The Home Invasion Shorts block for the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is a mixed bag this year with some gems and some missteps. In either case, there’s some genuine talent and interesting ideas on display for festival goers.
Night of The Hunted (2023)
Director Franck Khalfoun is not above delivering horror fans disturbing movies centered in one setting with films like “P2” in his repertoire. With “Night of the Hunted,” Khalfoun remakes the 2015 film “La Noche Del Ratón” and transforms it in to a survival thriller that’s three parts “Phone Booth” and one part “Inside.” The film is mostly a chamber piece centered on a large gas station where our central protagonist Alice is being held hostage. “Night of the Hunted” depends a lot on the performance by Camille Rowe and she carries what is a solid survival thriller, all things considered.
Barbie (2023) [4K UHD/Digital]
Whodathunk that the most successful film of the year would be “Barbie”? Despite the somewhat lingering doubt about the IP’s relevance among the modern youth, Greta Gerwig managed to tap in to a rare element where she took a toy and turned it in to an actual film. Greta Gerwig doesn’t just deliver a comedy musical about a doll and her boyfriend, but a conscious, self aware and often meaningful statement about sexual dynamics, and existentialism. Barbie begins to question her purpose in even her own world, and this sets off the chain of events that follow.
The Toxic Avenger Collection Tox Set (1984-2000): 8-Disc Collector’s Edition Box Set [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
After some really good individual Blu-Ray releases of his four part Toxie epic, Lloyd Kaufman and Troma usher in their classic series on the 4K UHD format. This should serve as no surprise as Lloyd Kaufman and Troma were the first to jump on to the DVD format, and use it as a basis of entering the new generation of movie lovers. This new box set described as “TA on 4K” includes all four “Toxie” adventure movies but on 4K and Blu-Ray, as well as a massive library of special features and vintage extras.
Nightmare Fuel Shorts Block [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023]
This year’s the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival kicks off at the Nitehawk theater, and they premiered one of their trio of short film blocks. “Nightmare Fuel” is one of their absolute best with eight memorable horror entries from all over the world.
Western Wednesdays: Silly Billies (1936)
SYNOPSIS:
The citizens of LittleTown are preparing to head off to California in search of gold, lead by Hank Bewley [Harry Woods]. Meanwhile, headed to LittleTown are Roy Banks [Bert Wheeler], assistant to dentist Dr. Philip “Painless” Pennington [Robert Woolsey] and school teacher Mary Blake [Dorothy Lee].
Once Pennington and crew arrive to LittleTown they meet up with crooked real estate magnate John Little [Richard Alexander] who promptly squeezes Pennington dry of five hundred dollars for one of the buildings in town. The trio engage in a drinking party to celebrate the success of the sale and Pennington and Banks proceed to get heavily plastered. At the same time, Blake is offered and accepts a proposition to teach on the trail west.
Unveiled (2023)
Director Ryan Graff’s horror short is about as microscopic a short you can get at only two minutes in length. That doesn’t lessen the impact it has on the viewer, though. Graff touches down on our core fears of being alone and perhaps noticing something out on the corner of our eye that simply doesn’t belong there.