Editor’s Note: This review has been republished. It originally posted with the rest of our reviews and coverage at Fantastic Fest this past September. Back in 2012, director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill screened Sinister (click to read our review). Critic Brian Salisbury introduced the film to the eager Fantastic Fest crowd, and, very fittingly, called it “nightmare fuel“. Well, in the same vein as that film (and other modern horror game changers like Insidious, and The Conjuring), Australia’s own The Babadook shows that there are still untapped areas in the human psyche that, when tapped just right, are plenty capable of scaring even hardened horror fans. The Babadook is written…
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G-S-T Review…Birdman
Sometimes, the line between fiction and reality can be blurry; other times however, it is altogether indistinguishable. Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Birdman is about a former A-list actor now seeking a final shot at fame and, more importantly, relevance through a play he’s adapted, directed and starring in. Only it hasn’t opened yet. Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) has three preview nights to work the kinks out and get a handle on all the things misfiring in his life – from his broken family to his prima donna actors. It’s a story about being behind the scenes of a play, but, more importantly, it’s very self-referential. An exaggerated reflection of all the issues, it’s…
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G-S-T Review…Fury
Even in the short time he’s been directing films, David Ayer has shown he has a no frills approach to storytelling. Just a quick glance at films like Training Day, Harsh Times, and End of Watch, will reveal, consistently, very specific types of characters – ones so gritty, visceral and real that they seem to come through the screen. Now no one ever proclaimed that war is glamorous, but Ayer seems to go to great pains to make sure no one would ever imagine war as anything other than a living hell. Further, it’s hard to call any soldier a “hero” once you learn the lengths some may go to…
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G-S-T Review…Young Ones
Bold and ambitious, yet simple and economic, Jake Paltrow’s neo-Western, Young Ones, should be remembered for two things. First, it paints an amazing portrait of a near-future that is so plausible, it’s nearly on our doorstep. Second, while the characters lead bleak lives, this sci-fi picture never lets the science fiction get in the way of the story. Although somewhat exaggerated, and detestable at times, the human element really shines in this dismal but slightly hopeful narrative. At first, Young Ones comes across like a post-apocalyptic vision of the future. Paltrow imagines what life beyond the skylines of a Blade Runner type universe might be like. Yet, while set in a harsh, desert-like…
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2014 Fantastic Fest Recap: The Best and the Rest of the Best Damn Fest There Is
Any film festival that you are lucky enough to attend as Press will find you struggling with, among other things, 1. seeing as much as you can, 2. writing about as much as you can, and 3. somehow finding time for sleep so you can keep doing both. Ah, tis a wonderfully viscous circle if ever there was one. Well, as with the best of intentions, sometimes your review aspirations have to yield to personal health (and sanity). You’re there to enjoy the fest after all, so the main thing is that you don’t get burned out. Pace yourselves dear friends, pace yourselves. In 2012 I learned that sometimes a festival…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…V/H/S: Viral
Horror anthologies don’t come along all that often. But thanks to Brad Miska, fans of Creepshow, and similar short-form storytelling would no longer lament the lack of fantastic but short glimpses into strange horror themed universes. V/H/S, and its sequel, went all out and brought the idea of “found footage” horror to new levels. Depending on who you talk to, you’ll likely find people praising one film over the other, but each has its fair share of exceptional segments that stay with you long after lights come up. So here we are with an equally enjoyable and effective third outing which shows strong signs that this series has found its…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
America has long been considered the land of opportunity. If you had a dream, and a desire to make it come true, anything was possible. From 1967 to 1993, Cannon Films produced a distinctive line of low- to medium-budget films. But, while trying to make their versions of polular films they admired (or envied), they wound up releasing films that were spectacularly awful. That just about sums up this history lesson about the long defunct company. But, for a time, and not lacking any ambition, they certainly made a run at rivaling (or outright copying) anything coming out of the major Hollywood studios. Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus – two strong,…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…Wastelander Panda: Exile
Of all the oddities found at Fantastic Fest, some titles seem tailor-made for the genre fans who flock to Austin every September. Now Wastelander Panda may come across like something between an Old Spice commercial and a love of anime, but, as ludicrous as it sounds, the story works. The plot – giant pandas making their way thorough an apocalyptic outback – is really kind of cool, and even more so if you just go with it. This 60 minute story is a fantasy piece that builds very well, and the episodic nature of the story keeps you wanting more. The future depicted in the savage world of the Wasteland universe…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…The Man In the Orange Jacket
Latvian horror film The Man In the Orange Jacket takes home invasion to a new level. Well, maybe not new, but different that’s for sure. It’s not as gruesome as the French slasher Inside. This isn’t even as disturbing as Funny Games. But this, another feature film just a hair over an hour playing at Fantastic Fest, starts with a bang and certainly doesn’t waste any time getting to the killing. The film is about a construction worker who kills the CEO and his wife in their Italian vacation home following a company-wide layoff. But once the so-called revenge has been extracted, things get quiet…a little too quiet. It’s then that Aik Karapetian…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…Norway
A quick glance at the synopsis for the Greek film Norway is sure to grab your attention with this line, “a vampire who must dance to keep his heart beating”. Even if the film is an utter mess, it sounds like a train wreck worth the price of admission. Good news is that while the log line sounds ridiculously comical, this film, from the production team behind Dogtooth (one of the more captivating but odd films of the past 10 years) is weirdly interesting on many levels. It never gets where it’s going but still, writer/director Yiannis Veslemes has to be lauded for putting such a wildly unique spin on…
