I can’t wait to see more from director Amelia Moses in the future, as she seems to be a promising horror director with a lot to say. Though “Undress Me” is a short film, it’s also a very grotesque and disgusting body horror film. “Undress Me” will inspire many audiences to interpret its message and I perceived it as an allegory for rape and the psychological fall out that comes with being raped.
Tag Archives: Thriller
Tilt (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]
Kasra Farahani’s “Tilt” is a compelling and sometimes spellbinding dramatic thriller about the American dream and the ideas about fulfillment and freedom. Set amongst the backdrop of the turbulent election that gave the Presidential seat to a wealthy and very loud mogul, “Tilt” is a sharp and often disturbing look at the disintegration of a man. “Tilt” is fairly simplistic but rich in substance as it depicts America as something of a stagnant pool where freedom reigns but nothing ever changes. Joseph Cross’s performance as a self important filmmaker and struggling artist is astounding, as he injects layers of frustration and anger at a world that he never fully comprehends.
A Double Life (2016) [New York Asian Film Festival 2017]
A philosophy master student is pondering life and what her master thesis should be. With the help of her teacher, she finds a subject and starts following perfect strangers to find the meaning of life. As she does this, she lets her subject become an obsession and discovers a few things about herself.
12 Feet Deep: Trapped Sisters (2017)
At eighty five minutes in length, “12 Feet Deep” has a dilemma it can never seem to get past. It sets up a premise that is only able to keep up momentum for forty minutes. The next forty five is very reliant on a ham fisted and hackneyed plot device. What the writers pose as a crisis of conscience and a woman reflecting on someone similar to herself instead feels like a desperate means of stretching a movie that could easily have been under an hour without the goofy filler. The movie could have easily shrunk down to twenty five minutes if our characters ever acted rationally. “12 Feet Deep” is another attempt at a survival thriller where characters are marooned in a very monotonous spot and have no means of escaping. Rather than being a white knuckle fight like “Frozen,” it instead becomes about people just making things more difficult than they have to be.
Mercury Man (Ma noot lhek lai) (2006)
Your enjoyment of “Mercury Man” may be dependent on your enjoyment and tolerance of superhero movies as a whole. Thailand’s attempts to deliver a big screen marquee superhero for movie lovers is a mixed bag that I managed to enjoy overall–if only for its effort and intentions on aspiring to be as great as popular heroes like Spider-Man. There’s reason why it’s not considered a classic by mostly everyone, but I liked that it shook up superhero tropes here and there. “Mercury Man” is the story of courageous but irresponsible firefighter named Chan. He has no idea how to get his life together, and always attempts to play the hero. After a failed prison break results in a fire, Chan tags along with his unit, and is caught in the crossfire of international criminals who stab him with an ancient relic.
Horror Shorts from the 2nd Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2017: Part 2
This list is long overdue mainly because I spent the last week sick as a dog, but from June 9th to June 11th, the 2nd Final Girls Berlin Film Festival was held. It’s a great film festival to provide a voice for female horror filmmakers, and writers of all kinds from all over the world. This year I was allowed the opportunity to partake in a lot of their shorts and found some surprises.
You Get Me (2017)
Netflix’s newest original film is a derivative and silly “Fatal Attraction” wannabe that wouldn’t even pass muster in a discount movie theater. “You Get Me” feels shockingly dated, almost like something released in 2001, and barely skids by as background noise. Its narrative is achingly paper thin to the point where the movie submits itself to endless montages filled with silly club and dance music. Even the finale is botched with a ridiculous ode to “Sunset Boulevard.” Director Brent Bonacorso struggles very hard to deliver a modern day digital version of “Fatal Attraction” when it barely registers as a “Swimfan” clone.