I can’t wait to see more from director Amelia Moses in the future, as she seems to be a promising horror director with a lot to say. Though “Undress Me” is a short film, it’s also a very grotesque and disgusting body horror film. “Undress Me” will inspire many audiences to interpret its message and I perceived it as an allegory for rape and the psychological fall out that comes with being raped.
Tag Archives: Horror
Adventures In Fantasia [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
I got started as a critic in 2004 when I covered the Fantasia film festival for Film Threat. At the time I was pretty active on the Film Threat web board and one of the moderators, I believe it was Eric Campos, asked if I could attend the festival and write something for the magazine since I lived nearby. I must have done a good job because he let me stick around to do more stuff, mostly review indie films and write a series called “Versus” where I compared remakes with the original.
It was fun, but eventually I had to slow down because I was burnt out. I realize that “watching movies” doesn’t sound exhausting, but I always felt a deep sense of responsibility to both the readers and the filmmakers. It felt wrong to just go “This film sucks!” or “This film rocks” without exploring every little detail on screen and analyzing every aspect of the production.
Suspiria, The Exorcist II, and Story [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
There’s been talk of remaking Suspiria for years. So much so that a lot of what I’m going to mention here are thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for over a decade. The latest attempt at a remake, and the one most likely to happen, is supposed to star Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton, have music by Thom Yorke, and be directed by Luca Guadagnino. All of whom are above average artists in their respective fields. So I wish this attempt well and I genuinely hope it succeeds.
At the same time, I think it’ll fail.
Tilt (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
Kasra Farahani’s “Tilt” is a compelling and sometimes spellbinding dramatic thriller about the American dream and the ideas about fulfillment and freedom. Set amongst the backdrop of the turbulent election that gave the Presidential seat to a wealthy and very loud mogul, “Tilt” is a sharp and often disturbing look at the disintegration of a man. “Tilt” is fairly simplistic but rich in substance as it depicts America as something of a stagnant pool where freedom reigns but nothing ever changes. Joseph Cross’s performance as a self important filmmaker and struggling artist is astounding, as he injects layers of frustration and anger at a world that he never fully comprehends.
The Mummy (2017)
After “The Wolfman” and “Dracula Untold” failed to launch the intended Cinematic Universe, Universal has hitched their ride on “The Mummy,” a movie so broadly developed and so utterly stale, that it feels more like a pitch for a movie than an actual movie. So much of “The Mummy” and its tedious, monotonous, lifeless run time is spent propping up storylines, explaining, over explaining, and flash backs. Rather than watching characters experience, and go through the wringer, and develop, Universal spends an enormous amount of time creating this tidy, and sanitary action thriller that is hell bent on establishing the universe its set in, rather than engaging us in an actual movie that is somewhat entertaining of compelling.
Horror Shorts from the 2nd Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2017: Part 2
This list is long overdue mainly because I spent the last week sick as a dog, but from June 9th to June 11th, the 2nd Final Girls Berlin Film Festival was held. It’s a great film festival to provide a voice for female horror filmmakers, and writers of all kinds from all over the world. This year I was allowed the opportunity to partake in a lot of their shorts and found some surprises.
Darkness Rising (2017)
A young woman feels a need to go visit the house where her mother seemingly lost her mind and killed her family. Once there, things start going bump in the night.