Gregg Bishop adapts for the big screen one of arguably best segments from the “V/H/S” horror anthology entitled “Amateur Night.” The original segment was the most memorable of the bunch and was filled with tension, disturbing gore, and a very memorable final scene. Thankfully, “Siren” grabs on to most of the original short film’s aesthetic, including a lot of call backs to the original segment. Wisely, the director and studio re-cast Hannah Fierman who has a haunting beauty that most viewers really will have a hard time forgetting any time soon. What made “Amateur Night” so haunting was that Fierman could be oddly beautiful and shockingly horrifying at the drop of a dime. Here she invokes the same qualities, playing arguably the same character.
Tag Archives: Horror
Emilie Black Wraps Up Blood in the Snow 2016
Blood 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.
The Shorts of Blood in the Snow 2016 – Part Three
Ingrid & 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.
The Sublet (2015) [Blood in the Snow 2016]
A young couple with a baby move into a sublet with a mysterious locked room and a few secrets. As he works more and more toward getting his acting career on track, the more she spends time alone in the sublet with their son. As time goes by, odd happenings add up and she begins to seemingly lose her mind. Written by John Ainslie and Alyson Richards with Ainslie directing, The Sublet build tension as the characters drift apart due to life and due to whatever force is working on the new mother, Joanna. As her mind seems to unravel, the potentially supernatural happenings multiply and so does the tension.
Dangerous Worry Dolls (2007)
Life is funny. One moment you’re in prison being beaten up, the next moment you’re having a miniature skull growing out of your forehead. “Dangerous Worry Dolls” is a silly, dumb, and very unscary take on the further obsession of mini monsters doing dangerous things by Charles Band. You have to give it to the man, he always finds a way to squeeze in miniature monsters on to film and look for new and unique ways to make them villains. “Dangerous Worry Dolls” is terrible, but at least Band has a new and unique idea for making mini-monsters become the villain for a movie that looks like it was made on a budget of ten dollars.
The Eyes of My Mother (2016)
A young woman is thought to handle dead bodies and see them as normal as well as operating on them. After her mother is killed in their house, she slowly unravels and assumes things to be normal as she learns to live her new life. Written and directed by Nicolas Pesce, the entirety of the film revolves around one young woman and her descent into possible madness as she adapts to her surroundings from childhood and handles death in a particular manner into adulthood and life changes. The lead character Pesce builds here is a disturbed young woman who does not know any better. The way she goes through life, constantly referring to her death mother and trying to make her proud while doing things that most would consider twisted or wrong.
The Shorts of Blood in the Snow 2016 – Part Two
The Fight (Canada) (2016)
In this super short film, a couple fights each in their own scene, or perhaps each in their own timeline. Their fight escalates and a surprise is in store for each of them and the viewer. This grim short, short for an estimated $50CAD (yes you read that right), is written Clint D’Souza, Neil Tavares and directed by D’Souza. Stars Asoya Hall and Steve Kasan sell the fight and its emotions well while escalating at a nice pace. This short is a visceral one for anyone who has ever reach a breaking point with a significant other.