By: Emily von Seele
The strains of a dying agricultural industry and the evils of fracking come to a head in the horror tale Unearth. Directed by John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies, the film tells the story of two neighboring families, both struggling against poverty and obsolescence.
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
One of my most anticipated films out of Fantasia 2020 was Brian Bertino’s new film, The Dark And The Wicked. I am a massive fan of The Strangers and The Monster, and Bertino’s latest didn’t disappoint in the slightest. The Dark And The Wicked is a horror film that will shake you to your very core. A focused story, filled with emotion and dread, it brings an emotional boogeyman that can stand alongside the monsters from The Babadook or Relic.
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
In John Hyams’ Alone, Jessica (Jules Willcox) has packed up her home following her husband’s untimely death and is moving away from her hometown of Portland to get some space. She sets off one afternoon in her car, pulling her life behind her in a rented trailer, hoping that a fresh start will help her to deal with the loss. As she drives, she begins having encounters with the same vehicle. First, she passes it on a mountain road (though barely, as a semi-truck is barreling straight at them). Then, the driver (Marc Menchaca) approaches Jessica outside her hotel the next morning, offering an apology for the incident the day before. Strange, but it is possible that two people traveling in the same direction would wind up in the same place for the night, right?
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
If you’re like me, you may only have a cursory awareness of Tiny Tim. You probably know him as a folk singer who performed in the 1960s, who sang in falsetto and looked a little weird, and who gave us “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” — the song that scared the living shit out of us during James Wan’s Insidious.
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
You know those assholes on the internet — the trolls and the griefers and the dickbags whose only purpose in life is to make other people miserable by shitting on everything? Yeah, we all know them. And if you’re a woman on the Internet, then you are intimately aware. The comments, accusations, and remarks about our work, how we look, and anything else they come up with between massive helpings of Cheetos and a few conversations with their mom, who, for the love of god, wants them to move the hell out of her garage so that she can have some semblance of a life now that she has finished raising this piece of shit. Yeah, them. This movie is about what happens when someone finally pushes back.
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
If there is one thing unique to horror, it’s the fans. Horror fandom is a special and unique place where we celebrate everything macabre, bloody, strange, and otherworldly. We can recite lines from our favorite films, make obscure references to one another, and cosplay the most minor characters knowing that if we go to a con, someone there will know who we’re dressed as and give us a high five.
Read More »By: Emily von Seele
My first film of the Fantasia International Film Festival was a fascinating and understated horror film from Germany. Sleep is a film fueled by nightmares that break into the waking space and fuse themselves to the horrors of the real world. The film centers on Marlene (Sandra Huller) and her daughter Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof). Marlene is plagued by nightmares, often finding herself trapped between sleep and consciousness, gasping for breath. Mona tries to help her as much as she can, but her condition keeps worsening and doesn’t have an apparent source.
Read More »By: Paul Farrell
As the final frames of the last movie flickered into blackness, I knew the end had come. No more screening slots to agonize over, no more seating assignments to lament, no more festival volunteers to high-five — Fantastic Fest 2019 was no more. But in those final hours, there was still celebration; movies to watch, love, and share with the world. That’s when an epiphany hit me. For if we keep talking about it, Fantastic Fest will never truly end, only live on in the hearts, minds, and souls of movie fans everywhere, for all time. And thanks to a particularly great lineup of films on the final day, I’ve still got plenty to say.
By: Paul Farrell
Life in the movie theater grows short, I know this now. For days people have been speaking of the coming end, the veritable theatrical apocalypse. I can scarcely believe that such a life ever could end, such has been the eternity with which it seems to have lasted. Still, I fear the rumors are true that, indeed, Fantastic Fest has nearly reached its final hours. And yet there is still more to talk about. Take Wednesday, for example.
By: Paul Farrell
In the before times, when movies were those things I watched at night with a bowl of popcorn after a long day at work, I recall thinking that a week-long excursion to the movie theater could only ever be a wonderful dream. An unattainable cinematic utopia that was more cruel to imagine than to disregard, for reality would never welcome such a perfect way of life. Then I went to Fantastic Fest. Day 6 brought with it several movies, both old and new alike. Allow me to elaborate.
