fantasy

ArtsFestivalsFilm

Something’s stirring inside me. It’s a strange feeling that I can’t resist, won’t resist. This year, as I gather my top must-sees, I’m being pulled into new directions at the altar of Fantasia’s offerings.

This is my fifth year covering the fest, and although I certainly won’t pass up the opportunity to immerse myself in my go-to films genres, I’m finding myself peering into different wells from amongst the 130 features screening over the next three weeks.

Here are the top 10 films you should see this Fantasia season.

#10. Born of Woman

001-16International Short Film Showcase/2016/ Multiple

I’m stoked beyond words about this showcase. This dedicated space at the Fest, serves highlights some of the powerhouse filmic voices of new auteurs whose works “centre on the body and uncanny of the interpersonal,” Programmer Mitch Davis adds, “the filmmakers you will encounter here are exciting, essential new voices that we cannot wait to introduce you to.” Not gonna miss this.

From the US, there is Venefica Maria Wilson, followed by Dianne Bellino’s The Itching, and then Jessica Makinsons’s Skin. Ensuite comes Anna Zlokovic’s Shorty, and Jill Gevargizian’s The Stylist. The third act consists Canadian filmmaker Tanya Lemke’s Static,  Whole from german animation duo Verena Klinger and Robert Banning, and last but not least, Australian filmmaker Kaitlin Tinker’s The Man Who Caught A Mermaid.

Screens July 23 • 5:00 PM at J.A. De Seve Theatre

9. Little Sister

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USA/2016/Zach Clark/Comedy

Official selection at SXSW and the Boston Underground Film Festival, Little Sister comes highly recommended by fellow genre film buds. From the director of White Reindeer, comes this black comedy about Colleen, a young noviciate at the Sister of Mercy, who is pulled back into the world of the youth which she’d left behind her in exile. Once home, she finds much of what she left behind intact including her goth-y room, parent’s pothead ways and her recently returned veteran brother.. well, he’s changed. Can this short visit home and Colleen’s faith prove enough to make things right?

Screens July 28 • 9:45 PM  and July 29 • 2:45 PM at the J.A. De Seve Theatre

#8. Shelley

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Denmark-Sweden/2016/Ali Abbasi/Horror Drama

Shelley comes from the producers of When Animals Dream and Only God Forgive. Already, these are some strong signs that it is bound to be of solid quality.

Shelley follows Elena, a single mother in need of some serious change, who takes on a job as a maid for the forest dwelling of what she comes to know as an unusual couple. Signing a three year contract overlooking their odd lifestyle for the peace and quiet she needs. Then, the couple, whom she learns cannot conceive, ask Elena to be their surrogate mother in exchange for a hefty compensation. She accepts.

Soon, however, Elena begins to sense that there is something terribly wrong with what is growing inside her. From the trailer, Abbasi’s Shelley is likely to deliver a body horror gothic tale with a gripping performance at its heart.

Screens July 22 • 3:00 PM  and August 2 • 7:30 PM at the J.A. De Seve Theatre

#7. Lace Crater

Lace Crater from Festival Fantasia on Vimeo.

US/2015/Harrison Atkins/Romance & Comedy

During a getaway with friends, Ruth, who is recovering from a nasty break up, decides to stay in an adjacent guest house, despite a warning that it is haunted. When it comes time to retire from the evening’s festivities, Ruth returns to the guest house and slowly begins to feel a presence in the room. Out comes a burlap wrapped ghost, Michael, as he calls himself and naturally (or supernaturally), one things lead to another…

With a premise offering an intimate look at sexuality, the shame one can feel about what they enjoy, and the possible for some interesting character studies, Lace Crater also stars one of my favourite actors, Lindsay Burge, who was stellar in Sarah Adina Smith’s The Midnight Swim.

Screens July 28 • 7:30 PM J.A. De Seve Theatre

#6. Women Who Kill

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USA/2016/Ingrid Jungerman/ Romance, Thriller, Comedy

Morgan and ex-girlfriend Jean run a weekly podcast, Women Who Kill from their apartment in Brooklyn. The two specialize in talking female serial killers. When Mogran meets Simone, she is goaded by her friends to unpack the mysteries of her new lover. A film noir modern comedy, Women Who Kill, draws inspiration from relationships, womanhood, and the director’s personal life and neighbourhood. This film didn’t quite catch my eye until I read more about it and I have high hopes for it.

Screens on July 27 • 9:50 PM  and July 28 • 3:00 PM  at J.A. De Seve Theatre

#5. Operation Avalanche

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Canada/2016/Matt Johnson/ Crime-Thriller

Fantasia presents the Quebec premiere of  one of most anticipated films coming to the fest this year: Matt Johnson’s Operation Avalanche, an official selection at Sundance, SXSW, AND Hot Docs 2016. I fucking loved Matt Johnson’s The Dirties and after speaking with him last year, am fascinated by what else this guy can come up with. It seems I am not alone and that The Dirties wasn’t a one time thing and that Matt Johnson and his team represent some major talent – talent that is steeped in they love of cinema and filmmaking.

In Operation Avalanche, worried that NASA and its Apollo program may be compromised and infiltrated by a Russian mole, a pair of young CIA agents pose as documentary filmmakers to gain access to uncover what kinds of sinister activities may be going on. Once there, they realize the space program isn’t as ready as NASA has been reporting to the world. Perhaps, with their geeky knowledge of film and uses of the camera, they can be of help.

Screens July 30 • 7:00 PM  and July 31 • 2:30 PM  at J.A. De Seve Theatre

#4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

New Zealand/2016/Taika Waititi/Comedy

I absolutely adored Eagle vs Shark (2007),  Boy (2010) and What We Do in The Shadows by Waititi (2014). His sense of humour and cinematic eye are a serious treat.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a filmic adaptation of Barry Crump’s over Pork and Watercress. Rick Baker, a foster kid who can’t seem to stay in a home for very long, is placed with a new family where he develops a friendship with his foster mom, Bella. When Bella suddenly dies, Ricky runs away into the depths of the forest and Hec, Bella’s partner, goes out to find him. Misunderstandings lead to social services assuming the Hec has kidnapped Ricky. From the trailer, I can already tell I’m going to love Ricky played by Julian Dennison.

Screens July 17 • 2:15 PM SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

#3. The Lure

Poland/2015/Agnieszka Smoczynska/  Discoball of Genre Hybrid Magic

What even is this magical gem of a film? Fantasia’s descriptionn of it has the longest list of genres I have ever seen listed. Seems like it’s uncontainable, just like the creatures surfacing in The Lure.

In early 80’s Poland, two mermaids Golden and Silver arise from the sea in search of nourishment: hearts. They find themselves in a good position to do so when they join an erotic discotheque where their mermaid act, less of an act than their horny audience expects, is perfect to reel in some fresh hearts. Thing get entangled when Silver develops feelings for one of their potential appetizers. If the trailer above alone doesn’t convince you to want to see this, please swipe left.

#2. Trash Fire

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USA/2016/Richard Bates Jr.

Narrowly beaten by Embers for the number one spot, Trash Fire has been on my radar for a while now and I’ve been burning with anticipation to see it. I had the chance to catch Bates Jr.’s two other films at Fantasia.

Excision remains to this day the most beautifully fucked up piece of gory poetry I have ever seen – I literally couldn’t breathe for a while after the credits. Suburban Gothic was a totally different beast, a lighter dark comedy oozing with ghostly love.

Trash Fire, as I understand it, was written during a bout of crippling depression and yet, Mitch Davis hails it as the filmmakers strongest work yet and that it “mines uncomfortable laughs from interpersonal dysfunction and a myriad of phobias, personal demons and deep-rooted resentment, proving once again that much of the best comedy is born from pain.” Um, yes!

In the film, a longtime fizzled out couple Owen (Adrian Grenier) and Isabelle (Angela Trimbur) visit Owen’s family and childhood home as a a sort of deal breaker for Isabelle who wants to see if Owen is the kind of man to build a family with. As the survivor of a horrific family tragedy, Owen’s got some issues and isn’t the easiest dude to build an intimate relationship with. When the two set out to meet his surviving relatives, they uncover things best left to rot alone….but it’s too late now.

Screens July 23 • 9:30 PM at SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

#1. Embers

USA/Poland/2015/Claire Carré/Sci-fi

Embers takes the top spot in my must sees of this year’s program. A poetic humane sci-fi offering with what looks to be a distinctive and unique aesthetic, Embers takes place in a world where humanity is denied memory. Following a few of the remaining survivors of this apocalypse, Embers explores the very foundations of human nature through the very promising cinematic voice of newcomer Carré.

Screens on July  22 • 5:00 PM J.A. De Seve Theatre & August 1 • 12:45 PM J.A. De Seve Theatre

ArtsFestivalsFilm

Something’s stirring inside me. It’s a strange feeling that I can’t resist, won’t resist. This year, as I gather my top must-sees, I’m being pulled into new directions at the altar of Fantasia’s offerings. This is my fifth year covering the fest, and although I certainly won’t pass up the opportunity to immerse myself in my go-to films genres, I’m finding myself peering into different wells from amongst the 130 features screening over the next three weeks.

Amongst this top 20 you’ll find my usual favourite flavours – sci-fi existential films, gut wrenching looks at the underbelly of families, coming of age, and the nature of life itself. There’s no hiding that I’m a bit of a misanthrope with some leftover teenage angst.

This time, however, you’ll also find a lot more comedies, crime thrillers, and, the biggest surprise of all to me, several body horror and creature features. Take this leap of faith with me as we embark once again on our yearly Fantasia pilgrimage.

#20. For the Love of Spock001-9

USA/2016/Adam Nimoy/Documentary

For the Love of Spock is an in depth look at the Star Trek’s most popular character and the actor who brought him to life. The doc is narrated by Nimoy’s son, Adam Nimoy, and takes a look at the life and work of Leoard Nimoy through interviews with fans, family, friends, colleagues and his relationship with his son. For Trekkies and the Trek curious, For the Love of Spock is sure to please. Live long and popcorn.

Screens July 16  at 4:10 PM at the SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

#19. The Master Cleanse

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USA/2016/Bobby Miller/ Horror, Comedy

This black comedy follows Paul (played byJohnny Galecki), who in the throws of heartbreak, decides to join a spiritual retreat to flush out those inner demons. Relatable. This retreat, however, might be more than his gut can handle.

The Master Cleanse is Bobby Miller’s feature debut and is having its international premiere at the fest. Mitch Davis, Fantasia Co-Director, hints to one of the secret ingredients in this cleanse regiment: “a assortment of practical puppeteer and animatronic creatures whom, it must be said, are some of the cutest creations the screen has see since Gremlins, even if they come from a much darker and more Cronenbergian place.” I’m sold.

Screens on July 16 • 10:00 PM at the SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

#18. Don’t Breathe

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USA/2016/ Fede Alvarez/Horror

I hesitated at first with this film because I’m a bit done with home invasion films right now. That being said, this one offers a new perspective right off the bat: it is from the perspective of the home invaders. A trio of friends picks the wrong mark, a lonely blind man, when they suddenly find themselves trapped in the home in a hellish labyrinth.

With Ariel Esteban Cayer, fest programmer, hailing Don’t Breahe amongst the ranks of Saulnier’s Green Room and Fincher’s Panic Room, it’s hard to resist not going through that door (or broken window) ourselves.

Screens August 3 • 9:45 PM at the SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

#17. The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon from Film Fund Luxembourg on Vimeo.

Germany/2015/Stephan Rick/Thriller

Urs, the head of a phamarceutical company, is growing weary of his life and after some bad shit goes down, decides, like one does, that what might really help him is to go do some drugs with a bohemian woman in the forest. Instead of finding an inner peace of sorts, Urs finds himself unraveling and desperate to find a way to stop things before he becomes something else entirely.

#16. Some Freaks

001-15USA/2016/ Ian MaCallistor-McDonald/Drama

Matt Ledbetter is a shy kid with a patch covering a missing eye. Being different in high school is certainly not synonymous with popularity. When Matt meets Jill,a large girl who is outgoing and brilliant, he feels an instant connection with her.

Some Freaks follows their relationships and the unexpected ways in which is it is challenged. When it comes to films about teenage outcasts, I trust programmer Mitch Davis’ instinct. He says of Some Freaks that it “will charm you heart – and demolish it.” Let’s just hope we are ready for this kind of heartbreak.

Screens July 19 • 5:00 PM at the J.A. De Seve Theatre

#15. Bad Blood

USA/2016/Tim Reis/Horror

Bad Blood is having its international premiere at the Fest and I’m stoked. There’s a lot going amiss around this local Texaco station. If only Victoria, a college student just doing her thing, had happened to walk into the middle of well… what is going on exactly? This creature feature promises to get messy doused in crimson and slimey love for those monster movies of old while offering a fresh and witty take.

Screens on July 23 • 11:55 PM at J.A. De Seve Theatre

#14. Psychonauts, The Forgotten Children

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Spain/2015/Alberto Vázquez, Pedro Rivero/Animation

Having spent the last year working with animators, my love and admiration for works of hand drawn animation has woken from its hibernation ready for a bountiful spring. Fantasia delivers with Psychonauts, The Forgotten Children. There’s been a great accident on the island, and teenager Dinky wants to join her friends in leaving behind the dread and darkness of this place. But, Dinky won’t leave without Birdboy, whom pretty much everyone despises and who is a troubled drug-addicted outcast.

In 2010. Vasquez brought to screen his graphic novel ‘Pisconautas’ to the screen with the short film entitled Birdboy, shown at Fantasia’s Small Gauge Trauma. Psychonauts, The Forgotten Children brings to life an expanded and enriched version of Vasquez’ surrealist world.

Screens July 23 • 1:50 PM at SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre) and July 24 • 7:30 PM J.A. De Seve Theatre

#13. The Love Witch

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USA/2016/Anna Biller/Horror-Comedy

The first thing that strikes me about Anna Biller’s The Love Witch is it’s clear recreation of the mood of 1960s technicolour, romance/erotica and horror. It’s so meticulous it sort of feels like a time capsule. It almost seems to cast a glamour. Add to that high praise from my favourite film writer, Justine Smith, and that the film was shot on 35mm and my heart definitely starts to flutter.

Elaine, a witch with a strong appetite for love, comes to town and stops at nothing to have men love her. Even with a grimoire full of spells, she can’t seem to find love! Well, love that stays alive that is.

Screens July 16 • 5:15 PM at J.A. De Seve Theatre

#12. If Cats Disappeared from the World

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Japan/2016/Akira Nagai/ Sci-fi, Fantasy, Drama

When a 30 year old lonely mailman receives the bad news that he has only days to live, he gets a visit from the Devil. The Devil, known to love a pact or two offers him the following deal: for each day of extended life, the mailman must accept whatever the Devil selects and in exchange for his increased lifespan that one thing will disappear, even from memory. It’s only a matter of time before things get messy, perhaps worse than death itself, for a pact with the Devil is never what is seems.

Screens on July 24 • 7:15 PM at the SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre)

11. A Conspiracy of Faith 

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Denmark/2015/Hans Peter Moland/Crime-Thriller

I gotta admit that lately I’ve been fascinated by cults. I’ve also been yearning for some solid crime thrillers for summer reading. Fantasia delivers, like Santa does since he always knows, by programming A Conspiracy of Faith where cold case investigators are stirred into action by a message in a bottle alerting them to something amiss with a rural sect of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The film promises a a troubling and tense ride.

Screens on July 17 • 10:00 at J.A. De Seve Theatre

ArtsFestivalsFilm

Fantasia is upon us. If you are anything like me and the fans that flock to theatres for this one of a kind experience, your summer can finally begin. The lineup this year is stellar which makes choosing which films to see that much more difficult. Screening decision anxiety and panic is amongst us. Never fear! Take out your colour-coded pens, rulers and notebooks; here are the must-sees of the 2014 lineup!

15.  Metalhead

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Director: Ragnar Bragson

Writer: Ragnar Bragson

Iceland, 2013

Metalhead touches on themes of tragedy, grief, youth, faith and fate. Hera lives in a small town with little to offer her and is haunted by the death of her brother. She rebels against the bourgeois world of her parents and creates a safe haven for herself in the world of heavy metal: a world that she slips further into body and soul.

Screenings: Monday, August 4 at 7:10 p.m. and Tuesday, August 5 at 7:35 p.m at Salle J.A. De Sève (1400 de Maisonneuve w.).

 

14. The House at the End of Time (La casa del fin de los tiempos)

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Director: Alejandro Hidalgo

Writer: Alejandro Hidalgo

Venezuela, 2013

Dulce receives ghostlike messages warning her of her husband murdering his own children. Panic ensues as do tragic events and Dulce is incarcerated for a crime she didn’t commit. Thirteen years later, on parole, Dulce must stay within the house where all these tragic events happened. Fantasia programmer Mitch Davis hails this tale as both scary and touching: not your typical haunted house story.

Screenings: Saturday, July 26 at 9:30 p.m. at Theatre DB Clarke and Wednesday, July 30 at 5:20 p.m. at Salle J.A. De Sève.

 

13. Feed the Devil

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Director: Max Perrier

Writer: Matthew Altman

Canada, 2014

The world premiere of Feed the Devil is co-presented by the Montreal First Peoples Festival. This film follows Marcus, who is in dire need of some fast cash, as he, his sister and his girlfriend search for a marijuana plantation rumoured to be near a First Nations reserve. According to legend, this plantation is smack in the middle of a hunting ground for the gods, where no human is to enter and no human who has dared to enter has ever returned.

Screening: Monday, August 4 at 8:30 p.m. at Cinémathèque québécoise (335 de Maisonneuve e.).
* Tickets for this film will not be available through Fantasia’s ticket outlets and Fantasia passes are not valid for this film. Visit Montreal First Peoples Festival for more info.

 

12. The Snow White Murder Case

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Director Yoshihhiro Nakamura

Writers: Tamio Hayashi, Kamae Minato

Japan, 2014

When a young office worker’s body is found, social media is quick to make the news viral. A television director soon comes into some juicy intel and realizes that this sensational case might be the perfect way to break through in the industry. He begins to to investigate the case, accounts multiply and cloud the waters: who killed Noriko?

Screening: Tuesday, July 29 at 10 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre.

 

11. Cybernatural

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Director: Leo Gabriadze

Writer: Nelson Greaves

USA, 2014

After a humiliating video is posted online by her friends, a young girl kills herself. On the anniversary of her death, the six cyberbullies meet up on Skype. However, an uninvited seventh user joins the conversation and seems to know everything about the crime. As events unfold in real time, the six cyberbullies get a taste of their own medicine and the body count soon begins to rise.

Screening: Sunday, July 20 at 9:30 p.m. at DB Clarke Theatre.

 

10. The Creeping Garden

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Directors: Tim Grabham, Jasper Sharp

United Kingdom, 2014

This documentary centres on something all around us but almost everyone is unaware of it: plasmodial slime mold. Slime mold is not plant, not fungus, nor animal but a strange hodge-podge of all three. It even exhibits forms of intelligence. The Creeping Garden explores this uncanny organism through interviews and microscopic photography and boasts a score by Jim O’Rourke.

Screenings: Sunday, July 27 at 9:45 p.m. & Monday, July 28 at 3 p.m. at Salle J.A. De Sève.

 

9. Life After Beth

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Director: Jeff Baena

Writer: Jeff Baena

USA, 2014

This comedy follows Zack who falls to pieces after the death of Beth, his longtime sweetheart. Zack grows closer to Beth’s parents in the wake of her death until they suddenly shut him out. For, you see, Beth has come back from the grave and doesn’t realize she’s died. Zack is overjoyed… but for how long?

Screening: Saturday, July 19 at 7:15 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre.

 

8. At The Devil’s Door 

Director: Nick McCarthy

Screenplay: Nick McCarthy

USA, 2014

From the writer of The Pact, a film that left audiences with an unshakeable chill, comes this tale of a real estate agent (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who faces the task of trying to sell a house with a sordid past. The film stars names you will recognize such as Naya Ricera (Glee) and Ashley Rockwards (Awkward). I can’t wait to see them in something out of high school and into a more dark and dangerous setting.

Screenings: Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m. at DB Clarke Theatre & Tuesday, July 29 at 5:10 p.m. at Salle J.A. De Sève.

 

7. Honeymoon

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Director:  Leigh Janiak

Screenplay: Leigh Janiak , Phil Graziadei

USA, 2014

Honeymoon is a cabin-set flick that refuses to rely on traditional scares. Paul and Bea are on their honeymoon but things aren’t quite the bliss that you’d expect. The central questions in this film are “who did I marry?” and “am I enough?”

Screenings: Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. at DB Clarke Theatre.

 

6. Jellyfish Eyes (Mememe no Kurage)

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Director: Takashi Murakami

Screenplay: Takashi Murakami, Jun Tsugita

Japan, 2013

There is a lot of excitement brewing around the sci-fi/fantasy epic Jellyfish Eyes sponsored by The Japanese Foundation at this year’s Fantasia. Masashi’s father was lost in the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 resulting in his mother relocating them to a small town, near a university research center. Masashi finds a little flying creature and soon discovers that all the others kids at school have secret creature buddies who — unlike his pink bud, Jellyfish Boy — are controlled by their smartphones. But all isn’t honky dory in this town and something dark is brewing…

Screenings: Sunday, July 20 at 12 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre.

 

5. Housebound

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Director: Gerard Johnstone

Screenplay: Gerard Johnstone

New Zealand, 2014

Kylie is on house arrest in the home where she grew up where she is forced to live with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Like Kylie, an angry spirit is also displeased with the new living arrangement. But like it or not, Kylie is gonna have to do the time — even if it’s in a haunted house.

Screening: Sunday, August 3 at 9:45 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre.

 

4. The Harvest

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Director: John McNaughton

Screenplay: Stephen Lancelloti

USA, 2013

When Andy gets sick, his pediatric heart surgeon mother, Katherine, has to start working from home. When a neighbourhood girl begins to befriend Andy, his parents — whose universes have centred around him and his illness — react in a strange way. According to Mitch Davis, “The Harvest exists in a disquieting median space between sinister fairy tale and shattering human horror.” And if that’s not enough, The Harvest promises what looks like a kick-ass performance by Samantha Morton.

Screening: Monday, July 21 at 9:30 p.m. at Theatre DB Clarke.

 

3. The Midnight Swim

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Director: Sarah Adina Smith

Screenplay: Sarah Adina Smith

USA, 2014

The Midnight Swim is one of the most intriguing films of this year’s program. Dr. Amelia Brooks studied the mysteries of bottomless Spirit Lake, which became the site of her death when she didn’t resurface after a dive. Her three daughters head to Spirit Lake to reflect on their relationships with their mother and return to their family home. The sisters begin to believe that something supernatural is at hand after they jokingly summon the spirits of women who have drowned in the lake.

Screening: Sunday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. at DB Clarke Theatre.

 

2. Suburban Gothic

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Director: Richard Bates, Jr.

Screenplay: Mark Linehan Bruner, Richard Bates Jr.

USA, 2014

Suburban Gothic is the second feature by Richard Bates Jr., director of the bloody and breathtaking Excision. The film follows Raymond (Matthew Gray Grubler) who, like many of us in Montreal, can’t find a job with his college degree and has to move back in with his parents. Raymond has had visions for most of his life and joining with local bartender Becca (played by the amazing Kat Dennings) things go in unexpected ways. According to Ted Geoghegan, “Suburban Gothic is popcorn cinema at its most endearing — a saccharine ghost story featuring a faultless mix of honest scares and well-played humour.”

Screening: Saturday, July 19 at 9:45 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre.

1. Frank 

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Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Screenplay: Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan

United Kingdom, 2014

Official selection at Sundance 2014, Frank stars Michael Fassbender as Frank, the frontman of a band who swears by a giant plaster cartoon head that he never takes off. The film follows Jon who meets Frank and his strange lineup of bandmates and follows them down a strange musical odyssey to the SXSW festival in Texas.

Screenings: Sunday, August 3 at 4:20 p.m. at Concordia Hall Theatre & Monday, August 4 at 5:15 p.m. at Salle J.A. De Sève.

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Honourable mentions:

Man in the Orange Jacket, Aux Yeux Des Vivants, Prom Night, Dys-, Wetlands, When Animals Dream, To Be Takei, and Summer of Blood

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The 2014 edition of Fantasia runs from July 17 to August 6.

ArtsFestivalsFilm

MAGIC MAGIC (U.S.A./Chile, 2013) 

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Written and directed by Sebastien Silva, Magic Magic was one of the first films to catch my eye in this year’s Fantasia program. Mostly because I felt utterly validated in my previous reading of Michael Cera as capable of immense creepiness. Here it was finally, a film in which Cera let his (true?) darkness shine.

Magic Magic was not at all what I expected. The synopsis is purposefully misleading and the film toys with its ambiguous development until the very end.  Alicia (Juno Temple) barely sets foot in Chile when her cousin Sarah (Emily Browning) whisks her away on a trip to a secluded island with her weird friend Brink (Michael Cera), easily annoyed friend Barbara (Catalina Sandino), and her good looking boyfriend Agustin (Agustin Silva, who is the director’s brother). This isn’t your typical young people go to a secluded place type of horror film. The horror rests in the film’s ripe psychological tension and compelling imagery. There’s something going on here with sheep and dogs that might be the basis of a funky cultural studies paper.

Although beautifully shot and blissfully disorienting, the film does have a couple elements that made me pause: there is the question of the portrayal of Mapuche culture that I can’t help but flag for a second viewing. That’s just what I’ll be doing before I fully make up my mind about just how great Magic Magic is.

OXV: THE MANUAL (England, 2013) 

002-2When I heard that OXV: The Manual, having its world premiere as part of Fantasia, was being compared in some ways to Shane Carruth of Primer fame and to films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I was all in. Darren Paul Fisher, the director of the film, labelled OXV: The Manual a scientific-philosophical romance and that’s bang on.

In the world of the film, knowledge determines destiny. Scientific research has discovered that people emit different frequencies and this has changed the world. Those persons with higher frequencies are helped by the world while those with lower frequencies attract bad luck and they are constantly out of sync with the natural world. Isaac-Newton and Marie-Curie collide – they are the lowest and highest frequencies respectively at their school for gifted children. Zak happens to have fallen in love with Marie, whose presence he cannot be in for over a minute a year for his own safety. The film follows the lives of Marie and Zak as he tries to to do the unthinkable: change his natural frequency and challenge fate.

OXV: The Manual is well executed, looks beautiful, and poses important questions. Questions about love, free will, scientific discovery, history, personal essence, intelligence. The list goes on. The performances are great and the way the storylines are weaved together and develop is well crafted. I won’t say much more and lead you to this gem with fresh eyes. Enjoy!

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THE BATTERY (USA, 2012)

“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a fucking zombie.” – Ben

Written and directed by Jeremy Gardner, The Battery is at the top of my list for Best of the Fest at this year’s Fantasia awards. This micro budget film follows Mickey (Adam Cronheim) and Ben (Jeremy Gardner), two dudes who used to play baseball together, as they travel the post plague backroads of New England. The two men cannot be more different: Ben does all the dirty work while Mickey yearns for human connection spending most of his days avoiding reality by losing himself in music. While they face encounters with the undead, surviving each other might be the hardest ordeal they face.

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The Battery is another film I was going to maladroitly skip: I’ve been feeling saturated in the zombie department. However, I kept hearing great things and also happened to meet Gardner and his girlfriend at the Irish Embassy. So, I decided to give it a look-see after all and was really impressed. The Battery isn’t like typical zombie flesh eating orgy films rather it focuses on the emptiness and bleakness of a post-apocalyptic world where human connection is few and far between. All of this with a killer soundtrack. Gardner’s performance kicks ass and his directorial instincts have definitely paid off boasting a few bold editing choices exemplified in the end sequence.

Not to be missed. That is all.

BIG BAD WOLVES (Israel, 2013)

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Highly recommended by fellow Fantasia reviewer Ian Sandwell, I took a leap of faith and decided to attend a screening of Big Bad Wolves, the second feature by Israeli filmmakers Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. Although the trailer seems to indicate a sort of revenge torture porn plot, which isn’t something I’m drawn to lately, that’s not what Big Bad Wolves is actually about. The directors of past Fantasia favourite Rabies have created an engrossing thriller forcing viewers to ask themselves some tough questions around vigilantism, an important topic these days.

A young girl goes missing in the woods and a trio of sleazy cops makes the situation worse by beating up the primary suspect. Unfortunately for them, this incidence of police brutality has made its way to youtube and there are consequences. Determined to get his badge back, Miki (Lior Ashkenazi) sets out to prove that this suspect did indeed commit these brutal crimes. The film also shows how this assumption of guilt messes with the life of Dror (Rotem Keinan), the person-of-interest in terms of this series of sadistic murders. Finally, a third party is circling these bloody waters, the father of the missing girl who knows that the “the only thing that scares a maniac is another maniac.”

Following a breathtakingly beautiful dreamlike opening sequence, the filmmakers have found a way to weave three films into one poignant story: a story about bad cops, a story from the point of view of a suspected pedophile, and the story of a vigilante father. The result is nothing shy of intense. Some of the torture scenes made me cringe, sending visceral alarms throughout my body. That being said, the film balances blood and humour in a way that is very entertaining and delightfully twisted.