According to the epilogue of the film “Shame,” 53 percent of all domestic violence cases were reported by men. And yet we’re still living in a society where domestic abuse on males in intimate relationships are not only shrugged off, but aren’t even considered actual crimes by most people. Though society has built this idea that almost all domestic violence cases have been on women and children, men are often the abused that have to suffer through physical and mental abuse from their spouses.
Disney keep their favorite little toys alive with yet another short adventure, this time in the vein of Halloween. While, it’s not a full length narrative, it does present the same stakes and personal back story that the three feature films have, and is an entertaining look in to the lives of the toys with their new owner Bonnie. After watching a horror movie while on the road with Bonnie, her mom and she stop at a local motel where Mr. Pricklepants is convinced horror awaits them.
Director Patrick Rea and writer Michelle Davidson offer audiences a complex and deep narrative that only spans a little under ten minutes. In such a short time, director Patrick Rea is able to convey so many emotions by sheer body language alone. He films intricate moments involving human contact and gestures that often times manage to speak waves about these characters without suffering through clunky exposition.
Fear of the unknown is perhaps one of the greatest elements of horror. It’s one of the greatest tools we have in the arena of the genre, but it’s rarely ever used. And when it is, it’s squandered in a sea of over explanation and tedious exposition. It’s rare we’re ever given horror movies these days that rely on what we don’t see and don’t know.
Despite its brutally predictable ending, the Australian short zombie film “Perished” is a grueling and terrifying horror entry. Once again, a storyteller has the idea to feature less zombie carnage and explore the minutiae of survival where every little step dictates whether you live or die by tooth and nail of the walking dead.
What does your average run of the mill slasher do on his time off? Eventually your hockey masked slasher has to unwind and recharge right? Kristjan Lyngmo’s short animated film is rather genius, in that it not only features a hockey masked slasher, but one of a lineage of hockey masked slashers who divides his time between murdering hapless campers and coming home to deal with everyday problems.
Director and writer Matthew Saliba has managed to amass an interesting and unique body of films that delve in to the underbelly of sexuality. Sex, pain, and death always seem to go hand in hand. He usually has a keen eye for detail and provides wonderful statements about excess and revenge, but “Eroticide” really is a step down for the director.