Ana and her friends head on the road for a weekend in the countryside. After breaking down and getting help from a delivery driver who warns them to not stay in the area, they keep going and come across a bloody, hurt, and scared woman on the side of the road. As Ana insists on helping the woman, things go very, very wrong. Writer/director Lucio A. Rojas creates a horror story that starts off more than a little reminiscent of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then as the group of friends are taken to a big country house, it turns into something more reminiscent of “Frontière(s)” with a crazy with crazy family, humans turning into prey if they do not meet a certain series of criteria with many suffering gruesome injuries and deaths.
Carl Haber and the Rome International Film School
Carl Haber is a prominent independent filmmaker whose latest project is the launch of the Rome International Film School (RIFS). In this exclusive interview, Mr. Haber details the inspiration for creating the school and his plans on educating the next generation of filmmakers.
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven” is such a pitch perfect example of how to accomplish a remake. And Sturges has his work cut out for him as “The Magnificent Seven” is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai.” Kurosawa’s film was already considered a classic by 1960, and was a juggernaut of foreign cinema that influenced filmmakers and studios worldwide. Even today its influence over cinema is immense. So it’s no small feat that “The Magnificent Seven” is just as good as the original and can stand side by side with it as another version of the tale that is as compelling and action packed. In fact Kurosawa loved it so much he allegedly sent Sturges a ceremonial sword as a bid a token of approval for his version.
Foreign Body (Corps Etranger) (2016) [Toronto International Film Festival 2016]
A group of people risks their lives crossing to France in a small, unsafe boat, escaping the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. A few of them survive, including Samia who tries to adapt to the life of an illegal in France as best she can. She comes across some people from back home and a woman willing to help as she discovers the joys and fears of her new life. Writer/director Raja Amari writes and directs a masterful film about a young woman adapting to her new environment. She shows the plight of many illegal (and legal) immigrants who are escaping violence and bad situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Alena (2015) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]
After a traumatic event, Alena is forced to change school and ends up under the watch of a therapist at an all-girl private school. Here she attempts to make friends, love, and move on with her life as her past clings to her. As she tries to live her life and be happy, ghosts of her past haunt her. The film is based on a graphic novel by Kim W. Andersson and is adapted for the screen by Kerstin Gezelius, Alexander Onofri, and Daniel di Grado with di Grado directing. The characters are strong, well developed people, mainly female given the all-girl school setting, and varied.
It All Goes Away (2016)
We are in dire need of tales about Superman that are more thoughtful and awe inspiring. Superman can inspire hope and heroism and act as an avatar for humanity, and “It All Goes Away” proves it. Director Zachariah Smith adapts the short Superman story “Sam’s Tale.” Penned by comic book writer Jeph Loeb, the story was written him as a form of grieving for his son Sam who, very sadly, died of bone cancer in 2005, just as he was beginning to break out in the comic book world. Originally titled “Sam’s Story,” Loeb takes a very contemplative look at Clark Kent living in a world where death is an inevitability.
Tales of Halloween (2015) [Blu-Ray/2-DVD/CD]
Just in time for Halloween 2016 comes one of the best horror indie anthologies of the last six years. “Tales of Halloween” is a sick, demented, and fun ode to the thrill of Halloween and its mythology and brings together up and comers and veterans of the horror film world to spin their own twisted yarns concerning the holiday many horror buffs hold so dearly to them. Epic Pictures grants fans a wonderful box set edition that holds all sorts of goodies for them. The best prize of all is “Tales of Halloween,” a movie that pays tribute to everything fun and horrifying about the holiday with ten short tales starring folks like Lin Shaye, and Adrienne Barbeau who unofficially reprises her role of Stevie Wayne as the film’s Halloween DJ who narrates every story. The neat touch to the movie is that every story unfolds within the vicinity of a normal suburban neighborhood on Halloween night.