A diplomat’s grand-daughter tags along on a trip from the US to her native Russia to see where she comes from. As she goes on the run, a group of criminals claims her kidnapping. A joint USA/Russia task force must find her before it becomes an international political incident.
Author Archives: Emilie Black
Interview with “Extremity” star Dana Christina
Dana Christina is a relative newcomer to the scene and the genre, but horror fans are already familiar with her thanks to Wynonna Earp. Extremity is sure to make her very familiar face and one horror fans will love more and more.
Extremity (2018)
A traumatized young woman signs up to be a visitor/victim at an extreme haunt to overcome her fears, her anxieties, and her past.
Written by David Bond and Scott Swan and directed by Anthony DiBlasi, Extremity takes a look into extreme haunts, how some operate, why some people may be interested in running them and in going to them. The phenomenon was explored in the documentary Haunters: The Art of the Scare and here it’s dramatized to bring a compelling story that can easily fall into horror on multiple levels. The writing and directing for Extremity are well-done and the interest in the explored themes seems genuine and not solely done for shock effect. The film does have a few mostly shocking moments but it is much more about the characters and their motivations than about attempting Hostel-like levels of torture porn which works for some movies but would have felt wrong here. Extremity is not about the body count but about fear and trauma on a more psychological level.
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018)
Vivienne Westwood is not only a Dame by title, she is by action. This documentary shows her involvement in fashion, culture, and activism. It shows how she came up, how she made a name for herself, and how much she cares about all aspects of her life and image.
Luciferina (2018) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2018]
A trainee nun, Natalia, goes home after an accident kills her mother and leaves her father dying. Once home, she discovers family secrets and goes on a self-discovery trip with friends. There she learns even more and puts her own soul at stake.
Writer/director Gonzalo Calzada takes the concepts of good versus bad, god versus evil, Catholic versus pagan, family, legacy, and destiny and plays with them in a dark realm tinged by demonic forces and curiosity. The story here is done in a way that works for its characters, letting them get exposed and built before throwing in the evil/demonic elements. Most of everything here works and goes towards creating a cohesive story and world. Some of the timeline and exposure may feel a bit off as it foes, but it all makes sense by the end. Calzada has a story here that he knows how to tell and he gets it out here on the screen in a way the viewer can easily watch, connect with, and be entertained by.
Mara (2018)
As criminal psychologist Kate helps with a murder investigation that the police seems to consider an open and shut case, she discovers that other forces may be at play, putting herself in harm’s way as she investigates.
Based on a story by Jonathan Frank and Clive Tonge, Mara is written by Jonathan Frank and directed by Clive Tonge. Together they create a story that feels familiar with a few fresh elements added to it all interesting. The story does make fairly good use of the unknown factor, but it doesn’t build on the tension and suspense enough, rendering a potentially scary story only entertaining. The titular character is interesting and is given a fully fleshed out background as the film advances but something feels like it’s missing which will lead some to feel like what is missing is a sense of the unknown, leaving the film with very little dread or fear from this unknown or Mara. The story may be scary to casual horror fans, but will most likely not be all that scary to genre fans who have seen a lot of this story’s type.
The Toybox (2018)
A family with issues goes on a roadtrip in the patriarch’s newly obtained RV. As they soon realize, the desert and each other are not the only things they need to worry about in this RV from hell.