Tag Archives: experimental

Emilie Black Wraps Up Blood in the Snow 2016

Posted on by

bits2016Blood in the Snow, also known as BITS, ran from November 25th to the 27th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and showcased as it usually does a wide array of horror and genre related feature films, short films, and documentary.  This year’s crop of films has something from everyone including a documentary on the resurgence of posters as collectibles, a postpartum-tinged thriller, a short about a cannibal runner, etc.

The films were of high quality and most were great fun to watch.  In case you missed any of Cinema Crazed’s coverage, here it is in one nifty spot.

Continue reading →

The Shorts of Blood in the Snow 2016 – Part Three

Posted on by

ingrid-and-the-black-holeIngrid & the Black Hole (Canada) (2016)
A boy and a girl see what they think is a black hole one night and ponder on time travel.  Written and directed by Leah Johnston, this short is sweet without being saccharine and it has a touching way of going through these two kids’ lives and showing how a small thing can affect someone for a very long time.  The cinematography by Christopher Ball looks great and shows the night sky in a beautiful manner as well as the interpersonal relationships of the characters through the years.

Continue reading →

Deer Flower (2016)

Posted on by

deerflowerWhen you consider the cultural context behind “Deer Flower,” director Kangmin Kim’s short animated film is an interesting if horrific look at remedies from the East. Told through what essentially looks like origami, “Deer Flower” is a stark and pretty unusual tale about a family seeking a cure for their son’s ailment. Traveling a long distance and paying a lot of money, they take their son behind a farm, where a reindeer is held down by a machine and has its antler cut.

Continue reading →

Other Shorts From Horrible Imaginings [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

other-shorts-1L’Ours Noir (The Black Bear) (France) (2015)
Written and directed by Méryl Fortunat-Rossi and Xavier Seron, L’Ours Noir is a film based on a safety pamphlet about black bears in the north of Quebec.  A group of hikers go in a forest to explore the land, when they meet a black bear for which they were supposed to learn the rules before going.  The film they build is absolutely hilarious and gory, sporting a talented cast with a great sense of timing.  The cast is composed mainly of Francois Neycken, Jean-Jacques Rausin, Terence Rion, Catherine Salée, and Jean-Benoit Ugeux who all give great performances in the crazy circumstances they are thrown in.  The film also boasts fantastic special effects that fit just right with it.  The bear used might be cuddly looking but his attacks are vicious, funny, and bloody.  This short is possibly the funniest horror-comedy this reviewer has seen this year and in a long while.  It’s absolutely fantastic and must be watched if you get the chance.

Continue reading →

ABC’s of Death 2.5 (2016)

Posted on by

mformagnetic“ABC’s of Death 2” left a lot to be desired, and seemed to really leave a lot of the more interesting segments on the wayside. The folks at Drafthouse Films have been kind enough to spotlight 26 runner ups, all of whom tackled the letter “M.” These shorts were not only popular with audiences and judges but get the chance to appeal to the same audience that the winners did, and it’s a great opportunity to see what we missed out on. I think the sequel really left out some excellent shorts, many of which deserve to see light on another anthology somewhere down the road. As with “ABC’s of Death,” the segments are very hit or miss, but this semi-sequel is a much more solid collection of shorts than the official sequel was.

Continue reading →

Videodrome (1983)

Posted on by

videodromeDavid Cronenberg’s cinematic commentary on the power of media and how the media eventually controls you in ways you’re never quite cognizant of still rings true today. Even though “Videodrome” was more aimed toward the idea of television and our fascination with violence and human misery, Cronenberg’s thriller is still incredibly volatile in an age where humanity does nothing but stare at glowing screens zipping through a ton of data that eventually begin to depict how we live our lives. James Woods plays Max Renn, the owner of a porn television station who also has a penchant for sadism during sex. When he’s introduced to a television frequency called “Videodrome,” he begins to form a fascination with the footage of people being tortured, victimized, and raped.

Continue reading →