A First Edition Festival in Brooklyn [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2016]

bhffAnother film festival had its first edition this year and it had a great line up.  This fest had it all: films, scary stories, trivia, et al.  The fest had some great films, features and shorts.  Some of my favorites among many were The Master Cleanse and Child Eater for features and for shorts there was Shorty, Pigskin, and The Man Who Caught a Mermaid.

They also had films we reviewed as part of other festivals like Let Her Out, Therapy, La Rage du Demon, The Puppet Man, The Stylist, Disco Inferno, and Mute.

Cinema Crazed’s coverage was limited but here are the few films I reviewed here for the Festival if you missed the updates:

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The Biker Warrior Babe vs. The Zombie Babies from Hell (2014)

zombie-babiesIn the small town of Cranberry Lake, a wannabe witch and her succubus assistant attempt to summon a demon, when this goes badly, an army of zombie evil babies is unleashed on the town for which the only hope if a group of teenagers who have seen the evil and want to survive. Writer/director Jeremiah Morehouse has some good ideas in the script that he tries his best to put on screen but the script may have been a bit too ambitious for its super micro budget.  This budget is estimated at $10,000 and this unfortunately shows a lot in the film.  The story is ambitious and wants to achieve a lot which is lost a bit due to the effects and other issues in the film that are mostly blamed on the budget and a bit on a lack of experience.  However, the film’s ambition and love for its genre shows and this helps it greatly.

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The Windmill Massacre (2016)

the-windmill-massacreKnown as The Windmill Massacre or the The Windmill depending on the country and release, this supernatural slasher set in Holland follows Jennifer who is running from her past and goes on a tour of the countries beautiful windmills.  Once in the countryside, the bus breaks down and the passengers start getting picked off one by one. Director Nick Jongerius creates an effective slasher with a twist written by Chris W. Mitchell and Suzy Quid, based on a story by Jongerius.  The characters here are varied which gives the film an edge over the usual slashers where high school or college students are the only one being picked off.

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6 Shorts Perfect for Halloween

yummymeatSo you’re getting ready for a Halloween party and don’t have time for a feature but would like to watch something to set the atmosphere for yourself or you just want to watch some bite-size entertainment. So, in that spirit, here are a few great shorts for the season.

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Hostage to the Devil (2016)

hostage-to-the-devilFather Malachi Martin is fighting for the soul of those who have been possessed.  In his battle, he encounters fake and real cases.  One of the latter is the one of a young girl he truly believes is possessed.  Hostage to the Devil tells the life story of Father Malachi Martin through interviews and videos of his work. Written by Rachel Lysaght and Marty Stalker with Stalker also directing, the film has a very even style with the interviews all shot about the same and the way they are shown with straight on interview style and overlays on photos and images gives the film a very straight forward feel.

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Animated Shorts Block [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]

animated-shorts-block-part-1Dad’s Fragile Doll (Iran) (2014)
A young girl uses imagination to mentally work through her family situation.  The film by Ali Zareghanatnowi has an interesting animation style that looks like moving sketches.  The style is visually appealing but can become too much in scenes with more action, which is unfortunate.  The film shows the horrors that humanity can do and how a young girl uses the power of imagination to help herself.  This short shows that imagination liberates you, frees you of your cage, of your oppressor.  The use of dolls and animation as surrogates for reality brings forth the message and the emotions.

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Stay Alive (2006)

stayaliveThis dry as a bone “horror” entry is part “Dream Warriors”, part “The Ring”, with neither of the characters is developed beyond your basic concepts upon which they’re established. And there are also your usual under-developed back stories that Bell limps along with for no reason. Here’s the hero who has a fear of fire. Why? Well—who cares? Look! A ghost! How can we root for characters whom are basic morons? Perhaps it’s Bell’s allusion that gamers in general, are morons. Not that hard to believe, when you think about it. The characters that are supposed to die die.

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