Fantasia 2019--THE DEEPER YOU DIG (John and Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, 2019)

Kurt (John Adams) appears to be seeing ghosts in The Deeper You Dig (2019)

Films are notoriously hard to make, even if some filmmakers make it look easy.  As I teach in a film department, and have even endeavored to make films of my own (all pretty terrible), as well as acted in some productions, I know of which I speak.  Not only must one have dedicated actors and crew who are willing to work for no money, but a story capable of being told on the cheap.  Then you have to figure out how to get people--with power, money, and connections--to see the damn thing.  For every film screened at Fantasia, there are a dozen more that didn't make the cut.  One way to resolve some of these issues is to exploit your family members and friends--so many great horror films hinge on getting just the right location, and frequently that location is your Uncle's house (with Mom and Dad providing "craft services" and a bunch of crew camping out on the floor of the set).  Still, getting all these factors in place is pretty rare, and that's why Toby Poser, and John and Zelda Adams' The Deeper You Dig (2019) is such a delightful accomplishment.

You'll float too!--Toby Poser as Ivy and Zelda Adams as Echo in The Deeper You Dig

Deeper begins with two narratives that will soon interconnect.  It follows mother and daughter Ivy and Echo as they experience an average winter day in Upstate New York (the Catskills, to be precise).  Echo wants to go sledding, and Ivy reminds her that she cannot be with her because she has a client meeting--Ivy's a "psychic" who does tarot readings and bilks customers for a chance to talk to their loved ones from beyond the veil.  Meanwhile, Kurt, their new neighbor, is tearing the house apart next door in order to flip it.  His clients are also likely wealthy New Yorkers who want a country getaway not too far from the city.  As is wont to happen, a snowstorm blankets the area, and during Kurt's drunken drive back from the local dive bar, he hears a "thump, thump" and stumbles out of his car to discover what he has accidentally hit.  As you can guess, it's not a deer.

Echo awakens in confusion

Here's where the film takes its fateful turn, and speaks to the carefully crafted nature of its story.  Most people (one hopes) would call 911 and get some emergency personnel out there to handle the situation.  Not Kurt...and what he decides to do shortly thereafter further seals his doom.  Ivy is not just sitting around either, and contacts the local authorities, files a missing persons report, and puts up "missing" posters all over town, even paying Kurt a visit to ask for his help in finding her.  What happens to Kurt is more than just a guilty conscience; as he slips deeper and deeper into the darkness, Ivy and Echo's real connection to the supernatural becomes impossible for him, and the audience, to ignore.  The film combines ghostly hauntings, paranormal phenomena, and possession in a wicked brew that is quite persuasive for a film budgeted at $11,000--as the filmmakers divulged in the film's Q  & A.

How did they pull it off?  Well, Toby and John are a couple, and Toby wrote the script and co-directed with John, and his daughter Zelda operated the camera, and all three of them star, using their home in Upstate as well as a house John was "flipping" as their primary locations.  While the film does have a DIY vibe, the soundtrack is quite evocative and sinister (crafted by John) and the beats of the story, as well as its practical effects, are superb.  The Deeper You Dig (2019) is a family affair, and the 5th feature film on their roster (the other films made by "The Adams Family" are available to screen on Amazon Prime).  John explained that he first got the idea for the family to make films when they were living out of an RV (with eldest daughter, Lulu, now off at college) driving around the country.  Only recently have they decided to try their hand at the horror genre--and the Fantasia audience was certainly glad that they did!

One cannot have enough creepy clowns!

Still, The Deeper You Dig is not just coasting on its "origin story," but is a deeply unsettling, well-acted, and beautifully composed dark fairy tale in its own right.  Toby, John, and Zelda are immensely talented and easygoing artists, and I really hope that more people get a chance to see this low budget, indie horror gem than the fans who cheered and embraced "The Adams Family" at Fantasia.  I'm hoping to bring them in as guests to my college, because I think our students will find them really and truly inspiring. 

Marrowbone--Sergio G. Sanchez (2017)

Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) comforts a distraught Jack (George MacKay) In Marrowbone (2017)

Somehow, I've seemed to have fallen into some Anya-Taylor Joy cinematic rabbit hole, and have watched a passel of her films recently, including Sergio G. Sanchez's feature directorial debut, Marrowbone (2017).  Sanchez is mostly known for writing two of J.A. Bayona's rather atmospheric films--The Orphanage (2007) and The Impossible (2012), so I knew that he was quite an effective and nuanced storyteller.  Not to compare too much, but this film tries for The Orphanage but doesn't quite meet that standard, either narratively or visually.

Something about creepy dolls/effigies gets me every time

Like a film that I also plan to review, Hereditary, the film opens with a DIY model of a house, with lots of doll/child figurines scattered about.  The film is framed as a fairy tale with a beautifully illustrated book of watercolors entitled "Our Story" to introduce audiences to the Marrowbone clan--Jack, Billy, Anna, and Sam--the children of Rose Marrowbone, who has recently passed away due to a wasting illness.  The backstory of this family is crucial: the Marrowbones are named after the home to which they flee from what appears to be a serial killer father.  This house is rich with memories, as it is Rose's childhood home, but she steers the children away from their family trauma by suggesting that once the children cross an invisible line on the floor, "there will be no more memories.  Our story begins here."  Yet, Marrowbone is really about how one cannot escape so easily, or erase, one's past, and the hauntings that occur in this ruined, and dilapidated old house are reminders of what clings to this family, despite supposed new beginnings.  The kids have also built this massive fort in one of the rooms because they have been told by Mom to "have a safe place ready...in case he finds you."  She clearly means dear old Dad.

Once Rose passes, the kids retreat from society and most visitors, clinging to each other for "no one will separate us--we are one."  Only Allie (Anya-Taylor Joy), the local librarian, appears to connect with these kids, especially Jack (George MacKay).  Cue hetero-romance plotline with even a mild sub-antagonist in Tom Porter (Kyle Soller), who competes for Allie's affections in this po-dunk "American" town.  He also happens to be the solicitor who can demolish their family if he finds out that Rose has died, and there are an elaborate series of ruses used in order to provide him with Rose's signature on important documents.  When Porter gets suspicious of the goings on at Marrowbone, Jack placates him with some cold hard cash--"blood money" seemingly stolen from their father's victims, and then taken when the family ran away.  Of course, when Porter's financial well runs dry, he tries to get some more, and "sh** happens."  Bad "sh**.

The Marrowbone clan sticks together at all costs

The film makes the most of its setting, and the old homestead, Marrowbone, has plenty of creaking doors, overgrown yards, and dusty attics.  Their poverty is emphasized in their spare, dirty clothing, especially in comparison to Allie and Porter's more modern garb.  The film takes place in 1969, but Jack and his siblings look like they are from a far earlier era.  The film has several timeline jumps that don't make a lot of sense until the film's end, starting with the family's arrival, then shortly after Rose's death and when an unwelcome visitor arrives, with the majority of the film taking place "6 months later," in July 1969.  During this time period, the family makes sure to keep all mirrors covered, and lives in fear of the return of some ghost that seems to haunt them at every turn.  This haunting, combined with their attempts to stay one step ahead of their solicitor, maintain the primary tensions of the film.  Unfortunately, too many scenes spent with the family squabbling, or Jack clutching his head in pain, are repetitive moments that don't really take the narrative anywhere, nor provide the film with a source of momentum.

Jack is tasked with protecting his family, but some jobs may turn out to be too difficult

Like many contemporary horror films, most of Marrowbone's explanations come to a head during the film's climax, so from here onward, this review contains ***spoilers.  Much of the research I'm undertaking these days is on a figure I call "the haunted heroine," a female protagonist whose past is clouded by trauma, and her fragile subjectivity leaves her vulnerable to supernatural happenings and hauntings.  Yet, throughout the narrative, her perspective is questioned, and the specter of mental illness lurks as a possible explanation for her experiences.  When one works on a book project, you have to flesh out your research with other possible examples.  While there are not as many examples available in the horror genre, it does have its share of "haunted hero" characters, and Jack would fit right into this mold.  As the oldest in his family and ostensibly the "man of the house," he is A) tasked by his mother to protect his siblings and keep his family together, B) marked by the most trauma, C) trusted as the audience's chief POV, since he not only goes to town, but interacts with a love interest to boot.  Much of the film, his siblings are more like incredibly chatty background.

In a roundabout manner, the film goes back to a moment earlier in the narrative where a gunshot drives a hole into one of the windows, and we actually get to see what events occurred prior to the time jump to July 1969.  **Turns out that not only did their psycho father find them, but knocked Jack unconscious, leaving his siblings to be systematically murdered (thankfully, these murders occur offscreen).  Upon waking, and realizing what has happened, he traps Dad in the attic, and then walls up the room, hoping that Dad will just die from starvation.  Yet, Jack's failure at protecting his family causes him to snap, ergo the mental illness part.  Henceforth (July 1969), Jack sees his siblings around him, taking on their voices, and interacting with them as if they were still alive.  Not only are there no ghosts, but Jack's Dad is still alive in the attic, eating rodents and biding his time until Porter tears the wall down and is killed by Dad--as he should.  Allie stumbles into his clutches, and Jack, in a moment of lucidity, saves her, kills Dad, and it's all very standard.  Allie and Jack end up a couple, and Allie picks up Jack's "medicine" for his dissociative identity disorder,  but doesn't make him take it so that he can continue to live in a fantasy world where his siblings are still alive.  Ugh.  Anya Taylor-Joy's Allie is thus trapped in this life taking care of her mentally ill boyfriend, but she does it for love.  Like The Orphanage, the film plays with spectral incognizance (ghosts do not realize that they are dead), then explaining that idea away with "mental illness," while throwing in some unnecessary gender-norm sentimentality at film's end.  Sanchez certainly is good at creating atmosphere, but unfortunately falls into too many conventions to compel me to recommend Marrowbone with enthusiasm.

The Sound--Jenna Mattison (2017)

Rose McGowan must fight not to be infected by The Sound (Jenna Mattison, 2017)

Trawling through Amazon looking for "haunted heroines," I came across the quite compelling, women-directed The Sound (Jenna Mattison, 2017), starring the sadly underutilized Rose McGowan.  Rose has recently drawn quite a bit of attention for being a vocal activist against sexual harassment and assault, accusing Harvey "the disgusting pig" Weinstein of rape way before it became a deluge of accounts and spurring a "white, sexual harassment" version of the #MeToo movement.  Admittedly, McGowan's current role in this movement garnered much of my initial interest in the film (that, and that she looks remarkably like Angelina Jolie).  Yet her performance as ghost debunker Kelly Johanson really won me over, and while there are some loopy plot holes here and there, The Sound is a chilling ghost story that rather astutely brings another "haunted heroine" into our midst.  Damn, there certainly is no shortage of these women in horror.  Could there be some link with horror's penchant for unreliable female narrators within cultures where women are rarely trusted or believed?  Coincidence?

To remind readers, the figure I term "the haunted heroine" is a frequent female character in the horror film genre.  She is a vulnerable, often fragile character suffering from a previous trauma, and the film traces her journey as she interacts with a space that morphs and transforms around her.  This interaction with cinematic space is linked explicitly to the character's subjectivity, as her confusion and disorientation mirrors the space she occupies.  The line between reality and fantasy is hopelessly blurred in these horror films, and the chief concern here is whether the heroine is actually experiencing supernatural occurrences, or if she's just losing her mind.  Often, "science" is used to disprove the existence of ghosts, but the technology used to disprove such things rarely works, and consistently breaks down.  In The Sound, Kelly is a renowned debunker, who analyzes sound waves in order to prove that spirits are just low frequency sound waves affecting the brain, and producing hallucinations, along with headaches, nosebleeds, etc.  Her blog is beloved by denizens of the interweb (rather unrealistic, because as a woman, people/guys would troll the crap out of her).  She actually makes a decent living, as she's invited to cure various people of "ghosts," and she can just hop on a plane to "ghostbust," whether at some distant farmhouse, or in an abandoned Toronto subway station.

Kelly makes a living traveling around convincing people that ghosts do not exist

After a brief scene with genre stalwart Stephen McHattie, in which Kelly points out that his grandson isn't seeing ghosts, but affected by nighttime crop dusting, she then is summoned to Toronto to check out a ghost that seemingly haunts an abandoned subway station.  She expects to be back in Detroit to attend some party with her attentive beau, but things never go according to plan in these films, and she ends up spending the night, riddled with hallucinations as the sound waves take hold.  Her most frequent line: "It's not real, it's not real."

Christopher Lloyd shows up to offer some wisdom and change some lightbulbs

The film is full of some great genre actors who do manage to steal Kelly's thunder.  International treasure Christopher Lloyd adds another horror film to his roster after his incredible performance in I Am Not A Serial Killer (Billy O'Brien, 2016), playing a friendly old coot who mysteriously works for the Toronto Dept. of Transportation in some rather dubious capacity changing lightbulbs in abandoned stations.  Suspicious??  Then there is the absolutely terrific and menacing Michael Eklund as a Detective with really shady motives.  Let's just say that his character reveals the truly tremendous power of low frequency sound waves on the human body!  Finally, Richard Gunn plays Ethan, Kelly's beleaguered husband, who gets way too much screen time chasing after her and ultimately saving her ass (I think).  Oh, also, there are hordes of moths, and perhaps ghosts.

Scary kid ghosts always seem to carry around creepy dolls

As Kelly undergoes an underground "ordeal," the film's narrative reveals in bits and pieces that there's a past traumatic event that motivates Kelly's zeal for ghost debunking.  In black and white flashbacks, we see a young girl's stumbling walk into a forest, clutching a doll very similar to the one above.  Kelly seems to be obsessed with some girl named "Emily," but we only find out who this girl is in the last 10 minutes of the film.  Indeed, the film keeps you guessing, and the incipient disorientation and "lostness" common to these types of films is present in every single frame as we are almost entirely focused through Kelly's skewed perspective.  Sure, there is some crazy, nonsensical stuff here, especially surrounding Eklund's creepy detective, and the omnipresent moths, but on the whole, spectators are rooting for the intrepid Kelly to make it out alive and sane.  Funny, like Nick Murphy's The Awakening (2011) which follows Rebecca Hall's ghost debunker, all The Sound's momentum seems to move toward Kelly's inevitable transformation from a doubter to a believer.  Like Murphy's film, Kelly experiences her own "awakening," as she tries to come to terms with her past; and the film offers one of the few (relatively) happy endings of the genre.  I was pleasantly surprised by The Sound, and since it's directed by a woman as well, I highly recommend you check it out while it's still available for less than a buck on Amazon.

Dearest Sister--Mattie Do (2016)

Blind Ana is haunted by spirits in Mattie Do's sophomore feature Dearest Sister (2016)

Streaming on Shudder, Mattie Do's Dearest Sister is an unsettling and atmospheric slow burn horror that highlights class differences in Laotian culture in a rather stark and horrifying manner.  Do is Laos' first female director, and has so far worked exclusively in the horror genre.  Dearest Sister was Laos' first ever submission for the foreign language Academy award, and tells a very female-oriented story--one where male characters are more props then actual fleshed out characters.  Kind of refreshing.

Nok, Ana's cousin, becomes tempted by pleasures that money can bring

Dearest Sister focuses on village girl Nok (Amphaiphun Phommapunya), who is shuttled off by her poverty-stricken parents to Lao capital Vientiane, to become a paid companion to her "city" cousin, Ana (Vilouna Phetmany), whose sight is rapidly deteriorating and needs help.  Despite Ana's increasing disability, she has done well for herself, with a handsome white Estonian dude, Jakob, as her devoted husband, and two servants to take care of her home.  Nok is not completely considered "family" by Ana, but not really a servant either, so she's trapped in a kind of liminal space between the two roles.  Unsurprisingly, the servants really resent the hell out of Nok because of it, while Anna is a raging jerk who treats both her servants and Nok like crap.  Ergo the servants move the furniture around just to mess with Ana, and everyone only pretends to get along when Jakob is home.

Ana's ability to see ghosts, and premonitions of death, inadvertently turn her into a cash cow

Nok susses out rather quickly that while Ana is losing her sight, she's gaining another kind of sense--she sees ghosts and spirits.  Even though Ana is initially rather cruel and dismissive of Nok, she gradually becomes closer to her companion, and Nok comforts her through her ghostly encounters.  During these spectral moments, Ana recites three numbers (told to her by the spirits she sees), and on a whim, Nok uses the numbers to play the lottery, and wins big a couple of times.  This largesse (of which Ana is oblivious) allows Nok entree into consumer culture.  Instead of sending money home, she buys a new smart phone, a dress, dies her hair, has drinks at a fine restaurant--trying to fit into the culture, and tempted by its pleasures.  She still helps Ana, but nevertheless takes advantage of the young woman's affliction.  Ana's servants do not take kindly to Nok's sudden influx of cash, and steal from both Ana and Nok at every turn.  The film implies that they have been employed by Ana and Jacob for quite some time, and the wealth gap in play becomes more intolerable as Nok rises in Ana's estimation.  Of course, Nok can play the lottery only so often without all parties becoming increasingly suspicious.  Ana's discovery of Nok's deception is simultaneous with an expensive surgery she gets in Thailand to restore her eyesight--one that may get rid of her "ghost sight" for good.  As Jakob takes off on yet another business trip, Ana and Nok are left alone together during Ana's recovery, and things seriously unravel from there.

The gore in Dearest Sister is subtle, but its suspense is pretty acute

Mattie Do does a remarkable job of creating sympathetic portraits of these complicated, and at times, unlikeable female characters, and the women who play Ana and Nok convince us to care for them through their nuanced performances.  Unlike many horror films, these two women are our sole identification points--we only see through their POV.  Throughout the film, one roots for Nok, even when she makes quite a few questionable decisions, and spectators feel for Ana, empathizing with her loneliness, fear, and vulnerability.  The only clearcut villains are Ana's servants, but viewers can still feel a smattering of understanding as to what drives their resentment and final acts of cruelty.  The film emphasizes above all that rampant economic inequalities can turn women against each other in the most insidious ways, and that the endearment "dearest sister" can shift into a bitter curse.  Visually, the film is rather low-key with hand-held camerawork and a definite low-budget vibe, but the performances and the film's sharp script allow it to rise above its budgetary limitations.  This film is a fine example of a woman director developing a distinctive and expressive voice.  Definitely worth checking out!

2017 Sitges Film Festival--50th edition and Excited for What's on Offer

While I've been lucky enough to attend Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival over the last four years, this year, 2017, I'm fortunate to be traveling to Barcelona (the seaside town of Sitges, specifically) this year for the Sitges Film Festival, one of the most prestigious and exciting horror and fantasy film festivals in the world.  So I intend to work on my Catalan and get pumped for some things that I will see here first, with one of the most densely packed and exciting schedules and screenings at 5 different venues, this festival will be intense.  Here's a taste of my excitement:

A Haunting Image from Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water (2017)

Guillermo del Toro is a true cinematic visionary, and a notorious horror geek as well.  With films like The Devil's Backbone (2001), to Pan's Labyrinth (2006), to the more recent Crimson Peak (2015), he knows how to build worlds and craft visions of gorgeous dread.  His new film will be screening several times at Sitges, way ahead of its December release date in the U.S., and frankly, why wait when I can see it with a slew of devoted fans at Sitges?  The trailer teases equal parts mystery, creature feature, romance, and quirk.  Looks like cinematic magic.

A Haunted Heroine in a Menacing Home--Turkish Director Can Evrenol's Housewife (2017)

I haven't yet had the pleasure of watching Evrenol's much talked about feature debut, Baskin (2015), but satanic gore orgies are not always my go-to film.  Still, the reviews of his first film speak to a daring new voice in horror, and his latest film, Housewife, is completely the type of film that attracts me.  A female heroine who may be encountering supernatural elements, or may be graced with madness?  Love it!  The film's trailer is riddled with gorgeous images and a very unsettling atmosphere.

Birdie's imaginative life in the convent is captured in Elizabeth Schuch's The Book of Birdie (2017)

In my continuous quest to see as many women-directed (horror) films as I can, I stumbled upon Elizabeth Schuch's The Book of Birdie, a tale of a young convent girl troubled by hallucinations who becomes infatuated with another girl who works at the convent.  With images like the one above, and the ones in the trailer, I'm hoping that Schuch will be an exciting new discovery.

Jaume Balaguero's latest film Muse (2017) shines as a riveting example of Spanish gothic horror

I've been a fan of Jaume Balaguero's work early on.  I'm an admirer of The Nameless (1999), Darkness (2001) and Fragile (2005), and the REC series is pretty awesome.  So when I saw that he's premiering his latest film at Sitges--Yes!!  Looking at the Spanish teaser, mysteries abound along with plenty of atmospheric dread.

The desert landscape houses the cannibalistic and brutal in Ana Lily Amirpour's The Bad Batch (2016)

Another woman director's latest outing, Ana Lily Amirpour's The Bad Batch (2016) has received mixed reviews, and looks quite different from her breakout film, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).  Cannibalism seems to be the hot topic with female directors these days (see Julia Ducournau's Raw (2016)).  I like her idiosyncratic style, and Jason Momoa and Keanu Reeves do not hurt the film's appeal either.  The trailer definitely hints at a distinctive world.  Yes, I can watch it in the U.S. now, but Sitges is hosting a Q & A with the director, so I think it's definitely worth the wait.

A couple live unhappily ever after in Aik Karapetian's latest feature Firstborn (2017)

Latvian director Aik Karapetian may not be someone with whom everyone is familiar, but hopefully that status will soon change.  I first encountered Karapetian when I watched The Man in the Orange Jacket (2014) at Fantasia a few years ago. I thought his film was visually inventive and arresting, but had some rather unfortunate final girl plotting.  Nevertheless, I'm eager to see what he's doing lately, and the trailer hints at some unsettling domestic menace.  Seems like another finely wrought study of the perils of masculinity too.

Guillermo Amoedo's El Habitante (2017) looks to have some fine female performances

I'm unfamiliar with Mexican director Guillermo Amoedo, but he seems to be buds with the nefarious Eli Roth, having written the screenplays for both The Green Inferno (2013) and Knock Knock (2015).  I've decided not to hold those credits against him, because the trailer for his latest film, on which he is the director, is pretty damn compelling.  Some of the best films I've seen are ones about which I know nothing, so I'm definitely intrigued by the film's possibilities.

Coralie Fargeat's Revenge (2017) gives us a female directed rape revenge shocker

Unsurprisingly, rape revenge is not one of my favorite go-to horror subgenres, usually because there's so much graphic sexual assault, I have a hard time even caring about the vengeance part, I'm so traumatized.  Yet, I'm always looking for a woman-directed example that might settle the score.  Coralie Fargeat's Revenge (2017) premiered at TIFF this year, and the review from The Hollywood Reporter has a great tag line: "Debuting French writer-director Coralie Fargeat goes the full grindhouse with flair, channeling a female gaze and a wicked sense of humor into a rape payback thriller that churns a river of blood." David Rooney claims that the film has a "feminist sensibility," so I'll have to see if I agree with his take.

A queer young woman manifests supernatural powers in Joachim Trier's Thelma (2017)

I've seen a few too many queer monster/romances done wrong, but I'm still a sucker for a Norwegian spook story with a young telekinetic woman at its center.  The visuals from the trailer are so arresting (what is the deal with the eels, though), that I'm excited to give Joachim Trier's Thelma (2017) a try.  Hopefully, the film won't reiterate some of the most egregious "queer female monster" scenarios (I'm looking at you, Replace).

15th Century supernatural shenanigans in Lukas Feigelfeld's debut Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017)

While I wasn't in love with Robert Eggers The Witch (2015), I appreciated its zeal for period detail.  I'm more inclined toward a visionary journey like Rainer Sarnet's mysterious and evocative November (2017), which I screened (and really enjoyed) this summer at Fantasia.  Here's hoping that Lukas Feigelfeld's Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017) skews more toward the latter's imaginative imagery and dark fairy tale focus.  OOOh, Fantastic Fest just gave the film a terrific review and the trailer just dropped!

Maude experiences a waking nightmare searching for her twin in Luke Shanahan's Rabbit (2017)

Any synopsis that begins with "after waking from a vivid dream" provides my first clue that the film will blur that lovely line between dream and waking life, the "real" and the nightmare.  The trailer for Luke Shanahan's Rabbit (2017) suggests a woman's struggle to make sense of her troubled life, pointedly focused on her point-of-view and subjective experiences.  A must-see for my taste in horror.

Alice is the subject of her Dad's experiments in Sadrac González-Perellón's Black Hollow Cage (2017)

Another possible new discovery at Sitges, Black Hollow Cage's trailer made me immediately take notice.  An ominous soundtrack underlies the tale of poor Alice, stuck in the woods with her Dad until some other kids show up, and then things get nuts.  When is sequestering your disabled daughter and then shifting your attention to some other kids ever a good idea??  Potential evil children mayhem right here!!

Seth A. Smith's The Crescent (2017) centers on the subjectivity of a toddler

Premiering at TIFF to great acclaim, Seth A. Smith's The Crescent (2017) sounds utterly unique and enticing, and the trailer is a masterpiece of mood and atmosphere.  Frankly, the paintings that Mom creates are so mesmerizing, I could just watch a film centering on those images.  Word is out that this film offers much, and I've been fixed on seeing it ever since its positive reception in Toronto.

Beyond excited to see Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani latest Let the Corpses Tan (2017)

As far as I'm concerned, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have yet to misstep.  Amer (2009) and The Strange Color of Your Bodies Tears (2013) are both brilliant and gorgeous, and I have been awaiting their newest film, Let the Corpses Tan (2017) for what feels like forever.  Thank you, Sitges, for playing this film this year.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  The trailer displays their characteristic sumptuous cinematography nestled in a retro mood piece, and I'm certain I'll love this film.

 

Kiyoshi Kurosawa tries his hand at the alien invasion genre in Before We Vanish (2017)

I do still long for the J-horror of the olden days, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse (2001) is one of my favorites.  I genuinely liked and was (appropriately) creeped out by Creepy (2016) last year, so I'm always ready for another Kurosawa sinister scare.  Before We Vanish's trailer looks great, sans the overly melodramatic music--which makes me fear that this film might be trying for a "star-crossed" alien love story.  Still, the film looks to have enough violence and irreverent humor to balance out the sentimental, and I'm eager to give it a try.

Angel Gonzalez's Compulsion (2017) looks to be a cautionary tale on the perils of jealousy

Quite clearly, the place to see Spanish language horror and thrillers is Sitges, and so Angel Gonzalez's Compulsion (2017) made it to my list, with a trailer that suggests that in Spanish horror, women continue to make the worst relationship choices....and that men, on the whole, suck.  I hope the film's heroine develops some much needed agency.

Irish twins, a haunted house, and ghosts delight in Brian O'Malley's The Lodgers (2017)

1920s rural Ireland, and twins residing in a haunted, crumbling estate--really, could any film be more tailor made to my specific tastes?  I haven't seen O'Malley's previous effort, Let Us Prey (2014), but The Lodgers (2017) looks so incredibly gorgeous, I had a difficult time choosing one image for this post.  Since this film is the gala closing night film, I might not get in, but fingers crossed that I get to see this luscious work at Sitges.

I had to be choosy when it came to the films that I decided to screen, since there are so many offerings at 5 different venues, some all night long (oh to be staying next door rather than taking the train from Barcelona).  Thankfully, I saw some films at Fantasia this summer, so I could focus on specific Sitges screenings, but I'm so tempted to see some of my favorites again, especially the 4K remastering of Argento's Suspiria--one of the best cinematic experiences I have ever had, and I've seen many films.  I'll be back with more in a couple of weeks!!

Fantasia 2016--We Go On--Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton (2016)

Miles (Clark Freeman) wants proof of life after death, but is also afraid to find it in We Go On (2016)

I am afraid of dying.  Most people are.  I keep hoping some hot vampire will invite me into his or her immortal club with a kiss, but the window in which I'm okay with living in this body forever is rapidly closing.  Still, I try not to think about my impending death too much IRL, and channel those fears into the pleasures of the supernatural horror genre.  Is there life after death?  It's a question that haunts us, and no one is more plagued by this question--to the point of phobia--than strapping but terrified Miles (Clark Freeman) in Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton's sharply-written and fiercely intelligent supernatural thriller We Go On (2016).

Miles and his Mom (Annette O'Toole) sift through the viable answers to his ad

With the help of a small inheritance, Miles attempts to alleviate his crippling fear of death by placing an ad saying that he will give $30,000 to anyone who is able to give him "definitive proof" of life after death.  Of course, he gets his share of nutters and hoaxes, but with the help of his Mom, who's kind of worried about this particular project, they narrow things down to three viable options (and some maybes): a professor, a medium, and some guy with a magic box (like the Hellraiser box, people)!  I'm not going to give away what happens with any of these folks, but suffice to say that once a certain door opens, or once you squeeze the toothpaste, or whatever cliche applies--there's NO GOING BACK.  Or is there?

Miles's fears start leaking into his waking life

The smart writing and strong performances in this film are nicely counterbalanced by some choice visuals, and I really appreciate a film with this strapping white guy lead who is both terribly flawed and scared of everything.  We're so used to white guy heroes blundering about on a testosterone-fueled hubris mission that to see a man constantly freaking out, yet clearly set up as the film's hero, is damn refreshing.  Despite Clark Freeman's commendable performance, every scene is stolen by Annette O'Toole as Miles's morally questionable Mum.  She's fiercely protective of her son, but not in a cloying way; rather, she's a shoot first and then ask questions kind of lady.

Nelson (Jay Dunn) lurks around a graveyard

Kudos to Jay Dunn for making the LAX-loving Nelson initially benign and a little sad, to twitchingly menacing shortly later.  Dunn and co-director and writer Andy Mitton were there for a Q & A after their film screened at Fantasia.  Mitton admitted that he "believes in the paranormal," and that he's the "no doubt believer" while Jesse Holland is the skeptic, creating a creative balance between the two.  Both men, with Jay Dunn, all went to Middlebury College, and as a professor at a small liberal arts college myself, I know the kind of spark that can ignite a creative group of students to produce great things.  Middlebury should be very proud.  We Go On is a smart and frequently witty thriller, and I hope it gets a wider release so more people can see it!