Red Christmas (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Emilie Black

A mother wants to have the best Christmas ever with her family. During the traditional day, tensions come to a boiling point when a stranger shows up at their door and wants to kill them all. This sets the mother on a warpath to protect her brood.

This Australian horror film is written and directed by Craig Anderson who starts by building a family with lots of issues and strife between its members. Most of their issues are the same as a lot of families while others are more unique. This family cares for each other against these odds and when all hell breaks loose, their bonds are tested. The writing here develops this family well and then brings some original kills to the table but the characters are not the most likable so it’s hard to root for them. This is all well directed for most of the film so the few issues seen here and there are not entirely awful, but the film lacks a bit in fun. Sadly, the killer’s motivation feels a bit preachy at times, making his condition a bit of a case of one too many things in the story. The way the killer is portrayed is unfortunately a bit grating and not really menacing.

The cast does ok with the material but it’s hard to tell if their characters were written that way or if they were directed to do this or if the way they act leads to this, but almost all the characters come off as unlikable and just disagreeable, selfish people. From the looks of things, it seems to be a combination of the three with other factors added to those. Knowing that Dee Wallace can play mother so well, her performance here is not as expected which may be due to putting too much hope on her. She is good, but some angles of her character are so dislikable, it’s hard to look over those. The rest of the cast being less familiar, they did not have as much expectations put on them, yes they still come off as dislikable to despicable as well.

As Red Christmas is a slasher, the kills and their effects are of high importance. The kills here are good with some original ones. However, the effects are decent at best with some pieces being not so good to just bad. The make-up and prosthetics on the killer look a bit like Toxie, with a low budget look and even somewhat of a family resemblance. Also an odd choice is how the kill set pieces are shot. In some cases, the lighting makes it hard to see what is going; on while in other cases, the shaky cam is nauseating, making the viewer look away and miss out on the scene.

This film has a lot of potential, but does not go for it. It has good ideas for kills with effect that are just not good enough to support those ideas. The characters are not people the viewers can get attached to. The killer is one of those that could have been good but his background and reason to kill make him hard to get into or behind. This reviewer wanted to love this as the last few years have given us so many good holiday themed horror movies, but even after giving Red Christmas as much slack as possible, it’s not a movie that can be considered good. A few good scenes here and there do not a great movie make.

Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.

L’Élan (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Emilie Black

In a small French village arrives an elk (élan in French) that walks on two legs, wears a trench coat, and communicates telepathically. Everyone he meets seems to accept him as if his presence is completely normal, except for a UFO fanatic who wants to meet and analyze him.

Director Etienne Labroue of Les Guignols de l’Info co-wrote L’Élan with Marc Bruckert and they created a marvelous fable here of a being on a quest to belong, finding a family ready to take him in and protect him. The story here is touching, funny, and sometimes sad. Bruckert and Labroue show a lot of talent in this sweet script that reminds the viewers of early Jean-Pierre Jeunet crossed with Quentin Dupieux. As this is Etienne Labroue’s first film, it shows a lot of promise and directorial talent.

The characters built by Labroue and Bruckert are a little cartoon-y but here it works given the story and the settings. The cast hired to bring those characters to life go for it with gusto and an impeccable sense of timing. The whole cast does this so well, it’s difficult to pick a stand-out. Aurelia Petit, Délia Espinat-Dief, Olivier Broche, Cyprien Dugas, et al deserve major kudos for fearlessly bringing their parts to life and not being afraid of looking a bit silly on screen. It all works in the end and brings a village of kooks to life for our entertainment. The narration is done in a way similar to Amélie but with a bit of a nuttier story which is told in a childhood story manner.

The way the film settings are and the way its shot ring out the ludique side of the story. Everyone and everything is brought together in a way that creates a fairytale-like atmosphere. The design of the élan himself is cartoonish with a touch of giant stuffed animal to the head’s look. His whole being is a bit disproportionate from itself, giving him a sweet disposition and style even though he could easily have been a bad guy. L’Élan is designed in a way to remind the viewers of childhood toys and TV shows, while his attitude and mannerism are quite child-like. He brings an outward innocence and allows the viewer to connect on a different level with the story through nostalgia and comfort.

L’Èlan is an entertaining comedy with a lot to offer. It takes a crazy, absurd idea and goes with it fully, giving the viewers a childhood fairytale but grown-ups. It’s almost innocent but not quite. It brings back a warm feeling while also reminding everyone of their need to belong.

Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.

Kaijyu Mono (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Emilie Black

In the only logical location for Kaijyu attacks, Japan, a Kaijyu wakes up and eats teenagers in a forest. A scientist and his assistants look into the event and get involved in the fight against the Kaijyu. The film is directed and co-written by Minoru Kawasaki who also worked on The Calamari Wrestler, a film with a very particular story line. With his co-writer on Kaijyu Mono, Takao Nakano, they create a delightfully bizarre tale that only makes sense when screening at Fantasia.

The story they build here is full of surprises and twists, not all of which make sense but they somehow fit in this film. It’s hard to explain, but it works, possibly because the whole premise is completely crazy. The characters they have created are not particularly original or deep and they feel like crazy caricatures which brought this viewer to the conclusion that it’s a wanted thing. They add so many odd selections to their film that it all has to be planned.

The cast for this is composed of Saki Akai, Bin Furuya, Shinzo Hotta, etc. They all are a bit cartoon-y and definitely do so on purpose as this is what the story lend itself to. That being said, the acting, within its confines and limitations, is quite good. It cannot be easy to keep a straight face when the elder actor on set shows up dressed as Sailor Moon for example.

The titular Kaijyu us fun, but not particularly original. It looks similar to many Kaijyus seen before, which is most likely a wanted thing as a throwback to old school Kaijyu films. This particular monster is clearly a man in a suit and it shows, adding charm to its appearances and to its fight sequences. In these sequences, the monster fights a giant man, made so by shots in the story and by using cool maquettes in the film techniques, bringing even more nostalgia to the proceedings. The fights themselves are more like wrestling than martial arts even though they do through some of that in there, they are very exaggerated, but quite entertaining.

Kaijyu Mono is a fairly simple film, keeping proceedings to a minimum of locations and characters. It’s fun and entertaining but doesn’t re-write the book on its genre or bring much new elements to the table. It’s silly, many elements are just there to be funny or look cool, but it works in a sense that it’s entertaining non-sense with a strong sense of nostalgia. Fans of old Kaijyu films should love Kaijyu Mono.

Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.

La Rage du Démon (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Emilie Black

At the Musée Grévin in Paris, in January 2012, film scholars and filmmakers were invited to a mystery screening by one of the world’s foremost film collector, Edgar A. Wallace. The film shown turns out to be La Rage du Démon, a late 1800s lost film that creates quite a ruckus every time it’s screened. The last screening in New York City ended in tragedy. The Paris screening does not go much better. This documentary explores both what happened at those screenings as well as the film and its history.

Writer/Director Fabian Delage explores the history of horror cinema, of what lead to the making of the short silent film often times attributed to George Mélies who never claimed it as his own. He builds his documentary on interviews with film scholars, filmmakers, researchers, and even a relative of Mélies’. He explores the films of Mélies and of Victor Sicarius, the other potential director of La Rage du Démon, he also explores their lives and what they brought to cinema. Some of the interviews here are with Dave Alexander, Philippe Rouyer, Alexandre Aja, Christophe Gans, and Pauline Mélies amongst many others.

These interviews are very informative creating an educational documentary all genre fans should see. La Rage du Démon may be the main subject here due to the mystery surrounding it, but the whole history of the horror genre pre Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is exposed and explored. Also touched upon is how such films came to be, their inspirations and how they were made. Footage from the late 1800s/early 1900s adds to the subjects discussed and brings visual interest to something that could have been a very dry subject given all the historical facts and anecdotes involved.

Fanian Delage clearly has an eye for good, fascinating documentary subjects as well as has a touch that makes the documentary entertaining and almost mystifying as he chose a subject here that will probably never be fully clarified. La Rage du Démon is relatively short at a run time of just one hour which is definitely a good choice as any longer could have become tedious and boring. The short run time forces things to be tight and well edited, leaving all extraneous footage on the cutting room floor. La Rage du Démon is a must see for both horror fans and film history buffs alike.

Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.

Shelley (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Emilie Black

In a remote house completely off the grid, Louise and her husband Kasper hire a Romanian maid to help with house chores and take care of their chickens. As the bond between Louise and Elena, the maid, grows, Louise asks her to carry a child for her as she cannot do so herself. After careful considerations, Elena accepts. Unfortunately, this is where the honeymoon phase ends and things take a turn for the odd and creepy.

The film is directed by Ali Abbasi who co-wrote with Maren Luise Kaehne. Together they created believable characters in an interesting setting as they live completely off the grid without any technology but make due with what they have. In this film, it’s a choice by the characters and not imposed in any way. The characters have different backgrounds and speak different languages, leading them to speak English to understand each other which is a nice way to get a European film shot in English for a good part of it. The differences in cultures also add nicely to the depth of the characters.

Unfortunately, these characters are given very little to do that is of interest. Even when Elena’s pregnancy takes a turn for the weird, it’s barely enough to keep the attention which is too bad as it could have been great had it been exploited better, a great take on pregnancy horror, a sub-genre we see very little of (Grace, A l’interieur, Rosemary’s Baby), that fell flat without enough happening or strong enough happenings.

The very small cast keeps the film feeling intimate and minimal with three strong lead performances. In the part of Louise, Ellen Dorrit Petersen brings a calm and quiet, yet strong presence. She handles things beautifully when it would have been so easy to go into overacting in a movie with this subject. Together with actress Cosmina Stratan as Elena, they build a visible friendship and bond and then, when things change, they show the strain between them without saying much. Supporting these two performances is Peter Christoffersen as Louise’s husband Kasper. He does well with the smaller part he is given. His emotions feel rawer, less controlled. The rest of the small cast is also talented and believable in their parts.

Shelley is another film with two cinematographers working in tandem where which scene is whose is indistinguishable. Nadim Carlsen and Sturla Brandth Grovlen do this while bringing serenity to the scenes, particularly the outdoors sequences. The film looks peaceful, even once the creep factor is turned up. Many scenes on the lake could be turned into a tourism add for overworked city folks.

Supporting all of this is the music by Martin Dirkov which is subtle yet effective. Some of the scenes when things are going oddly and supernatural elements may be involved, the music bring home the creepiness while not becoming overbearing or telling viewers what to feel.

While Shelley is an interesting take on the pregnancy horror sub-genre, the film is very slow with very little going on, making it less interesting than it had potential for. The less is more approach usually works for this reviewer, however here it was much too little and lead to an expected ending with very little pay off.

Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.

Lowlife Love (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Emilie Black

A lowlife, 39 year old film, director uses his position to sleep with young actresses under promise of making them stars. While doing this, he’s trying to get his next film produced and cast. Around him: His best friend makes porn films to gather money for a filming budget; a young film writer wants to get his script produced; a young actress falls in love with the film writer, et al. Everyone seems to be out for their own careers and selves, not caring about others.

Lowlife Love is written and directed by Eiji Uchida and is a study of people doing everything they need to get to their ends, to get fame for themselves, no matter the cost to others and themselves. Uchida crafts a study of what drives people, some people, to go to ends some never would to get what they want. His style is a bit in your face, showing events and how they affect everyone involved but never truly getting to the bottom of the reasons and the feelings behind it all.

To bring this to the screen, Uchida has a cast of 30 or so, most of them giving decent performances. Unfortunately, most of the characters feel a bit thin and one dimensional at times, with a very few standouts. Thankfully, one actress shows nuance and layers in her performance, Maya Okano as Minami shows the best arc, the best performance. She shows great talent and becomes the best part of the film. Her performance shows naïveté at first and then a form of regret as she has lost her innocence throughout the events of the film.

The cinematography by Kenji Noguchi follows the tone of the film, framing the scenes in ways to enhance their feeling of despair and of need for fame. The film feels almost dirty some times, claustrophobic at others times, all through the look the images’ framing give it. He adapts his style to what the scene needs, showing versatility. However, the film’s story not being exactly great, this is a bit lost in the shuffle.

Lowlife Love is an attempt at making a dark dramedy about what goes on behind the scenes of some films but it makes it sound like it’s what goes on behind all films. The story could have been great but its execution, starting with the story’s writing, is not on point. A lot of it feels as though the filmmaker is trying hard but not hitting his mark, the characters feel exaggerated, and this all leads to a less than fascinating film. Unless one is really into director Eiji Uchida’s films, it may not be worth watching.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016.

Dark Side of the Moon (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Emilie Black

Dr. Urs Blank is a successful lawyer with a pharmaceutical company hell-bent on becoming the biggest in its field in Europe. They ruthlessly merge with other companies and eliminate them. His work taking its toll on him, Blank goes through an accelerated mid-life crisis that brings him to try psychedelic mushroom with dire consequences on his psyche.

The film based on the novel by Martin Suter is adapted by Catharina Junk, David Marconi, and Stephan Rick. Their script is brought to the screen by Stephan Rick. This team creates an almost mesmerizing film in which we get to see a man go from a very business mentality, to a sweeter man, to a psychological break that leads to violence and out of character actions for the lead. The way this is shown is with a slow-burn of a film which takes its time to get to the point, but is absolutely worth it.

In the lead of Urs Blank is Moritz Bleibtreu turning in a nuanced performance of a man who thinks he’s going psycho after ingesting psychedelic mushrooms. His performance here is great and multi-layered; he gives his character depth and emotions, showing the right amount of guilt, of feeling lost, of despair. His character drives the film and his performance is pivotal, making it of utmost importance, which Bleibtreu grabs onto and for which he gives one the best performances of his career. Also, giving fantastically nuanced performances are Doris Schretzmayer as Blank’s wife Evelyn, Nora von Waldstatten as Lucille, and Jurgen Prochnow as Blank’s boss Plus Ott. The ensemble is very strong, a sign of good direction but also of good casting, done here by Veronique Fauconnet and Nilton Martins.

This reviewer being a photographer first and foremost, the cinematography for Dark Side of the Moon caught attention. Stefan Ciupek and Felix Cramer do an amazing job of framing the story and characters in a way that is stunning and that brings everything together. The fact that this was done by two persons shows how well they work together and adapt to each other’s style as never in the film does it feel as though two people did the cinematography, which is not an easy feat as each of them as his own style, his own vision.

Dark Side of the Moon is a slow-burn of a film, a stunning film, filled with great acting, and with a very good story. Not knowing it is based on a book until after watching it makes this reviewer want to track the book down and see what other layers to the story can be found there.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016.