dante and Virgil below in <i>L'Inferno</i></td></tr>
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--Harpies make their nest in branches known as "the suicides" while a synth riff that echoes <i>Suspiria</i> plays in the background<br />
--A "Rain of Fire" consisting of numerous tinted and superimposed explosions lights up the screen<br />
--Flatterers and Dissolute Women are Immersed in excrement. Yuk.<br />
--In a red tinted scene, feet wiggle out of pits in the ground, as sinners are buried head first <br />
--A real stand out: fortune tellers with their heads twisted around, walk backwards toward Dante and Virgil<br />
--The poets encounter three giants, and one lifts them down from above. This effect is quite nifty for its time.<br />
--Embezzlers are transformed into vipers, where they ultimately become lizard puppets<br />
--One man carries around his own severed head, which actually keeps talking!<br />
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--but my absolute favorite moment, where the soundtrack really shines, is when Lucifer munches on some poor soul, his feet dangling out of his mouth like some unruly piece of lettuce. Check out the image at the very beginning of the post to get a master shot of Lucifer with his wings in the background. Love it!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClwAFlv7O-gA2ayO36xY_nZgTlBBB4ti8KJAa2uwj5s6FW4jweiC9hcspjOBimokv9wyoi7hxL8NNTsRKFoJfJd-iPKw3jAitlRhzFhCFqt89FGdjmKmJbdlxDhsxedIp8OpeuHwmIvM/s1600/L%2527Inferno+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClwAFlv7O-gA2ayO36xY_nZgTlBBB4ti8KJAa2uwj5s6FW4jweiC9hcspjOBimokv9wyoi7hxL8NNTsRKFoJfJd-iPKw3jAitlRhzFhCFqt89FGdjmKmJbdlxDhsxedIp8OpeuHwmIvM/s640/L%2527Inferno+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucifer munching on a human body!</td></tr>
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Sure, there were some moments in the screening where the audience emitted a mass chuckle as some of the special effects displayed a certain raw, dated quality. My favorite is when Virgil and Dante escape the demons by jumping into a pit of snakes, and they just appear to be some random noodles laying around. Still, those moments add a bit of lightness to a really compelling and imaginatively rendered Hell world, and to think that this film came out in 1911, well before the surrealists were making weirdness like <i>Un Chien Andalou</i>, is simply awesome! I just barely made it into the screening, since it was utterly sold out, and I'm so glad I did. <i>L'Inferno</i> with live accompaniment was truly a unique cinematic experience to remember. Thank you, Fantasia!Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-52202732297875474442018-07-17T00:09:00.000-04:002018-07-17T00:09:48.707-04:00Fantasia 2018--Aragne: Sign of Vermillion--Saku Sakamoto (2018)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPPcI7x1haqE7Y2jH1BquHnoZIiT0wNmDTsyxsp6mLY6oXTfFxclDNYlSLJn3RfD3aYawVRIPoDJqEWIDZVp86we3ZEmsTvzuLArKVsuHSicSI1LVmdEuCS0DdYUEvkYP5-glflS49kA/s1600/Aragne+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPPcI7x1haqE7Y2jH1BquHnoZIiT0wNmDTsyxsp6mLY6oXTfFxclDNYlSLJn3RfD3aYawVRIPoDJqEWIDZVp86we3ZEmsTvzuLArKVsuHSicSI1LVmdEuCS0DdYUEvkYP5-glflS49kA/s640/Aragne+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rin's apartment building is a pretty grim place in Saku Sakamoto's <i>Aragne: Sign of Vermillion </i>(2018)</td></tr>
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Full disclosure: I know very little about Japanese anime beyond Hideo Nakata, Osamu Tezuka, and <i>The Ghost in the Shell </i>films. So to my delight, I discovered that Saku Sakamoto did the digital effects for <i>Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence</i> (2004) and he was presenting the world premiere of his debut feature <i>Aragne: Sign of Vermillion</i> at Fantasia 2018. The director and producer of the film were there for a Q &A and there even was a translator--who translated Japanese into French. Heh. My French is mal, tres mauvais, so I pretty much gleaned little from the film's introduction, other than how happy Sakamoto was to be there. I was enthusiastic and swayed by the cool <a href="https://vimeo.com/275813524" target="_blank">trailer</a>. Giant bugs crawling all over a city!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMalgs-XguD4qJMksRFMJDEKpIVqtdzhn8AuiOdMvr_3C5uBnYedmM8p6uPGuVLUnaH-D13sr7MV24fc2VUvzIXkl_BMLVnhjm2BRPv1LzvxwqDr5_FKGr3YlG-VpoWT6uqP3GzppnSuM/s1600/Aragne+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMalgs-XguD4qJMksRFMJDEKpIVqtdzhn8AuiOdMvr_3C5uBnYedmM8p6uPGuVLUnaH-D13sr7MV24fc2VUvzIXkl_BMLVnhjm2BRPv1LzvxwqDr5_FKGr3YlG-VpoWT6uqP3GzppnSuM/s640/Aragne+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rin runs away from a lot of creepy crawly scary s***</td></tr>
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My grasp of the narrative is...limited, but I don't think that really matters all that much. The film is a dread-filled atmospheric fever dream, and its ambiguities are part of its appeal. Rin, a University student, has moved into a new apartment that is not at all like its been advertised. Instead of a sunny, well-lit space, the rooms are more like bunker dorms, lined up on dank hallways, the building decrepit and looming. It's basically a dump, and little wonder it's haunted. Or is it? Rin is not sleeping well in her new digs, passing out exhausted in her college classroom, and riddled with very disturbing dreams. The imagery of the film is infused with a blood red ambiance, and one can never tell whether Rin is actually seeing things, or just hallucinating. Important, but confusing backstory: medical experimentation was performed on people some 40-odd years ago, where they became delusional, hallucinating wrecks, victims of some weird plague, and this widespread disease, spread by spirit bugs, is consuming the city in present day. Yeah, I know. I told you I didn't have a great grasp of the narrative. Meanwhile, Rin seems to be enamored of this brunette who's always dancing, and she's being chased by some masked serial killer with a portable circular hand saw or some such weapon. Also, there are "dead soul soldiers" possessed by "spirit bugs" that she must run from over and over again. Still following?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-S16VUf92fFHh7Rk4ujlkTLOHkXd00d0qoHIYMk4H97-KbwT5nndnC5oF2YCFUR87D_5rPY9z0bhYP52hX7KxSzLu2ShqmL4tZkJXiYk1sLKYBIa0L_frUlv3HoW9JIXfSOQj_i7trM/s1600/Aragne+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="297" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-S16VUf92fFHh7Rk4ujlkTLOHkXd00d0qoHIYMk4H97-KbwT5nndnC5oF2YCFUR87D_5rPY9z0bhYP52hX7KxSzLu2ShqmL4tZkJXiYk1sLKYBIa0L_frUlv3HoW9JIXfSOQj_i7trM/s640/Aragne+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scary people/creatures are constantly after Rin</td></tr>
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The film deliberately blurs the lines between Rin's dreams and waking life, and the hi-jinks in her building indicate that Rin is what I like to call a "haunted heroine." Something from her past is causing all these horrific manifestations, and every time she seems to grasp what that might be, it slips away from her (and the audience). She encounters plenty of people who appear to verify that all this stuff is happening IRL, but is it?? This context is really confusing/fun, and adds something special to the truly marvelous and weird imagery. Brains with insect legs crawling on top of Rin. EWWW! Because she seems to be hallucinating constantly, one wonders if she's contracted this disease people seem to have. At other moments, nonsensical things happen, and I don't know why. At one point, I wrote in my notes, "Why is she dragging a dead body? To prove it's real?" Yeah, this film isn't about easy, clear answers. Also, the dancing brunette pops up on occasion to opine, "I wish you'd just die" to poor Rin. At one point, she's strapped to a giant machine while bugs chew on her. It's nuts!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7GkU9yVvUiEfow1FfoKU0VEVvhVYtOOK2E76X4LeVHDnbVhQLL7gvVwjz2BRcUXmRQGW693p1idzaEM7ZohgatkQTf3dzu2-lMOpV6J92ChIP5YMIq6VihEKdOgcZnioDIrAmioiBp8/s1600/Aragne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1552" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7GkU9yVvUiEfow1FfoKU0VEVvhVYtOOK2E76X4LeVHDnbVhQLL7gvVwjz2BRcUXmRQGW693p1idzaEM7ZohgatkQTf3dzu2-lMOpV6J92ChIP5YMIq6VihEKdOgcZnioDIrAmioiBp8/s640/Aragne.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spirits from Rin's past haunt her in the present</td></tr>
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Despite my somewhat incoherent recitation of an incoherent plot, things actually make a lot of sense at the end; indeed, the ending tempts viewers to rewatch the film to see what subtle indicators might have been supplied along the way. The film actually reminded me a great deal of Eyetan Rockaway's <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-abandoned-eytan-rockaway-2015.html" target="_blank"><i>The Abandoned</i></a> (2015), but I'm not going to say <i>how</i> exactly, so you can experience this twisted little gem all on your own. The film clocks in at just over an hour, so it never drags, even in its most confusing moments. Give it a shot!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V7He8vHbe2TNdmMhvQN5QvR5DfXAAVW6_tphhTeqWfTpxP5ouO_hHPWsKh-99F7Vn99FA_nep2BhRPustWJhgy6a57dcA7SVaTqYkJ1xrDOikVWrh_ZCaPlUImjywIV0K2A51UqsE7o/s1600/Walking+Meat+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6V7He8vHbe2TNdmMhvQN5QvR5DfXAAVW6_tphhTeqWfTpxP5ouO_hHPWsKh-99F7Vn99FA_nep2BhRPustWJhgy6a57dcA7SVaTqYkJ1xrDOikVWrh_ZCaPlUImjywIV0K2A51UqsE7o/s640/Walking+Meat+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zombies as livestock, factory farmed for food, turn on their corporate "farmers" in Shinya Sugai's <i>Walking Meat</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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The great thing about Fantasia, is viewers often get to see really fun and innovative short films that are cool, and hard to screen elsewhere. That's why I highly recommend Shinya Sugai's debut <i>Walking Meat</i> (2018). The short starts with a commercial for zombie food--that's zombies that humans eat as food, not food for zombies. It seems that zombies are now considered livestock, kind of like cows, but angrier and far more deadly. Also, these zombies are not zombie cows, but zombie people. I'm surprised that someone hasn't thought about this idea already (have they??) Why waste a good zombie, right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnx-bi6HMYvUHqe0PoagM7CsQbzUh3tb5r4BmyuEl7ME_SDQpSaEUJzF7yZj61XiGBX6kCRuGCAXqtinqlBC6dVC2PnH4XT2E065mzMGu3h17ZENFhL5zwghC-lTmhYla4nlNYWxM9xfs/s1600/Walking+Meat+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="900" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnx-bi6HMYvUHqe0PoagM7CsQbzUh3tb5r4BmyuEl7ME_SDQpSaEUJzF7yZj61XiGBX6kCRuGCAXqtinqlBC6dVC2PnH4XT2E065mzMGu3h17ZENFhL5zwghC-lTmhYla4nlNYWxM9xfs/s640/Walking+Meat+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The studious girl, the social media maven, and the incompetent geek boy all show up for their first day at work</td></tr>
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The set-up is three obvious millennials show up for a corporate training session their first day on the job. Of course, things get pretty hairy when the system malfunctions, and the zombies get loose. Mayhem ensues! Plenty of jokes litter what feels like a web series, with little pauses inserted and held occasionally, before the film moves on to the next zombie set piece. The pace is frenetic and fun, and the film is really quite accomplished, with a great deal of tension, and a lot of slash 'em action too. Really terrific and worth looking for once it emerges online.Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-65222206015665207442018-07-16T16:21:00.002-04:002018-07-16T16:21:44.938-04:00Fantasia 2018--Hanagatami--Nubuhiko Obayashi (2017)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VQanYjgn7h_ojStTytensDlwv-z3iqbtKmviGjd4tE50RxcxNdD0OlAI1foWdv11WEDXa1E30JIZy1RkdZ5Q-UVEWFVkAoT9JBXnRKEvnoIqKmDQaacJ4F8XVL8wO8GjiBSK-yjMDto/s1600/Hanagatami+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VQanYjgn7h_ojStTytensDlwv-z3iqbtKmviGjd4tE50RxcxNdD0OlAI1foWdv11WEDXa1E30JIZy1RkdZ5Q-UVEWFVkAoT9JBXnRKEvnoIqKmDQaacJ4F8XVL8wO8GjiBSK-yjMDto/s640/Hanagatami+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dying Mina, superimposed over a giant moon, in Nobuhiko Obayashi's bewildering <i>Hanagatami </i>(2017)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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People often ask me, when I'm taking notes in a movie theater while a film unfolds, if I'm afraid of missing something when I take a moment to look down at where my pen is hitting the page. The answer is an emphatic "yes"--even though I'm used to writing in the dark, some films are really challenging to grasp on a first (or second, or third) screening. With Nubuhiko Obayashi's <i>Hanagatami</i> (2017), the frame is so rich with visuals, the story so dense, that I'm not sure the film would become any clearer on repeat viewings. Based on a novel by Kazuo Dan by the same name, <i>Hanagatami </i>ostensibly follows a group of teenagers, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, grappling with their relationships (friendship and romantic) as their lives are forever changed by war's onset. This description is bare bones, because most of the time I had no <i>idea</i> what was going on--perhaps because of my glancing familiarity with Japanese history and literature, as well as some of the oblique, but clearly significant, cultural references littered throughout the film. As the <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6b3swb" target="_blank">trailer</a> for the film makes clear, Obayashi's playful use of superimposition, optical printing, and multi-layered composition, accompanied by very stylized acting, is geared toward the adventurous cinephile. The film exhibits a studied artificiality in both style and performance that doesn't really allow viewers to immerse themselves in this world. I saw many gorgeous images onscreen, and if that's enough to sustain you for the film's near three hour running time, take a chance on it. Also, understanding Japanese is a plus--there's quite a bit of dialogue and it's delivered pretty quickly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5161L6I39Vz4lARE4qFec60_JbX_Q6pKCzugKXrlYkt_wapLbQX78a6RZfsMXxCiDCQwGc91cECA6PuzIlaYWmzWlhOWrUP6AxJgjMHQSbU0qRZD1Uu4xEa37RMmGPa0yHJdslzHT0E/s1600/Hausu+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5161L6I39Vz4lARE4qFec60_JbX_Q6pKCzugKXrlYkt_wapLbQX78a6RZfsMXxCiDCQwGc91cECA6PuzIlaYWmzWlhOWrUP6AxJgjMHQSbU0qRZD1Uu4xEa37RMmGPa0yHJdslzHT0E/s640/Hausu+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A still from Hausu (House) by Nubuhiko Obayashi (1977)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lZV0jyTeQi7FkBRFRGnqODXQDQjT7d-ARUMTv4Z7NDQofqjmH846vUGAwNQfiHrFEGYAM6UvYpsLeyaaYyzfWvNZ5xhH0HxDjvEM360MvpJOxUP8WqDd_Prs6dT5J6RnkBsK_JTYa4k/s1600/Hausu+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="614" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lZV0jyTeQi7FkBRFRGnqODXQDQjT7d-ARUMTv4Z7NDQofqjmH846vUGAwNQfiHrFEGYAM6UvYpsLeyaaYyzfWvNZ5xhH0HxDjvEM360MvpJOxUP8WqDd_Prs6dT5J6RnkBsK_JTYa4k/s640/Hausu+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and another</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-GxBxIMzz_IV_5QQRhhXvt6AMTjO3O4O71ycbbSBiFcP5VoqoQzZ-34yS9xq2cn4emyhfd3yzlpjJk2rB4ttcBV6gYMvRBDCAsayebb8AuL1KlyfaGlJ3IH1CPy1Jp1DTwHvOomRn1I/s1600/Hausu+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="900" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-GxBxIMzz_IV_5QQRhhXvt6AMTjO3O4O71ycbbSBiFcP5VoqoQzZ-34yS9xq2cn4emyhfd3yzlpjJk2rB4ttcBV6gYMvRBDCAsayebb8AuL1KlyfaGlJ3IH1CPy1Jp1DTwHvOomRn1I/s640/Hausu+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and yet another from <i>Hausu</i> (1977)</td></tr>
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I signed on to <i>Hanagatami</i> (2017) based on the many surreal, absurd, and glorious virtues of the director's cult film <i>Hausu/House</i> (1977), where a bunch of schoolgirls visit one of their aunt's houses in the country, and the house proceeds to devour them in a host of unique and imaginative ways. Watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0HVJ5tkIM" target="_blank">trailer</a> to sample some of its many charms. The film is so out there that viewers are swept along by a gory visual maelstrom. <i>Hanagatami</i> samples some of the same collage effects on display in <i>Hausu</i>, but wraps them in a seemingly romantic epic regarding lost youth in a time of war. Not quite as effective, or perhaps just not what might be expected if one has limited exposure to Obayashi's oeuvre.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQjRFNuIREuSroXPhjcBLb-cTJu4ymvDluyLn7KF9m2pCpt-YPXf67ko1V6mUalfqSxZD9JJBGq2zusRQHUMzVublH0QZDfoGGdX8ak2QknU_IQGWcNbbcRUuAb2mvhy31zbQDTUI3LM/s1600/Hanagatami+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQjRFNuIREuSroXPhjcBLb-cTJu4ymvDluyLn7KF9m2pCpt-YPXf67ko1V6mUalfqSxZD9JJBGq2zusRQHUMzVublH0QZDfoGGdX8ak2QknU_IQGWcNbbcRUuAb2mvhy31zbQDTUI3LM/s640/Hanagatami+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(from left) Toshi, Aso, Ukai, and Kira...are all supposed to be in high school</td></tr>
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A couple of things kept me from really engaging with <i>Hanagatami</i>. First, the main male leads are all supposed to be HIGH SCHOOL BOYS. Yep. Obviously the casting is deliberate, right? But what does it signify that Keishi Nagatsuka, who plays Kira, looks to be in his 40s, and has gray glittering in his facial hair. Toshi tries to counteract the fact that he easily looks twice his age (17) by acting quite broadly, like a silent-movie hero, but ultimately coming across as goofy. Likewise, Mina, the "teenager" tragically dying from TB, seems to be the hinge on which all hetero-eroticism in the film swings; still, I think viewers looking for implied queerness between characters can mine quite a few interactions, especially those between Toshi and Ukai (who both have their share of nude scenes). Further, I'm not sure how well known Kazuo Dan's book is to viewers, but there were moments that I was absolutely certain that the subtitles MUST NOT be accurately translated. What are these characters saying???<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQa6SjZKYnfrdZQ27cuXanc5fINlpxbuiBGCxEnLv5OJsYkt3oBSZbKGmnsfbqIznf-j8sdSX0KlzUpjbY6i3qkufWnPxdMyOw0Nf5p8q9VqIX3bxfv1diK1f9XklJzytErGULYZfdaE/s1600/Hanagatami+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQa6SjZKYnfrdZQ27cuXanc5fINlpxbuiBGCxEnLv5OJsYkt3oBSZbKGmnsfbqIznf-j8sdSX0KlzUpjbY6i3qkufWnPxdMyOw0Nf5p8q9VqIX3bxfv1diK1f9XklJzytErGULYZfdaE/s640/Hanagatami+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"sixteen-year-old girls" hanging out in <i>Hanagatami</i></td></tr>
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<i>Hanagatami</i> is a visually striking and imaginative film that failed to connect with me, perhaps because I was expecting more of the bloody mayhem of <i>Hausu</i>. The film's vivid garishness was fun for the eye, but at nearly three hours, it takes a certain level of commitment from viewers that I clearly just...don't...have. As I left the theater, Thierry, who has been working at Fantasia since I first started attending, gave me a quick hug and asked me if I was going to write on this oddball film. Indeed I have, but I wish I could recommend the film more. I can recommend <i>Hausu</i> without reservation.Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-62846629294278794602018-07-13T23:26:00.000-04:002018-07-14T15:06:16.059-04:00Fantasia 2018--Last Child--Dong-seok Shin (2017)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKoIinJBcyKhAJAgBAG2sHYn80EUGhVOkFz-N4qfnmAa5N4CPOB719nI0W-tXdwTqbeFC8fDVOvNYB7s-TjEnVxAlVNSZo2UFhetXVyZe3to2E98cMsQA1M0TOpu20i6lwu6sVOQqpz0/s1600/Last+Child+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKoIinJBcyKhAJAgBAG2sHYn80EUGhVOkFz-N4qfnmAa5N4CPOB719nI0W-tXdwTqbeFC8fDVOvNYB7s-TjEnVxAlVNSZo2UFhetXVyZe3to2E98cMsQA1M0TOpu20i6lwu6sVOQqpz0/s640/Last+Child+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kihyun (Seong Yu-Bin) hangs out with his fellow miscreants in Dong-seok Shin's <i>Last Child</i> (2017)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Kids Suck, there is no justice, and there is no God. These feelings are what I was left with after the moving, but damn depressing, screening of Dong-seok Shin's <i>Last Child</i>, my first film screened at the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival. Seriously, I should have started the festival with some gleeful limb-shredding disembowelment accompanied by the raucous cheers of the Fantasia crowd, but I chose to start things off with this grief-filled exploration of one couple's terrible loss, and how they might be revived by caring for a young man their son's age before it all goes to shit, as the world seems to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyBx5cke5w0GHtQM6zTCmXfGRua5SEsH8qsBxLftskHWNPm25lhzhrwY9dgo-OelBlJY1yaa5l6tVI22eqD_wMT_X_-gROmAD7A6qDtyyZ6t5RaTCQmgQmYnPdAXLl-L1Kv2OsneSqtg/s1600/Last+Child+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyBx5cke5w0GHtQM6zTCmXfGRua5SEsH8qsBxLftskHWNPm25lhzhrwY9dgo-OelBlJY1yaa5l6tVI22eqD_wMT_X_-gROmAD7A6qDtyyZ6t5RaTCQmgQmYnPdAXLl-L1Kv2OsneSqtg/s640/Last+Child+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jin (Choi-moo Seung) and Misook (Kim Yeo-gin) cling to their tattered marriage after losing their son, Eunchan.</td></tr>
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The film opens with contemplative shots of Jin (Choi-moo Seung) as he labors to hang wallpaper. He's the owner, with his wife Misook (Kim Yeo-gin) of an interior business, where he and a crew lay floors, tile, wallpaper. His skills as a craftsman are highlighted in close-ups of his process as he papers a room. He exemplifies a taciturn reserve in his encounters with others, as he's still grief-stricken by the loss of his son, Eunchan. His son saved another boy, Kihyun (Seong-Yu Bin), from drowning, but perished while doing so, dying a hero's death. Those heroics do not mean much to Misook, whose bitterness coats the air around her like a sour taste on the tongue. She's riven with despair. Kihyun has subsequently dropped out of school, and is living an aimless life making deliveries for a restaurant--he seems to be suffering from a heavy dose of survivor's guilt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1Atb-aMnUTKZM-0Gx9xD_PbePnXOmNRAPfsUahrfXh1oIqz2mHLDNQ6d0wJmZfKShPljxKSxBgVygRKHDn2bQvUDNZO_jnmy4oZ1eGBn48Jlf2BWiDeIBChkkq8-445E9s6lGEX2Upo/s1600/Last+Child+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1Atb-aMnUTKZM-0Gx9xD_PbePnXOmNRAPfsUahrfXh1oIqz2mHLDNQ6d0wJmZfKShPljxKSxBgVygRKHDn2bQvUDNZO_jnmy4oZ1eGBn48Jlf2BWiDeIBChkkq8-445E9s6lGEX2Upo/s640/Last+Child+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most satisfying moments in the film are when Kihyun learns how to be a wallpaper craftsman, working for Jin</td></tr>
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For reasons unclear beyond an incredible outpouring of human kindness, Jin takes a listless, aimless Kihyun under his wing, deciding to teach him the craft of laying wallpaper and flooring. The most satisfying moments of the film consist of the gradual bonding between these two, as Kihyun develops pride in the work he's doing, and finds a purpose as he learns these skills. Misook starts to warm to Kihyun as well, as she slowly lets him in after adamantly keeping her distance from the kid. My darkness kicked in when the three of them playfully go on a picnic and take a selfie together. All I could think is "something terrible is going to happen," because this film is not going to allow this moment of happiness to linger. When they drop off Kihyun at home, and he promptly vomits after their departure, and subsequently doesn't show up for work the next day, I just KNEW something happened. I cannot really tell you without giving away a crucial plot point, but let's just say Kihyun and his teenage cohort are not really telling the truth about what happened the day Eunchan died. Cue terminal loss of all joy and impending darkness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHE2Bvn4ExA0g2fjPxGG-fttWfk8b0mKR-6MKNnTLoKmNHOpZg88KEsFKKsJxAPI3TyJXGcb9kNoMEe9rIfkTdLYQemrYS_UtMVslm4kObIf0zGB3HnKXIFgoP4sCV5iy6J-5nJZkb7A/s1600/Last+Child+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1260" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHE2Bvn4ExA0g2fjPxGG-fttWfk8b0mKR-6MKNnTLoKmNHOpZg88KEsFKKsJxAPI3TyJXGcb9kNoMEe9rIfkTdLYQemrYS_UtMVslm4kObIf0zGB3HnKXIFgoP4sCV5iy6J-5nJZkb7A/s640/Last+Child+5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two thirds of the way through the film, we know that Misook and Jin will probably never smile again</td></tr>
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The performances by the three main characters are incredibly powerful, and despite my claim that Kids Suck, I felt a great deal of sympathy for Kihyun--yet that feeling is dwarfed by the crushing empathy I felt toward Misook and Jin, who just cannot catch a fu**ing break, and move from despair to devastation. While these representations are plausibly realistic, as forms of entertainment go, I haven't felt like my heart was just stomped on multiple times since P.T. Anderson's <i>Magnolia</i>--although that film has some weirdo sparks of humor that keep us from wanting to off ourselves. Still Dong-seok Shin does include a shot of suspense, and I found myself writing "uh-oh" in my notes multiple times as the characters' respective narratives spiraled ever downward. Things come to a head as the three head out for one last picnic in proximity to the dreaded river that serves as the catalyst for all the events thus far.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFg9McbGKtdWu7xq_VMLWCGcau-atnmLYERnMUpG1PRVNarNj74p5YwVtvTuKhW1K7GPXl6CzpFxwEvsctX30Cnuz3XyAVLSA-SlPGEE6JziJG2XU3N8G5pkAau3V_iWqfeLDO0dFsqA/s1600/Last+Child+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1414" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFg9McbGKtdWu7xq_VMLWCGcau-atnmLYERnMUpG1PRVNarNj74p5YwVtvTuKhW1K7GPXl6CzpFxwEvsctX30Cnuz3XyAVLSA-SlPGEE6JziJG2XU3N8G5pkAau3V_iWqfeLDO0dFsqA/s640/Last+Child+2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kihyun enters the river which previously took the life of Eunchan</td></tr>
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South Korea clearly has a severe bullying and assault problem among its youth, and many of its strongest dramas--such as <i>Poetry </i>(Chang-dong Lee, 2010) and <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2014/07/han-gong-ju-su-jin-lee-2013.html" target="_blank"><i>Han-Gong Ju</i></a> (Su-Jin Lee, 2013)--explore these issues in powerful and provocative ways. I give points to <i>Last Child</i> for never really illustrating that violence--this imagery is never shown, but speaking about these events is its own form of violence, although one more subtle and nuanced. Things come to a head on the same river that took Eunchan's life, but then the film ends rather abruptly. I honestly don't know how the film could have done things differently, but I didn't hold onto much hope at film's end, and as I've mentioned, walked out with a heavy heart. Instead of being narratively inventive, I found the film just piled on the bad stuff, until I really just wanted it all to end. And it did, but not in what I felt was a satisfying manner. Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-59019059142646155232018-07-01T19:29:00.000-04:002018-07-01T20:05:01.112-04:00Fantasia 2018--The Schedule is Up!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxY14HmKQl_xqNQnWag82pb4w6syysQMtvVM4-QYKErKEIZguvF0Gaip6fnbFoYz9IxAIuFA2l2naRz5RYhacz-WRO8-vmK05lhCaZL22t9cFepMWUonZ2nE0oq7c0-oH3yKusW-u8WWI/s1600/Fantasia+2018+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxY14HmKQl_xqNQnWag82pb4w6syysQMtvVM4-QYKErKEIZguvF0Gaip6fnbFoYz9IxAIuFA2l2naRz5RYhacz-WRO8-vmK05lhCaZL22t9cFepMWUonZ2nE0oq7c0-oH3yKusW-u8WWI/s640/Fantasia+2018+poster.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many exciting films, so little time</td></tr>
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The <a href="https://fantasiafestival.com/en/schedule" target="_blank">schedule</a> is up for the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival, and now it's time for some difficult decisions, as choices must be made. Here I'm adding to my list of films about which I'm excited, updating the films upon which I touched on in the last couple of <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2018/06/fantasia-2018-first-wave-of-title.html" target="_blank">Fantasia</a> <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2018/06/fantasia-2018-second-wave-of-title.html" target="_blank">posts</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mdm1hbvTzUCzP3yi9MdLz4HLj8EM8agITxxvLuk4-fZl49xm9sMzg_6OQkEDcljmsNPgO0qTagQ9qjKAMZ-GI-gtQmnbJxc8WHYGydwUKlv53Wnbo3FanzRmZlI_wsXTLzohWlB2Pr8/s1600/Inferno.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mdm1hbvTzUCzP3yi9MdLz4HLj8EM8agITxxvLuk4-fZl49xm9sMzg_6OQkEDcljmsNPgO0qTagQ9qjKAMZ-GI-gtQmnbJxc8WHYGydwUKlv53Wnbo3FanzRmZlI_wsXTLzohWlB2Pr8/s640/Inferno.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bunch of winged demons poking at a pit (of humans?) in Francesco Bertolini's 1911 film <i>L'Inferno</i> </td></tr>
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Fantasia often programs some unique events, and a screening of Francesco Bertolini's 1911 film based on Dante's<i> Inferno</i>, with a live performance by Goblin composer Maurizio Gaurini doing the score?! Wow!! Italian prog rock group Goblin, famous for composing for Argento classics such as <i>Suspiria</i> and <i>Deep Red</i>, are really what makes those two films utterly terrifying, so to have Guarini accompanying one of the earliest silent horror films is truly a catch. Cannot be missed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglPSahNLp9SlJ1rwQ676lLTpf_RGt1Gix7WyJCrmaPwEgz6_vjTLpHxJdDpQxrLCDypyO47h1ibW4QLuE5L2y3iSuDsvMuAmt63mdkgBVl8XfkLoOXSrrJ9YR2ZYx1XhQjdGnXa0eXqU/s1600/Blood+and+Black+Lace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglPSahNLp9SlJ1rwQ676lLTpf_RGt1Gix7WyJCrmaPwEgz6_vjTLpHxJdDpQxrLCDypyO47h1ibW4QLuE5L2y3iSuDsvMuAmt63mdkgBVl8XfkLoOXSrrJ9YR2ZYx1XhQjdGnXa0eXqU/s640/Blood+and+Black+Lace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stylish murders in a Fashion House never looked so beautiful as in Mario Bava's <i>Blood and Black Lace</i></td></tr>
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Speaking of genius works of Italian horror cinema, Fantasia is screening the 4K remastered version of Mario Bava's landmark giallo <i>Blood and Black Lace</i> (1964) at this year's festival. Last year's screening of Dario Argento's 4K remaster of <i>Suspiria</i> was one of the cinematic high points of my lifetime. I couldn't even write about it, because...there are no words. So to see one of my favorite giallos restored is a real gift, and the <a href="https://vimeo.com/275557861" target="_blank">trailer</a> is so damn cool. Bava's use of <i>mise-en-scene</i> is entrancing, and the score is Italian jazzy goodness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsngGqJq5_PGVUAopRKN8Jk_PVaG6LL9016lLZj_dqcbftRPqV2aNEa4muaStCFh9zsrzqpGUpl99wgJ-yh4NlM3repQ_VK2b11qP-UoJuQE4Yg0l8K5IQ8bUL_CaDeJubmD5rLdE9-k4/s1600/I+Have+A+Date+w+Spring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1123" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsngGqJq5_PGVUAopRKN8Jk_PVaG6LL9016lLZj_dqcbftRPqV2aNEa4muaStCFh9zsrzqpGUpl99wgJ-yh4NlM3repQ_VK2b11qP-UoJuQE4Yg0l8K5IQ8bUL_CaDeJubmD5rLdE9-k4/s640/I+Have+A+Date+w+Spring.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the day before the Apocalypse, four people get a surprise birthday gift in <span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">Seung-bin Baek's latest film</span> </span></td></tr>
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While the poster for Seung-bin Baek's <i>I Have a Date with Spring</i> suggests just the right touch of creepy, the film's title (translated) implies a slightly upbeat approach to Doomsday. A screenwriter is visited by four beings, and this narrative provides the link to the stories of three characters whose birthdays happen to fall the day before the end of the world. Screen Anarchy's <a href="http://screenanarchy.com/2018/03/rotterdam-2018-review-i-have-a-date-with-spring.html" target="_blank">review</a> of the film implies that the film's narrative is a little "lightweight," but the visuals are suitably gorgeous. Sounds good to me, but I am a lover of the visual over narrative heft any day--My three favorite films are <i>Last Year at Marienbad</i>, <i>Suspiria</i>, and <i>The Double Life of Veronique</i>, respectively. I also hail from a country that is so unceasingly ugly right now, that the end of the world seems right around the corner, and by our own doing. Living somewhere devoid of compassion, empathy, and respect for other people, I could use a dose of beauty with my Armageddon. The director's statement, “The world is doomed anyway, so let’s all go nicely. And if possible, let’s go beautifully,” seems all too appropriate these days--even when it seems impossible to feel <i>more outrage</i> then one can possibly feel. Check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HOjOzoR1Jw" target="_blank">trailer</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbT1y33v1nNX5hvvO_QHUpLuMA1HbuIHwSLEw9sbkCCGnLuG0Uz1Jq0VLCzPdYtbbaF5OXBGZyIbkB4rkCh5N4ItMo7M_tzliq8Z1PK4ffQzLD2PtegkGguZfGy0zZBYhDjIw5gc8WXw/s1600/Blue+My+Mind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbT1y33v1nNX5hvvO_QHUpLuMA1HbuIHwSLEw9sbkCCGnLuG0Uz1Jq0VLCzPdYtbbaF5OXBGZyIbkB4rkCh5N4ItMo7M_tzliq8Z1PK4ffQzLD2PtegkGguZfGy0zZBYhDjIw5gc8WXw/s640/Blue+My+Mind.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa Bruhlmann's debut feature <i>Blue My Mind</i> (2017) is a perfect companion piece to Julia Ducournau's <i>Raw</i> (2016)<br />
<i></i></td></tr>
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As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am a champion of women directors, especially in the horror film genre. So Lisa Bruhlmann's coming-of-age tale <i>Blue My Mind</i> (2017) hits my sweet spot, and will appeal to lovers of <i>Raw</i> (2016), or <i>The Lure</i> (2015). I don't want to give anything away, but once you watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBijdXcd5hk" target="_blank">trailer</a>, you'll see what I mean. This type of film is exactly why I treasure Fantasia--I (sadly) would not likely see this film anywhere else. If it gets released quickly, I can show the film in my Women Directors class this fall. I'm still waiting for <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/07/fantasia-2017-animals-greg-zginski.html" target="_blank"><i>Animals</i></a> to be available for home viewing, so I'm not holding my breath.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-j7xuvmeWPf7bZFDnVQatckfWBzB4dSMz8qQdMmkP4uLqXxsgri1ZpW0Qd4J8y4QS12yUZSEbOnUVEZi33xqiUpL21sg1bH1a7MriQO6yAkgMpAzr0qBoqGBaHun3GyAfrsApbH7VQw/s1600/Anna+and+the+Apocalypse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-j7xuvmeWPf7bZFDnVQatckfWBzB4dSMz8qQdMmkP4uLqXxsgri1ZpW0Qd4J8y4QS12yUZSEbOnUVEZi33xqiUpL21sg1bH1a7MriQO6yAkgMpAzr0qBoqGBaHun3GyAfrsApbH7VQw/s640/Anna+and+the+Apocalypse.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) </i>is the Zombie Christmas Musical Horror Comedy I never knew I wanted<br />
<i></i></td></tr>
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I'm not a fan of musicals. People spontaneously bursting into song seems stupid to me (that's why <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-lure-agnieszka-smoczynska-2015.html" target="_blank"><i>The Lure</i></a> is so exceptional). I'm also not a fan of horror comedies, except for <i>Housebound </i>(2014) and maybe <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/07/fantasia-2017-game-of-death-sebastien.html" target="_blank"><i>Game of Death</i></a> (2017). Some moments in <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2015/07/tales-of-halloween-anthology-film-put.html" target="_blank"><i>Tales of Halloween</i></a> (2015) were kind of funny. Horror films set during Christmas tend to leave me cold, too. Yeah, I sound like a killjoy, but horror comedies rarely mix horror <i>and </i>comedy in the right proportions for me. So why in the world am I interested in John McPhail's <i>Anna and the Apocalypse</i>, a zombie Christmas musical horror comedy?? Well, watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEvHHUMx3Qs" target="_blank">trailer</a>, and then tell me you don't want to see it a wee bit. As Rob Hunter from <i>Film School Rejects</i> suggests, “If you’re not smiling during this one, you’re probably an a**hole." Exactly.<br />
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<i></i>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_4HrLgnjCXXYH6EChfUWKFOncER_BBZYWS4GfIsLRdTsegayEMgvgo71cTsdFKpk3ONk3Qy5Xs5-S8MpUh05_cGTQCaf9n5Ih_D-U0AULV2JnXnvhT16SCiEKd2Fzl8Sn6Ftk8SdRG4/s1600/La+Quinceanera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1572" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_4HrLgnjCXXYH6EChfUWKFOncER_BBZYWS4GfIsLRdTsegayEMgvgo71cTsdFKpk3ONk3Qy5Xs5-S8MpUh05_cGTQCaf9n5Ih_D-U0AULV2JnXnvhT16SCiEKd2Fzl8Sn6Ftk8SdRG4/s640/La+Quinceanera.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gigi Saul Guerrero's 7 episode web series, <i>La Quinceanera </i>(2017), is screening at Fantasia this year</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">s</td></tr>
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A girl's Quinceanera is an important moment, celebrated as a milestone on the journey to womanhood. Therefore, when a drug cartel shows up at Alejandra's party, things are bound to get bloody. Gigi Saul Guerrero has been nourished by the Frontieres industry section of Fantasia, so it's great to see the product of so much of her hard work. I'm excited to get a taste of her burgeoning talents! Check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmrl4WryYAw" target="_blank">trailer</a>.<br />
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<i></i>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4_8BHTDBFNn9s94bWooOXMDCWgK_M2Vwdm10nnC8IABF-cy7tHsPFVwYTJk0i53HpMvQ4Ki45StZRkY-dkxJv4l4Ma_ifZcJXhMnMlCUnKFkOZBYI2fdo5ucvcsC3L3UG9i8DRsgbP8/s1600/A+Rough+Draft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4_8BHTDBFNn9s94bWooOXMDCWgK_M2Vwdm10nnC8IABF-cy7tHsPFVwYTJk0i53HpMvQ4Ki45StZRkY-dkxJv4l4Ma_ifZcJXhMnMlCUnKFkOZBYI2fdo5ucvcsC3L3UG9i8DRsgbP8/s640/A+Rough+Draft.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Rough Draft/Chernovik</i> has Kirill becoming the gatekeeper for a multidimensional portal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaSB1GCJLqI" target="_blank">trailer</a> for <span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">Sergey Mokritskiy's 2018 film <i>A Rough Draft</i> looks like the perfect combination of silly and cool. Killer Russian nesting dolls. Awesome. As the Fantasia staff explains, "</span></span><span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">every frame is an eyeful – witness the magnificent succession of
alternate-Muscovite panoramas. Step through the door these two talented
storytellers have opened up – but beware the flying matryoshka-doll
combat drones!" Cool.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5XFLCYr9eohEC8Ol9AMO7p3jFkxmcIOli_kg0z-N367cOLKM-87yXBxYRmvJjSKEniT5Sf4dBtcT0R9yxFNV0OH6s3pAWkrebZBde5TjJRcS7_psHylVMq3g3GMhrwTYMbCsgNdyyM0/s1600/Terrified.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="860" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5XFLCYr9eohEC8Ol9AMO7p3jFkxmcIOli_kg0z-N367cOLKM-87yXBxYRmvJjSKEniT5Sf4dBtcT0R9yxFNV0OH6s3pAWkrebZBde5TjJRcS7_psHylVMq3g3GMhrwTYMbCsgNdyyM0/s640/Terrified.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gripping Argentinian paranormal horror in Demian Rugna's <i>Terrified </i>(2017)</td></tr>
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<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">One of the first people I met when I started coming to Fantasia was film critic Andrew Mack, who writes for Screen Anarchy (formerly Twitch) and regularly writes reviews on the Morbido Film Festival. He's funny and wicked smart, and I trust his taste. He highly <a href="http://screenanarchy.com/2017/10/morbido-2017-review-aterrados-terrified-a-terrifyingly-fun-paranormal-shocker.html" target="_blank">recommends</a> Demian Rugna's <i>Terrified</i>, claiming that it scared him, twice. The <a href="https://vimeo.com/276970314" target="_blank">trailer</a> also suggests that paranormal investigations are not just a young person's game, and like <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/08/fantasia-2017-spoor-agnieska-holland.html" target="_blank"><i>Spoor</i></a>, takes advantage of some slightly older talent (as I continue to get older myself, I appreciate such things). My last foray into Argentinian horror was <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-house-at-end-of-time-alejandro.html" target="_blank"><i>The House at the End of Time</i></a> (2013), which was terrific, so I'm ready to be "<i>Terrified</i>."</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYECYPCBGrvNb6ebKq4BdkDPYZLESondQRDWTpdh35AKOThbWaRgPwqwPnGMgFlCisuS95R5bLJncMPfLh4rt_OFAIYd9VB9EzKqhnCIhvwo-chYoB2-46XYX5wSK4aWMcqBSWiquy1A/s1600/Piercing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1000" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYECYPCBGrvNb6ebKq4BdkDPYZLESondQRDWTpdh35AKOThbWaRgPwqwPnGMgFlCisuS95R5bLJncMPfLh4rt_OFAIYd9VB9EzKqhnCIhvwo-chYoB2-46XYX5wSK4aWMcqBSWiquy1A/s640/Piercing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicolas Pesce steps into SM horror fantasy in his 2018 film <i>Piercing</i></td></tr>
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<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">In 2016, I was simply stunned by Nicolas Pesce's dread-filled masterpiece,<a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-eyes-of-my-mother-nicolas-pesce-2016.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank"><i>Eyes of My Mother</i></a> (which I saw at Fantasia, of course). Filmed in black and white, it was full of sick, twisted, and some rather sad surprises, and heralded a unique filmmaking vision. Two years later, Pesce is back with <i>Piercing</i>, where family man Reed (Christopher Abbott) tells his wife and "cute little girl" that he's leaving on business, but instead hires a prostitute, Jackie (Mia Wasikowska), whom he plans to murder in his hotel room. Typically, things do not go according to plan, and as the Fantasia staff describe it, "</span></span><span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">Pesce makes a stylistic 180 with <b>PIERCING</b>, adding a streak of
bizarre humour from the opening scene, shooting in vivid colour on
hyper-designed sets, using miniatures and visual effects to create a
sense of heightened reality, and drenching it all with a soundtrack of
music selections that Euro-horror fans will find very familiar." Sounds like much of the movie takes place in Reed's hotel room, and I like Mia Wasikowska in everything (even those lame <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> films), so I'm looking forward to Pesce's sophomore film. Fun fact: he's remaking a version of <i>The Grudge</i>!</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGRRF4hM0_ViCnK0Mvz7ZutAqi22YmLqDLoIV5nCGTIT5hgwAYEy9lz8qzJLt6HggXiLKpVMtu9FQXKJvEVHl4pwhIjab5sRo2ozSTStAb2b8nD0iVZzlcu17PtObR7tNOe_RtuRc5uw/s1600/Tigers-Are-Not-Afraid-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGRRF4hM0_ViCnK0Mvz7ZutAqi22YmLqDLoIV5nCGTIT5hgwAYEy9lz8qzJLt6HggXiLKpVMtu9FQXKJvEVHl4pwhIjab5sRo2ozSTStAb2b8nD0iVZzlcu17PtObR7tNOe_RtuRc5uw/s640/Tigers-Are-Not-Afraid-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another brilliant female director takes on adolescence and drug cartels in Issa Lopez's <i>Tigers Are Not Afraid</i> (2017)</td></tr>
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<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">The trailer for Issa Lopez's <i>Tigers Are Not Afraid </i>(2017) is quite magical--it's no wonder that Guillermo del Toro wants to make a film with her. This film seems to be a dark fairy tale on par with <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i>. Of course, Fantasia's Mitch Davis says it best: "</span></span><span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">In crime-ravaged cities where dozens vanish by the day, <b>TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID</b>
uses fantastical devices to explore what happens to the many children
whose parents suddenly disappear. You will be shaken to tears. Winner of
23 awards (and counting!) on the international festival circuit, <b>TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID </b>ranks among the great genre works of our time." Yeah!! And look at these badass kids!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKOxpc2uBuY7aVmRRKSohpzmfRFUdPnsOcfqBbOWWKOkQGdYDDau9PE0xSSOoTHDjTq6kB_GWSimpujVdEvfGij739xYUqiau9lDSP_QvQ2tuvih3E3mHhm4Cb8nVVQGnYEioud7svRk/s1600/Tigers+Are+Not+Afraid+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKOxpc2uBuY7aVmRRKSohpzmfRFUdPnsOcfqBbOWWKOkQGdYDDau9PE0xSSOoTHDjTq6kB_GWSimpujVdEvfGij739xYUqiau9lDSP_QvQ2tuvih3E3mHhm4Cb8nVVQGnYEioud7svRk/s640/Tigers+Are+Not+Afraid+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't underestimate the kid holding the water bottle--he looks innocent, but...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">So, here's the dilemma. Closing night at the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival, August 1st, my last night in Canada, and I have to choose between two incredibly attractive films. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpc11fIeQ9kjXo29EvT6w22XIj6KQH8ExX8j-3hOuYw9AVJcpneVYwDpepnagIz3k3jZaxdGxCfUNZy3HFL1KM_3_GLWTlpcXGo0ZD79bJ1LyqMIgcuox68EupIOeY782Z9bOKi6hHtY/s1600/Mandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1200" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpc11fIeQ9kjXo29EvT6w22XIj6KQH8ExX8j-3hOuYw9AVJcpneVYwDpepnagIz3k3jZaxdGxCfUNZy3HFL1KM_3_GLWTlpcXGo0ZD79bJ1LyqMIgcuox68EupIOeY782Z9bOKi6hHtY/s640/Mandy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out crazy-ing the craziest Nicolas Cage films is Panos Cosmatos's <i>Mandy</i></td></tr>
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<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">The film I lean toward is Panos Cosmatos's <i>Mandy </i>(2018), a psychedelic fever dream cum religious cult blood orgy revenge thriller that, after watching its stunning <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI054ow6KJk" target="_blank">trailer</a> with a really eerie score, looks like nothing I ever have, or will ever, see. Yet, it's coming out in mid-September in the U.S. That doesn't mean I'll actually <i>see it then</i>, but I have a chance of seeing it, albeit not on a gigantic screen surrounding by pumped Canadians cheering Cage's every gory moment on full volume. I know, sounds good, right? He's hunting "crazy evil" with a hand-forged blade from hell! A chainsaw duel! Yeah!!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDLWT56K1xGUfD_vAfUCDUaLydXHuOT3vRZx42W-Ae5EQ8TDLPAxj52fftpiN29Bm4zVzkuk7gj4JigX6XUWUcLXRo974sNYPxFn-_Qmftxg540n5cNspYMd6krAdWFB7njBfcyq6BNE/s1600/What+Keeps+You+Alive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1181" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDLWT56K1xGUfD_vAfUCDUaLydXHuOT3vRZx42W-Ae5EQ8TDLPAxj52fftpiN29Bm4zVzkuk7gj4JigX6XUWUcLXRo974sNYPxFn-_Qmftxg540n5cNspYMd6krAdWFB7njBfcyq6BNE/s640/What+Keeps+You+Alive.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) seems to be reveling in blood spatter in Colin Minihan's <i>What Keeps You Alive</i> (2018)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">Then there's Colin Minihan's 2018 queer betrayal horror film <i>What Keeps You Alive</i>, which screened at SXSW. Every <a href="http://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3487197/sxsw-review-what-keeps-alive/" target="_blank">review</a>/<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/15/17122496/what-keeps-you-alive-horror-colin-minihan-sxsw-2018" target="_blank">teaser</a>, including <a href="https://fantasiafestival.com/en/films/what-keeps-you-alive" target="_blank">Fantasia's</a>, raves about the film, but then refuses to divulge the plot in order to not ruin the film with unnecessary spoilers. Everyone insists that I should be kept in the dark before seeing it, and the <a href="https://vimeo.com/276157347" target="_blank">trailer</a> is suitably ambiguous. This film also may offer up more political and thoughtful representations than Cage avenging his WOMAN in <i>Mandy</i>, even though I've seen some pretty disappointing "queer monster" films (I'm looking at you, <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2017/07/fantasia-2017-replace-norbert-keil.html" target="_blank"><i>Replace</i></a>).</span></span><br />
<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><br /></span></span>
<span itemprop="director" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">What is a film critic to do with these choices, and why, why are they playing at times that overlap each other (alas, I'm leaving on August 2nd, when <i>What Keeps You Alive</i> plays again)? Boo. I'm still sitting on the fence, but this years Fantasia has much about which to be excited. </span></span>Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-56029944202431343122018-06-30T22:26:00.003-04:002018-06-30T22:26:58.102-04:00Fantasia 2018--Second Wave of Title Announcements<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2V3ZQs0JHpJiHrFYxhqiAe4C2vGJDuHRpPDCoQ3jSvH1R6TVvrq7WQcgC4w1ELSEV0fSyXMsaf5o_k5McaqbRflYQTJjUp60d7FewN_WC5M02ZeJeoKvMNFO8IIu39bsPkyziSHz4MM/s1600/Fantasia+2018+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2V3ZQs0JHpJiHrFYxhqiAe4C2vGJDuHRpPDCoQ3jSvH1R6TVvrq7WQcgC4w1ELSEV0fSyXMsaf5o_k5McaqbRflYQTJjUp60d7FewN_WC5M02ZeJeoKvMNFO8IIu39bsPkyziSHz4MM/s640/Fantasia+2018+poster.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Festival is just a few weeks away!</td></tr>
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As the 2018 Fantasia Film Festival draws that much closer, my anticipation is ratcheting up exponentially. The tough part will be what to see and when, because one needs to eat, sleep, and be discriminating regarding what to see--and it's not possible to see everything on offer (sadly). Here are some more titles about which to be excited!!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsM2aVy-jzjEFUOxVGfUkcDIVFIAHSwn2LjRIB8R6naWmJ_1XSgD98_G6QrqtzfvB0kfwQnxoRhROHE3QZX9qjMuZWe3Tts9qBiIdyq_LdinOgambs9mODpaqYFYBxLDL3Yld7eTvmls/s1600/Tales-From-the-Hood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsM2aVy-jzjEFUOxVGfUkcDIVFIAHSwn2LjRIB8R6naWmJ_1XSgD98_G6QrqtzfvB0kfwQnxoRhROHE3QZX9qjMuZWe3Tts9qBiIdyq_LdinOgambs9mODpaqYFYBxLDL3Yld7eTvmls/s640/Tales-From-the-Hood.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original <i>Tales from the Hood</i> was groundbreaking, but that was 23 years ago!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You might have heard of a recent horror film that brought race front and center--Jordan Peele's <i>Get Out</i> (2017). Yet, Rusty Cundieff's <i>Tales from the Hood</i> (1995) broke that ground years ago--twenty-three to be exact. He's finally premiering his latest Spike Lee produced joint, <i>Tales from the Hood 2</i>, at this year's Fantasia. The time gap between the two films is a clear indicator of the dearth of horror films directed by, and focusing on, people of color. I'm pretty sure this screening will be an EVENT.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf0y0hyphenhyphenmnnVJ7TgVOsW419cBssQprJxO5fE50phv2sjd2qBYI42eZu7A-SEn4b9syWUUUHYfvWRTVwVf6ZahhcqLR5vEKPbYANGRsQbfi_IC8wLGovD2XUj6bOGTe6E3T-mIBANrujSc/s1600/Dans+Le+Brume+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf0y0hyphenhyphenmnnVJ7TgVOsW419cBssQprJxO5fE50phv2sjd2qBYI42eZu7A-SEn4b9syWUUUHYfvWRTVwVf6ZahhcqLR5vEKPbYANGRsQbfi_IC8wLGovD2XUj6bOGTe6E3T-mIBANrujSc/s640/Dans+Le+Brume+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A toxic fog blankets Paris in <i>Just A Breath Away/Dans Le Brume</i> (2018)</td></tr>
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Opening night at Fantasia is going to be fierce, with the world premiere of Daniel Roby's France/Canada co-production <i>Just A Breath Away/Dans Le Brume</i> about a family in Paris trying to survive a toxic fog apocalypse. So many great images from this film--here's another one.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyE-fKSr_cvC2shcwP3q4ZPIdlj-sDV-lJRpCoYiJwcvg3P1lytf0MO9NWCN3bBXizAqAzonoTadvMRwZiGUwYdFfY-oinUuJtBWzMf5pa19ckOymof9epBzcPSikYPdektOGlj8dLLI/s1600/Dans+Le+Brume.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyE-fKSr_cvC2shcwP3q4ZPIdlj-sDV-lJRpCoYiJwcvg3P1lytf0MO9NWCN3bBXizAqAzonoTadvMRwZiGUwYdFfY-oinUuJtBWzMf5pa19ckOymof9epBzcPSikYPdektOGlj8dLLI/s640/Dans+Le+Brume.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down from Parisian rooftops in <i>Dans Le Brume</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqefhGt7XdQU5WgdYAYT_A5uacwsolgnft5GHlZWmENEvx6yDGVQAuMXsS9ALEVLtZpsKzWFWrambbBzW0ypFKEeygs-u0RlH1zCmYAYG6HHD5hFtbxIc1FWqn_khLm4spRorWhm3GWo/s1600/the-man-who-killed-hitler-and-then-the-bigfoot-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1087" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqefhGt7XdQU5WgdYAYT_A5uacwsolgnft5GHlZWmENEvx6yDGVQAuMXsS9ALEVLtZpsKzWFWrambbBzW0ypFKEeygs-u0RlH1zCmYAYG6HHD5hFtbxIc1FWqn_khLm4spRorWhm3GWo/s640/the-man-who-killed-hitler-and-then-the-bigfoot-poster.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The title alone is a draw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sam Elliot tends to steal any film or television show that he is in, and he has just the right amount of charm combined with gravitas to headline a film with this ludicrous, and brilliant, title--<i>The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot</i> (as if there's just one Bigfoot??). This feature film debut
writer/director Robert D. Krzykowski seems plenty strange, AND it features visual effects by
celebrated two-time Academy Award Winner Douglas Trumbull (2001: A SPACE
ODYSSEY, BLADE RUNNER), who also co-produced alongside John
Sayles and Lucky McKee. The names behind this film makes Krzykowski's debut impossible to resist, and its world premiering at Fantasia!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPt_UWe_RL0WfKhIaTMrdYCSCAfCjnNEnluK58_oD9rZ5igz9LH8c13bVXV_MYoXriCau6Az8mT4OlIVm8Ln37kna5_N5DUUT3msspAV_K56Fnwxyo-7nSU9JgZYf9YS7-Uy5QT4XMMLc/s1600/Among+the+Living.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPt_UWe_RL0WfKhIaTMrdYCSCAfCjnNEnluK58_oD9rZ5igz9LH8c13bVXV_MYoXriCau6Az8mT4OlIVm8Ln37kna5_N5DUUT3msspAV_K56Fnwxyo-7nSU9JgZYf9YS7-Uy5QT4XMMLc/s640/Among+the+Living.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A morgue attendant talks to cadavers in Brazilian Writer/Director Dennison Ramlho's <i>Among the Living</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When Fantasia staff send out a press release that tells press and fans to "Brace Yourself," I usually just immediately want to see that film. Dennison Ramlho's <i>Among the Living</i> has that cachet, and it's described as " a film brimming with grotesque imagination and otherworldly magick in
which a morgue attendant working the night shift in a very large, very
violent city possesses an occult ability to communicate with cadavers.
He commits the sin of acting on information obtained from the dead and
horrifically curses himself and those that he loves." Another world premiere for Fantasia, this Brazilian film has so little info on it, I'm delighted that I'll be one of the first to see it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx-0nPx-mJuz4e7d4AgDXZRCR81Jt1TP4NQyZOB2-xX7cHCTZRyy9lpcT5R3nqFzR1HCtjEHB1kFljjs4OjEYu1Q6q8-0B3JGtMbQ90lHfAYhyphenhyphenGK6dhss5W5Zws9DjE5vEcdwnHUKjEk/s1600/Hurt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx-0nPx-mJuz4e7d4AgDXZRCR81Jt1TP4NQyZOB2-xX7cHCTZRyy9lpcT5R3nqFzR1HCtjEHB1kFljjs4OjEYu1Q6q8-0B3JGtMbQ90lHfAYhyphenhyphenGK6dhss5W5Zws9DjE5vEcdwnHUKjEk/s640/Hurt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sonny Mallhi's newest film, <i>Hurt</i>, will premiere at Fantasia this year</td></tr>
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I was really impressed by Sonny Mallhi's film <a href="https://femmereel.blogspot.com/2015/07/anguish-sonny-mallhi-2015.html" target="_blank"><i>Anguish</i></a> (still available on Netflix) when I saw it at Fantasia several years ago, so I'm delighted that Mallhi will be premiering his latest film, <i>Hurt</i>, this year. His second film, <i>Family Blood</i>, is also available on Netflix, and with this strong track record, hooking up with Blumhouse productions looks like a lucrative move. The Fantasia press release is quite vague about the film's plot, but suggests that it alludes to mask wearing fiends from horror films of the past. Wouldn't it be awesome if this masked killer is a woman??<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeWAGVM-oUo3ejU2F4-NKudvlHSk9z_qPn1GKXF_m_ZS0BA656kUgGSr0W2E8S1t4xTIpTGpWUtaXmFUMmlm-uRiKUV58ozl2hQu1lJeNYwXUMwcoMmds2qSfMDEujCARsAbXCIEjAtM/s1600/The+Vanished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeWAGVM-oUo3ejU2F4-NKudvlHSk9z_qPn1GKXF_m_ZS0BA656kUgGSr0W2E8S1t4xTIpTGpWUtaXmFUMmlm-uRiKUV58ozl2hQu1lJeNYwXUMwcoMmds2qSfMDEujCARsAbXCIEjAtM/s640/The+Vanished.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this <i>The Vanished</i> focus on ghosts, murder, or a slick combination of the two?</td></tr>
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Turns out that Chang-hee Lee's Korean thriller <i>The Vanished</i> is a remake of a Spanish thriller from 2012 titled <i>The Body</i> (Oriol Paulo, 2012) and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyE5LnY3dT0" target="_blank">trailer</a> for that film looks pretty cool. Sure, Spanish and Korean filmmaking are worlds apart (literally), but when Fantasia describes a film as "modern suspense in gothic drag, full of old school brio, dolly zooms, a ticking clock, entitled murderers, and vengeful ghosts," I'm excited to see it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQOkhJmKW9Z79whODs4fRBNBOtkcoME51fk-2v6IMtL1jwv50Nw37pgNFZowmV3XsPdwQIOkYBLO-TfFp60Elu0PQwB0W0yDkfjBtuQzjnfxW1hnrB2mqAzmtRavjBtd4k5JPM0OZBeE/s1600/Chained+for+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1296" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQOkhJmKW9Z79whODs4fRBNBOtkcoME51fk-2v6IMtL1jwv50Nw37pgNFZowmV3XsPdwQIOkYBLO-TfFp60Elu0PQwB0W0yDkfjBtuQzjnfxW1hnrB2mqAzmtRavjBtd4k5JPM0OZBeE/s640/Chained+for+Life.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaron Schimberg's <i>Chained for Life</i> supposedly looks at disabilities and difference with a critical eye</td></tr>
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After premiering at BAM's Cinefest, Aaron Schimberg's <i>Chained for Life</i> received some rave <span id="goog_361739066"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">reviews<span id="goog_361739067"></span></a>, and I am drawn to a film that critically explores representations of disability with humor and sensitivity. Also, Jess Wexler rocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAfRHn2jBPl6o_C7U2nhBJuQERNo07p9vLtBAe92TW47P5VkVPlS84I_cvNIzPCPw7zMveO3gEb8gYh0lRYxGuOp2kNZ5n823S5JhOEpnIbGsxA3hsWAwmGfSVl6DFLMaCSWSMDrOoT4/s1600/Aragne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1552" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAfRHn2jBPl6o_C7U2nhBJuQERNo07p9vLtBAe92TW47P5VkVPlS84I_cvNIzPCPw7zMveO3gEb8gYh0lRYxGuOp2kNZ5n823S5JhOEpnIbGsxA3hsWAwmGfSVl6DFLMaCSWSMDrOoT4/s640/Aragne.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stemming from a successful Kickstarter campaign comes Saku Sakamoto’s <i>Aragne: Sign of Vermillion</i></td></tr>
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I am very uninformed about horror anime, but I understand that Saku Sakamoto's artistry is well established, and the trailer<a href="https://vimeo.com/275813524" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/275813524</a> for <i>Aragne: Sign of Vermillion</i> looks gorgeous and unsettling.<br />
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Fantasia has just posted their schedule for the festival, which means that now the tough decisions need to be made. Stay tuned for more coverage of Fantasia 2018!!Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5156779208786672163.post-47944620133972401982018-06-26T22:58:00.001-04:002018-06-26T22:58:44.759-04:00The Perfume of the Lady in Black--Francesco Barilli (1974)<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCW8qdq34BpdHqW3RyjDSTRtEzXAVwFIMnQMfj-9TB2XV3E0JitzaGfmFPyL91T0CuIssmKt35x31immOQVBxRie1n5FrJuOpd8eTqKGYd_EQliO9iInZ0ouCA779QUKjBNmxSqvH0BoE/s1600/Perfume+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCW8qdq34BpdHqW3RyjDSTRtEzXAVwFIMnQMfj-9TB2XV3E0JitzaGfmFPyL91T0CuIssmKt35x31immOQVBxRie1n5FrJuOpd8eTqKGYd_EQliO9iInZ0ouCA779QUKjBNmxSqvH0BoE/s640/Perfume+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A haunted Sylvia (Mimsy Farber) graces the elegant and very weird <i>The Perfume of the Lady in Black</i> (1974)</td></tr>
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Italian giallos are some of my favorite types of horror films, especially if they are centered on a female protagonist lurking around an incredibly stylish set. They've often been accused of being more style than substance, and frequently seen as an incoherent mess of red herrings, but there's something so intangibly cool about these (mostly) 1970's thrillers, that none of those complaints make any difference to me--especially in regards to the gorgeous, and undeniably wacky, <i>The Perfume of the Lady in Black</i> (1974). Even though director Francesco Barilli wrote <i>Who Saw Her Die </i>(1972) and later directed <i>Hotel Fear</i> (1977), he's not really that known for his giallo offerings. I wish he would have had a chance to dabble in the subgenre some more, because this 1974 film is completely, and utterly, unique.<br />
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<i>Perfume</i> introduces us to Sylvia Hacherman (Mimsy Farber), a career woman working at a perfume factory, with a smooth boyfriend, Roberto (Maurizio Bonuglia), and an elegant neighbor, Francesca (Donna Jordan). She lives in an apartment complex with some very nosy neighbors, such as hippo-obsessed Signor Rosetti (Mario Scaccia), and a mysterious black cat named Chopin. Sylvia <i>seems</i> successful and assured, albeit a little quiet, but this facade hides a roiling mind, troubled by her absent father and a trauma connected to her dead mother. In typical giallo style, the film provides clues to Sylvia's puzzling past, but also throws in enough ominous little moments to make viewers suspicious of everyone--especially Andy (Jho Jenkins), a black man who talks about occult practices and ritual sacrifice at dinner parties. While playing tennis with Andy, she cuts her hand on a nail that happens to be jutting out of her racket, and Andy seductively sucks on the wound in a truly unsettling manner. He and Roberto are pals, but they seem to exchange frequent odd gazes when Sylvia's back is turned. I give some credit to Roberto in a love scene which is exclusively about her pleasure--nice. Yet, for the most part, you can't trust this guy. He's shifty and far too smooth. Unsurprisingly, the narrative hinges on whether Sylvia is mentally disturbed, or whether her friends and neighbors are deliberately trying to drive her there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt-q3ywevjwE0-luGcf5TobOAWw983YdNMmHA3z3PDuCa2d0tfK0jgSXMytv-M9eq27LVZOcYMOYrqkLMplkiOwY5OA_8mvhzBXrbYsKz8grK7-ZHMsGZ4ebkHNoiHGVp49BCQnT9J2o/s1600/Perfume+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1500" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt-q3ywevjwE0-luGcf5TobOAWw983YdNMmHA3z3PDuCa2d0tfK0jgSXMytv-M9eq27LVZOcYMOYrqkLMplkiOwY5OA_8mvhzBXrbYsKz8grK7-ZHMsGZ4ebkHNoiHGVp49BCQnT9J2o/s640/Perfume+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sylvia is haunted by visions of her mother, handling perfume while wearing black</td></tr>
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In many ways, Sylvia is a classic haunted heroine, jumping at shadows and seeing people only she can see. As the film unfolds, she becomes increasingly unstable: she flashes back to her mother having sex with someone other than her father, and sees Mom in all sorts of places. In one version of events, Sylvia stabs her mother's lover, indicating an early penchant for violence. She repeatedly visits her mother's grave, until she violently smashes her mother's image on her gravestone with a hammer. In another scene, she's using scissors to cut all the men out of her mother's photographs. She becomes enamored with a vase she sees in a store, but when she goes to purchase it, it's no longer there. Shortly thereafter, it shows up as a gift at her door, as if someone is watching her, or can see inside her mind. She starts to see a younger, child version of herself hanging around her apartment, until the girl declares "I've come to live with you." Little Sylvia gives "the bad seed" a run for her money. Things escalate, and soon Sylvia's getting really handsy with a cleaver, and setting up her own macabre tea party after <i>obviously</i> reading <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv_CXpfGdk76loSW5h8s6-5l8MwszcQHdbf8zqz0qeXkm2B-rr0Z-TdXUytT2bIwD96lg48fxUpPBS2Li2-G7uDXDxT_h3YNGe6238HrlsbMLPMQT20wbo-yvtGGEu8D6aCHwktZN4eM/s1600/Perfume+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv_CXpfGdk76loSW5h8s6-5l8MwszcQHdbf8zqz0qeXkm2B-rr0Z-TdXUytT2bIwD96lg48fxUpPBS2Li2-G7uDXDxT_h3YNGe6238HrlsbMLPMQT20wbo-yvtGGEu8D6aCHwktZN4eM/s640/Perfume+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grown Sylvia and Little Sylvia bound together over a mysterious shared trauma</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1652010138"></span><span id="goog_1652010139"></span>Still, there's more going on in this film than Sylvia merely losing her mind because she's haunted by a trauma from her past, and viewers are given glimpses in order to suggest some gaslighting is underway. Sylvia is blown off by Roberto for one evening, but as she hangs up, the camera cuts to Roberto climbing into his car with both Andy and Francesca by his side (Andy's supposed to be on a date with Francesca that evening too). Soon, the gang are joining a whole bunch of other people, dressed in black trenchcoats, and hanging around an ominous warehouse space. The next day, the neighbors are whispering over the tragic death of Francesca, who somehow fell to her death the previous night. How??? After the memorial service/cremation, the camera cuts to Signor Rosetti, painting some hippos (yes, I'm not kidding) and feeding his cats some bloody looking meat. A close-up reveals there's a finger in that mess! What??? They even have a seance with a blind psychic, because...creepy. The film isn't remotely as entertaining if you insist on these random things making any sense.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_WDNX_EOG11edWY3YnVvkMLmHweyIrKu3hw1zGOPdX4e8PV9tj_8ncU8A4OZNcxHZ8I1XLHLOrBzi5s9yVCHMzi0of0zPKGpiZJtBR8ee2ieW3541WHhYPSQUcmVKtFpMVnpLR-2w1w/s1600/Perfume+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1500" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_WDNX_EOG11edWY3YnVvkMLmHweyIrKu3hw1zGOPdX4e8PV9tj_8ncU8A4OZNcxHZ8I1XLHLOrBzi5s9yVCHMzi0of0zPKGpiZJtBR8ee2ieW3541WHhYPSQUcmVKtFpMVnpLR-2w1w/s640/Perfume+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A blind psychic creeps out Sylvia in a random seance they happen to have</td></tr>
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Often a film's ending is what really solidifies the narrative's drive, or may give the audience a false impression, only to perform a killer twist in the end. For instance, in Wes Craven's <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> (1984), we ostensibly believe that Nancy has successfully banished Freddy just by virtue of turning her back on him, even after a rather violent climactic battle. Yet, that film's <i>actual </i>ending turns everything upside down in a "what just happened??" way. <i>The Perfume of the Lady in Black</i> performs a similar feint. By film's end, we're pretty convinced that Sylvia has lost her mind, and turned to violence once again. But then...the gory ending makes you feel like you're watching some <i>other</i> film, even though most of the cast of characters left standing are from earlier moments--at her apartment building, at the perfume plant, and even from the local antique store. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflfTk2Clz0I5jG0Aupylj0cMm1yuc2amqju4AqZNcnCdJzTFnMUIPlfjyAgGjlvPRNkhmPIFCZ074YYSJ4rqSiA4ovsHuDvv2BmJ3PuC0VfBKGVRBMg_ByGOFdJ_f_9MXVxFCWdCwjWo/s1600/Perfume+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflfTk2Clz0I5jG0Aupylj0cMm1yuc2amqju4AqZNcnCdJzTFnMUIPlfjyAgGjlvPRNkhmPIFCZ074YYSJ4rqSiA4ovsHuDvv2BmJ3PuC0VfBKGVRBMg_ByGOFdJ_f_9MXVxFCWdCwjWo/s640/Perfume+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francesca's pad just gives you a sense of the outre style and visual flair of the film</td></tr>
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I'm very deliberately NOT giving away the ending of the film, so I recommend checking the film out--it's available on Amazon Prime for as little as a couple of bucks, and well worth your time. The film is bold, visually rich, and gloriously demented.<br />
Dark Irishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16938646066800019728noreply@blogger.com