Each year Fantasia showcases a ton, almost a literal ton, of shorts films. Reviewing them can be a bit demanding, so it has been decided to review them in groupings. The following shorts were attached to feature films that played the fest and were viewed on the big screen.
Tag Archives: Horror
Vampire Cleanup Department (Gao geung jing dou fu) (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
The Vampire Cleanup Department is a task force that deals with Goeng Si, Chinese vampires, while being disguised as a regular trash and cleanup department. Not long after Tim Cheung joins his uncle on the force, he meets with a sweet vampire named Summer who changes how he wants to do things.
Teen Wolf (1985): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
Before it became a homoerotic horror series on MTV, “Teen Wolf” was the epitome of eighties cheese that mixed a teen coming of age comedy with horror tropes. The idea of being a werewolf is of course a metaphor for puberty, as Michael J. Fox takes a baffling but oddly fun turn in his career after the success of “Back to the Future.” The 1985 “Teen Wolf” hasn’t aged very well, but it’s still a fun novelty of the decade where almost nothing was off limits it meant possibly drawing a laugh. Surely, the idea of a werewolf becoming a star basketball player is absurd, but not offensive as a comedy based around a corpse, or a college student wearing black face. But I digress.
The Shorts of Fantasia International Film Festival 2017 – Part 1 [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
Each year Fantasia showcases a ton, almost a literal ton, of shorts films. Reviewing them can be a bit demanding, so it has been decided to review them in groupings. The following shorts were attached to feature films that played the fest and were viewed on the big screen.
It’s Alive (1974) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
A family expecting their second born is surprised to have a mutant child as it arrives in this world and kills all in its path when scared. As a baby, being scared is something that happens quite a bit, creating a mounting body count for this tiny tot.
Written and directed by Larry Cohen, It’s Alive is a tale inspired by pollution and environmental effects on humans’ reproductive systems, eventually leading to a damaged progeny trying to survive when it’s scared and ready to kill for survival. The film takes this and turns it into an easy to watch horror film about a newborn mutant monster that can easily be taken as just that, a monster film, but is much more once one delves into the environmental message. Here Cohen creates a tale that is deeper than it seems and works with monster film tropes to pass along its message and entertain at the same time.
The Endless (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
Two brothers return to the alien cult they once fled to see the people still there. Once at the cult’s camp, they discover that odd happenings are afoot and the cult may not be as crazy as it seems.
Written by Justin Benson who co-directed with Aaron Moorhead, The Endless is a slow slow burn of a film that takes its time to set-up the weirdness going on and creates a sort of mindfuck as it goes along. The film takes a few known ideas such as cults and time warps and plays with them until they connect and make sense. The co-directors having worked together on other features, they clearly know how to work together and this shows in how the film is directed, being a way that looks seamless between the two of them and what they each directed, something that is not always well done, but is great here.
Prey (Prooi) (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
As a lion wreaks havoc on the city of Amsterdam, a zoo veterinarian gets involved in its chase along with her boyfriend and ex.
Written and directed by Dick Maas, Prey is a horror comedy film with its comedy very dark and its horror a bit light. The film takes the wild animal on the loose premise and moves it to the city of Amsterdam where the idea of a killer lion on the loose is particularly ludicrous. The way the film develops this and adds hunters, both experienced and not so much, who once paired with the local police becomes a bit of a mess in terms of lion-chasing but a fun watch in terms of horror-comedy. The film shows an ability to pit characters against each other in a way that is entertaining while they all face the lion threat. The comedy is often situational and takes advantage of the characters’ flaws in a way that works well here. The direction is rather on point for the comedy and fairly good on the horror. However, as a horror film, it has just about no scare factor.