Jorge kidnaps Isabel and keeps her in his basement hoping that some conditioning and Stendhal Syndrome will make her his. Through torture and punishment, he tries to break her. The brutal story brought to the screen here is written by Marco Tarditi Ortega and directed by Diego Cohen. Together they create a kidnapping story where the victim is brutalized, violated, and tortured in many varied ways. The film brings an imaginative array of ways to make someone suffer and bleed. The way it is shot is relentless, keeping the camera directly on what is happening to victim Isabel at the hands of her captor Jorge who is a medical doctor, giving him better knowledge on how to make her suffer without killing her.
Tag Archives: Foreign
Best Fake Friends (2016)
After moving to the Portland area for her husband’s work, Joy finds herself looking for new friends in the local mom crowd. Having found her way to a big party, she meets a few of the “cool” moms who will first support her and then test her limits. Written by Sarah Hehman and Christi Sperry and directed by Paul Kampf build an adult version of the teenage-clique film which works. The characters they build feel like grown-up versions of people most of us encountered in high school: the good girls that are slightly bookworm-y, the rich girls from silver-spoon backgrounds, the cool and dangerous girls, etc.
Sendero (Path) (2015) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]
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.
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.
White Coffin (2016) [FrightFest 2016]
Virginia and her daughter Rebeca have left behind husband and father respectively. When Rebeca is kidnapped, Virginia must play a disturbing and violent game to get her back. She must see how far she is ready to go to save her daughter. Written by Adrian Garcia Bogliano and Ramiro Garcia Bogliano, the film is directed by Daniel de la Vega. Together, they create more of a thriller with horror elements than a flat out horror film.
Beauties of the Night (2016) [Toronto International Film Festival 2016]
This film documents the rise to stardom, fall, and aging of some of Mexico’s most famous showgirls. These women did it all, they sang, danced, acted, modeled, etc. They were revered by armies of fans and had it all. Lyn May, Olga Breeskin, Princesa Yamal, Rossy Mendoza, and Wanda Seux discuss their rise to fame, their lives, and their dreams.