The Toxic Avenger (1984) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

The character that helped build Troma in to the company we know and love it as today, is still a wonderful and fun anti-hero who finds himself dropped in to fate’s door after a mean prank pulled on him one day. In Tromaville New Jersey, Melvin is a young janitor for a local health club dominated by a pair of muscle bound bullies. By day, the bullies roam around the club taunting Melvin and hanging around with their busty girlfriends, but by night they’re vicious hit and run murderers that take joy in killing children and helpless animals. After Melvin accidentally runs afoul one of the bullies, his girlfriend invites Melvin to a private rendezvous on the condition he wear a pink tutu.

After realizing he’s been the victim of a prank, Melvin crashes through a window and falls in to a drum of toxic ooze. Disfigured and transformed in to the muscle bound Toxic Avenger, he roams the streets of Tromaville murdering criminals and rapists, and laying down the law with his handy mop. Despite the very low budget, “The Toxic Avenger” works as a simultaneous superhero action tale and monster movie. A lot like “Robocop,” Troma’s superhero gets the job done in the most violent manner possible.

Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman are never above being as splatterific as possible, showing off a ton of gruesome moments including Toxie taking off a thug’s nose, and tearing another’s arm clean off. Of course a lot of the movie doesn’t reserve the grue for the bad guys, eliciting genuine cringe inducing moment when Melvin is turned in to the Toxic Avenger. Even for an indie film in 1984, the sight of Melvin’s skin pulsing and bulging from the toxic waste is grotesque and you hate to see such a goofy protagonist be reduced to this monster. Toxie is kept in the dark for most of his introduction, as he begins feeling his way around his strengths and weaknesses, and realizing his mutation allows him a chance to fight evil.

He begins to take on the bigger nemesis when he realizes the local police force is run by a corrupt chief and his sergeant whose attitude is very Nazi like. Herz and Kaufman give Toxie some time to even fall in love with a beautiful blond girl, and do battle with the villains from the gym. “The Toxic Avenger” is still a fun and off the wall action horror movie with its own twist on the superhero sub-genre. Leave it to Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz to take typical superhero tropes and twist in to something wonderfully gruesome and absurd.

Geist (2016)

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

From Giant Animation Studios comes “Geist,” a magnificent and eerie animated film that explores the fall out from a tragic event and how one man comes to terms with it. Brought to life with amazing computer animation and marvelous visuals, “Geist” centers on a lone sailor who, after a ship wreck, finds himself lost in a vicious storm. When he finally finds a small cottage on a hill he seeks refuge for the night, hoping to regain his senses and warm up.

But all is not what it seems within the cottage, as someone or something else lurks in the dark crevices of the house, prompting the sailor to go looking for his watcher before it’s too late. Before long, he begins remembering his ill fated ship wreck and what brought him to the island initially. Directors Alex Sherwood, Ben Harper, and Sean Mullen create a vivid and very eerie short film that doesn’t rely on jump scares or shocks. It’s instead very reliant on the mood and blankets of darkness to keep the mystery of the unknown the most terrifying aspect of “Geist.”

The trio of directors relies on the unseen and unknown until the very end where our true view of what’s unfolded is a tragic glimpse at the concepts of fate, and destiny. I can’t say enough about the wonderful animation pulled off by Giant Animation Studios who build a very vivid world and dreamlike landscapes surrounding our character that may or may not be natural at all. Whoever says animation is only for kids and families really has never seen what indie filmmakers can do with bold ideas and complex themes about loss and death.

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Film buffs will be elated to see “Creature Designers,” a very technical cogs and gears documentary that spotlights the grueling process of creating creatures for movies. Directors Gilles Penso, and Alexandre Poncet mold a love letter to the classic master creature creators, as well as a very down to business film that shows the technology behind some of the most iconic creatures and monsters of all time. It’s a thrill to see how the directors have such a reverence for these artists, as we get to visit with a ton of unique artists and concept designers that are enthusiastic about their work. Since the beginning of film, special effects and creature have found a wonderful marriage with filmmaking.

That’s thanks in part to Lon Chaney who was able to use his make up kit to build some amazing monsters out of his face and own features. From there it’s been a rising tide of artists and creators that have added to the cinematic experienced and helped advance storytelling as a whole. Both filmmakers visit with iconic masterminds like Rick Baker, Joe Dante, and Guillermo Del Toro, all of whom explore their love for special effects, and convey the process of building creatures for some of their films. What becomes apparent within “Creature Designers” is that the advancement of special effects would lead in to less and less necessity for suits and machines, and more need for computer technology.

This darker period is chronicled in “Creature Designers” where we’re able to view a more vulnerable side of these individuals, all of whom had to adapt to the shift in technology or risk losing their livelihoods. Thankfully, the documentary doesn’t depict the introduction of CGI and motion capture as the bane of the special effects industry. Directors Gilles Penso, and Alexandre Poncet explore some of the amazing advancements made in computer technology, from motion capture, facial recognition, and how they’ve used this kind of programming to bring to life amazing characters like Golum from “Lord of the Rings” and the T-1000 from “Terminator 2.” No stone is left unturned, as every interview is informative, exciting, and filled with amazing anecdotes.

For folks that are seeking a career in the special effects industry, or for films buffs very invested in the special effects element of filmmaking, “Creature Designers” is a wonderful documentary that brings us up close and personal from the fan viewpoint and a technical viewpoint.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

IN LIMITED RE-RELEASE July 24th and 27th — It’s pretty exciting that two of the most important pieces of cinema ever released, “Night of the Living Dead” and “Planet of the Apes” would come in the same year and pack the same intellectual punch. Written by non other than Rod Serling, “Planet of Apes” is like an extended episode of “The Twilight Zone” filled with terror, and social commentary. And much like the aforementioned George Romero horror film, “Planet of the Apes” garners an absolutely shocking ending that is still one of the best delivered finishers in film history. Though the title says it all, “Planet of the Apes” is still a rather unique genre experience, mainly for its willingness to avoid showing the apes until a good portion of the movie has passed.

Charlton Heston gives an iconic turn as Colonel George Taylor, an astronaut who crash lands on a distant planet after a space expedition and learns the hard way that apes are rulers of this world. Primitive and yet completely organized in class systems that are identified through the species of apes, much like the human race, Taylor is stuck in a world he’s completely unfamiliar with, and can barely muster the strength to rebel, as the sights startle him. Pierre Boulle’s source material is drastically different from the film adaptation, but none of the impact is lost, nor is the commentary on the way we relegate our animals to the lower echelons of our society.

There’s the irony of our primitive counterparts becoming rulers of a jungle land while humans are servants, pets, and test subjects for medical experiments. Meanwhile the various ape species garner their own system of classes and aristocracies, mulling over the structures of their own society. The gorillas are police officers, military, hunters and workers, and the orangutans are administrators, politicians, lawyers and priests, while and chimpanzees are intellectuals and scientists. As Taylor watches his friends die, he inevitably begins to fight back, and, much to the shock of the apes, speaks back defiantly. This sparks an immediate rebellion, and prompts the ape society to completely re-think the way they operate.

“Planet of the Apes” features a world and society that’s different from ours and yet perfectly similar, even alluding that the apes are still in their early stages of evolution as a species. Franklin J. Schaffner’s production from the Serling script is masterful, with a massive cast of brilliant performers offering great performances. Heston’s turn is immortal, all the while folks like Kim Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Maurice Evans, respectfully transcend their ape visages to convey very unique and complex characters all around. “Planet of the Apes” is a pitch perfect science fiction film, that still conveys sharp social commentary and will win over the hearts of science fiction purists old and new.

Buy Tickets now at Fathom Events.

Fanarchy (2015)

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Fans get a really bad rap these days and for good reason. The fan community was once derided and ostracized and is now doing the deriding and ostracizing toward anyone that tries to integrate themselves in to a fandom. That said, being a fan or a part of a fan community isn’t always bad, and “Fanarchy” is merely an ode to the fans. Most of all it’s a tribute to how much influence the fan community has had on pop culture at large and how they can use their love for characters and properties to help fuel their lives and inspire hope and strength. No one has been harder on fans than I have this year, but Donna Davies offers up a look at how fans can also do great things and inspire one another to reach for creativity and aspirations.

Davies spans the globe looking at various fans and fan communities that have achieved some remarkable feats. Some of them have become massive pop culture phenomenon, while Davies also sets the light on more personal and touching stories. Some of the more interesting stories involve the career of beloved geek goddess Brea Grant, who is most recognized for her work in shows like “Heroes” and has spent a lot of her acting career producing the kind of work she wants to. There’s also the inspiring story of one of the first fan films ever made for “Raiders of the Lost Ark” which drew the attention of Steven Spielberg. It also became such a fan favorite at festivals that it garnered its own book and is currently being developed in to a movie.

The most inspiring story though is the tale of Maya Glick whose rabid fandom for X-Men character Storm helped her push through some really tough times in her life and helped her grow as a person and find a form of personal victory. It’s also interesting to see how Ms. Glick has absolutely no love for Storm’s depiction in the “X-Men” movies which prompted her to make her own fan film, with a strong and fierce version of her favorite character. In the end “Fanarchy,” is a very breezy and entertaining ode to being fan boy or fan girl. Sure, the fan community has been very dark and volatile over the last few years, Donna Davies does a bang up job of showing how fandom can entertain, benefit pop culture, and benefit the fans personally.

Howard the Duck (1986)

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Long before Marvel Cinematic Universes and James Gunn, there was the bastard child of the Marvel Universe “Howard the Duck.” Adapted from the comics during the decade of “ET” and other assorted attempts at cuddly cinematic creatures, “Howard the Duck” takes a dive at some of the good old “ET” buck, while also presenting itself as the anti-“ET” of a sort. “Howard the Duck” is a childhood favorite of mine; it’s one I watched over and over whenever it aired in all of its edited form on network television. There was just something about “Howard the Duck” that I loved. Whether it was the surreal nature, the actual talking duck from another planet, or Lea Thompson being devilishly sexy once again in a fantasy film, I loved “Howard the Duck.”

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Day of the People (2016)

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

It feels like there’s a little bit more gong on in “Day of the People” than a simple experimental short film. Based on the research I’ve done, director Philip Stainsby seems to have aimed for a short film reminiscent of “Night of the Comet,” but the visual cues seem to hint at something else entirely. “Day of the People” opens with a young man waking up at the very end of humanity and then begins traversing through the city and making his way through something of a business district where the sky is painted a dark shade of Red.

With only the discovery of a soda can, he walks through the streets looking for something, and finds it when he comes across a man walking around in a dark suit. Ultimately I interpreted “Day of the People” as something of a subtle commentary on the downfalls of a perfect Utopia and how some people are so committed to building a new world, they’re not likely to notice when something beyond their control is set to end their plans. Based on the small hints Stainsby adds, the people built this world and they also contributed to destroying it, thus making it a pretty open target for something else. Who knows?

Maybe I’m merely over thinking an experimental film, but Philip Stainsby’s short packs in a lot of nuance and complexity in only ten minutes time. The photography and direction are superb, with Stainsby committing to the dream like atmosphere and paints a grim look at what is the perfectly functioning society where all life isn’t quite present or even emotionally attached, for that matter. I gather “Day of the People” will leave many an audience debating about its meaning when it hits the festival circuit. Philip Stainsby’s short science fiction film is a remarkable short with unique and bold use of color and landscape. I hope to see more from him in the future.