With our commitment to reviewing and viewing indie films, we devote most of the year to exploring all kinds of independent gems. Though we’ve seen a ton of wonderful films from many talented directors and storytellers in 2013, we narrowed our list down to five independent films that really stuck with us and kept us re-living them in our minds. It was a tough decision since we’re sent so many films and have a tough time deciding, but in the end we decided these were five choice indies you should seek out immediately.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Don’t Go to the Reunion (2013)
Steve Goltz is quickly becoming one of my favorite indie directors working today. One of the creators of Slasher Studios, he and his group know slasher movies and when they deliver their own original slashers, they have a ball with classic tropes of the sub-genre that feel new. After their pleasing revenge slasher “Teddy,” Goltz delivers one of the more unique and engrossing entries of the sub-genre I’ve seen in years. While it’s true Goltz and writer Kevin Sommerfield provide their nods and winks to classic eighties slasher films, “Don’t Go to the Reunion” works to the beat of its own drum, delivering kills aplenty, and a very interesting whodunit mystery.
Super Task Force One (2013)
If you take in to mind that director Steve Rudzinski’s indie “Super Task Force One” garners a very low budget, you can really appreciate the intent behind the film. ” Super Task Force One” is a fun and hilarious adventure in the spirit of “Power Rangers” and “Green Lantern” that satirizes many of the tropes involving the hero’s journey story mold, and “Power Rangers” tropes and clichés alike. As a fan of “Power Rangers” I could definitely understand all of the humor that Rudzinski was aiming for, and most times it’s worthy of a laugh or two.
The Ref (1994)
It’s only fitting that a comedian so devoted to working against the norm would star in a Christmas film that’s very much against the idea of the holiday. “The Ref” is very much a hilarious and laugh a minute dramedy about familial dysfunction and the idea of Christmas being much more of an obligation than a time to celebrate the loved ones and family.
Will Vinton’s A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)
I have very fond memories of watching Will Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas” on CBS back when it premiered in the late eighties. At the time Vinton’s “California Raisins” mascots were still prominent in America, and I fondly recall my cousins owning some of the toys from the brand. Though the characters themselves were lukewarm mascots, I still loved Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas.”
A Christmas Story (1983)
Though many consider “A Christmas Story” an ode to good old fashioned consumerism, director Bob Clark’s family film is much more about down to Earth themes. Who among us hasn’t wanted that great toy for Christmas that was out of our grasps? Every single person on Earth can empathize with the tale of Ralphie, a bespectacled young boy who wants the ultimate Christmas present. What makes “A Christmas Story” such a universal holiday film is that Ralphie is not a kid that expects his gift. He does everything it takes to earn his Red Ryder BB Gun, short of stealing it.
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
It’s really tough to find anyone these days capable of turning a novelty song in to a great film. Not that there’s a need for it, mind you. But still, back in the days Rankin Bass took some great Christmas music and turned them in to classic movies that are still watched today. The last movie we had was “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” And somehow a beloved matriarch being trampled to death by an animal doesn’t inspire the jollies in me.