Late at the salon, a stylist works on a regular customer. As she is almost finished, things take a turn for the unusual. As this film is better enjoyed with as few spoilers as possible, its plot will not be discussed any further. Written by Eric Havens based on a story by Jill Gevargizian and directed by Gevargizian, a stylist herself, the film explores a stylist’s obsession with hair and how far she goes in a beautiful manner.
Tag Archives: Indie Film
Dark Exorcism (2015) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]
A Columbia grad student interviews and shadows a paranormal specialist as she investigates a possible haunting or possession which may very well be something much worse than expected. Dark Exorcism, originally titled In The Dark, is David Spaltro’s third feature as a director and second as a writer. Here he weaves a tale of demonic possession starring four strong female characters. His afflicted lead, Bethany Mills is a sweet and strong girl who fights and tries to protect her mother. Her mom is also strong, but at her wits end when Lois Kearne and student Veronica Carpenter come to investigate and ultimately support and help her, whatever it takes.
Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016 Comedy Shorts Block: Part 2
Stained (UK) (2016)
Everything that could go wrong at tea time. A man is encountering minor annoyances in an otherwise fine afternoon. As he goes to the loo, once he’s done, he discovers that he is completely out of toilet paper. As he hobbles to the corner shop to buy some, he is haunted by his poo, taunting him, threatening him with a stain. Written by Mark A.C. Brown and directed by Phil Haine, Stained takes a basic life event, running out of t.p. and turns it on its head. The film is funny and it’s due in big part to the leads played by Michael Shephard and Chris Spyrides who keep a straight face throughout. Thefilm takes this situation and pushes it to its absurd limit and it works beautifully well.
Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016 Comedy Shorts Block: Part 1
The Phantom Hour (USA) (2016)
A group of people is called to a mysterious castle for various reasons and odd happenings abound. Written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler, this short pokes fun at vampire tropes with a classic dinner invitation set-up and a touch of modernity. Butler’s character of Bryce shows his sense of timing and his humor, being a perfectly awkward and funny assistant or Renfield to Nikolai. The actor playing this vampire, Luke Anthony Pensabene, is nicely impressive while not entirely scary which works in this setting. The film is really funny and goes for it, holding no punches, its old school, classic horror look ads to its fun with its credits in front of the film and nice cardboard décor in some parts. It’s campy, it’s funny, it’s a bit ridiculous, and mainly it’s a lovely horror comedy short, a difficult sub-genre to work in.
An Interview with Will Blank, Director of Limbo [Fantastic Fest 2016]
“Limbo” is Will Blank’s second short film as a director and is adapted from a comic strip by Marian Churchland. Director extraordinaire Guillermo Del Toro called it “an excellent film” and you can read my humble opinion of it here.
It All Goes Away (2016)
We are in dire need of tales about Superman that are more thoughtful and awe inspiring. Superman can inspire hope and heroism and act as an avatar for humanity, and “It All Goes Away” proves it. Director Zachariah Smith adapts the short Superman story “Sam’s Tale.” Penned by comic book writer Jeph Loeb, the story was written him as a form of grieving for his son Sam who, very sadly, died of bone cancer in 2005, just as he was beginning to break out in the comic book world. Originally titled “Sam’s Story,” Loeb takes a very contemplative look at Clark Kent living in a world where death is an inevitability.
Tales of Halloween (2015) [Blu-Ray/2-DVD/CD]
Just in time for Halloween 2016 comes one of the best horror indie anthologies of the last six years. “Tales of Halloween” is a sick, demented, and fun ode to the thrill of Halloween and its mythology and brings together up and comers and veterans of the horror film world to spin their own twisted yarns concerning the holiday many horror buffs hold so dearly to them. Epic Pictures grants fans a wonderful box set edition that holds all sorts of goodies for them. The best prize of all is “Tales of Halloween,” a movie that pays tribute to everything fun and horrifying about the holiday with ten short tales starring folks like Lin Shaye, and Adrienne Barbeau who unofficially reprises her role of Stevie Wayne as the film’s Halloween DJ who narrates every story. The neat touch to the movie is that every story unfolds within the vicinity of a normal suburban neighborhood on Halloween night.