That’s Final (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]

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Two women argue as to which of them will be the final girl when a masked killer is after them in their home.

Written by Christine Gatlin and David Raines and directed by John Freeman, this short takes the slasher genre and spins it on its head. The killer here is completely ridiculous but that’s the point, in part, as it’s not about the killer but about the three, then two, women running from him and how they discuss the situation and try to figure out which of them is to become the final girl. The discussion is witty and funny with a sense of humor that will appeal to fans of films like Scream and horror in general. The film’s short format really works to its advantage here as the “joke” is just long enough without overstaying its welcome. The film itself is thus quite entertaining, funny, and just a bit bloody.

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Yesterday is Tomorrow (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]

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A mourning woman must confront her past and her dreams as they begin blurring and causing her much pain.

Written and directed by James C. Shahanshah, this short takes on issues of grieving, regret, sadness, depression, and other mental issues. It tackles them fairly upfront and manages to make a film that is touching and emotional while also not over-doing any of it. The subtlety of the film and how it proceeds with the emotions at hand works great for this type of situation and message. The film does not skirt any part of the issues at hand, but it also does not go for too bluntly which is something that takes a mastering of storytelling and directing clearly shown here from James C. Shahanshah. He gives his leading lady the spotlight and doesn’t force the gaze upon her but more like lets it rest upon her emotions. The film layers the lead’s emotions to create something that becomes heavier and heavier as the runtime moves forward.

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Assumption (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]

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A man wakes up trapped in a cargo elevator, as time goes by, his spends his time speaking with the disembodied voice from the security room and begins to lose his mind.

Written and directed by Anthony Leone, Assumption is a one location film that does make the most of its location and that trapped feeling that happens when one is stuck in an elevator for an extended period of time.  The film explores themes of guilt and purgatory in direct and indirect ways while also showing the true colors of its only onscreen character.  However, this could have been done in less time as here the film feels overly long and repetitive after a while.  The ideas and the story are good, but the way it’s executed feels like something is either missing or it could have been trimmed by a lot.

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Nocturnally Yours (2017) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2017]

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After his untimely death on the night of his engagement, a man haunts his love until he finds a way to visit her in the “flesh”.

Nocturnally Yours is the sixth title on writer/director David Ferino’s IMDB resume.  Here he creates a darkly funny story of love that transcends death, of a man who is not ready to move on and a woman who is not ready to let go finding a way to reconnect that turns absolutely hilarious.  The story is wrong on quite a few levels, yet is so entertaining.  The film takes this crazy idea, runs with it, and succeeds in making something that should make people with a dark or twisted sense of humor laugh out loud.  The story is well told, the humor is on point, and the way it’s all delivered makes for a fun few minutes.

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Shot (2017)

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A couple on the verge of divorce goes to lunch, on their way out, a random bullet hits the husband and wounds him badly. As he attempts to survive and re-adapt, the teen who shot him by accident tries the same.

Written by Anneke Campbell and Will Lamborn from a story by director Jeremy Kagan, Shot is a story that shows the danger of having guns on the streets and aims to encourage discussion about gun access and gun violence. The film here shows how an accidental gunshot can drastically change 3 lives in just a split second. This is done by telling both the story of the victim and his wife and the story of the teen who shot the gun. The film tackles both at the same in time in two different styles, part of the film showing their stories at the same time, with a split screen, and part of the film going back and forth between the two stories. This creates an interesting dynamic and causes a bit of an emotional overload at times which helps the film here as it shows the chaos caused by the situation.

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The Bootleg Files: The Compleat Beatles

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BOOTLEG FILES 606: “The Complete Beatles” (1982 documentary).

LAST SEEN: It can be found via online video sites.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS and LaserDisc.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The cute Beatle kiboshed it.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Yeah, yeah, yeah…not!

In the aftermath of the December 1980 murder of John Lennon, there was a huge outpouring of nostalgia for all things Beatles. Record sales of the classic albums spiked, and a wave of news coverage recalled the legendary band’s impact on music and popular culture.

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