Dark Whispers: Volume 1

Another film from Monsterfest. I don't usually like short films but this one was definitely worth it. High production value which I didn't expect. All made by women apparently. The future looks bright.

There are some great chapters in this dark, occasionally funny horror anthology including one with Anthony LaPaglia and Ed Speleers, a stop-motion animation and one about a man who has caught a mermaid (maybe...). Lovely to see so many short genre tales from talented female creatives.

This is a collection of stories that instead of showcasing what female directors are capable of in the genre of horror merely showcases the pretentiousness of those female directors that took part in this snore-fest of below mediocre, beige, bland and ultimately meaningless collection of occurences (Calling them stories would be giving them too much credit).

Each occurence is written, directed and acted with all the skill and understanding of adolescent poetry, the sort of poetry that at the age of 13 you thought was so deep and meaningful, the sort of codswallop that as you reach adulthood you realise it was just a load of meaningless shallow twaddle and merely a source of embarrasment that you could ever have been that naive.

It absolutely astounds me that anybody could categorise this as "Horror", even in these days of safe spaces and snowflakes and generally weak and pathetic people it is hard to believe that anybody could find any of these segments the least bit scary let alone deserving of the label horror.

Best that the directors stick to directing rom-coms and leave horror to those that know what horror should be.

And people here give it half the points, I pay attention. First thing I noticed was "Featured Review" (you can bet that I always read what FR says. Especially when the rating is 9/10 or 10.) First thing I noticed the reviewer got some in the wrong order. I "can see" the person was "paying attention". Sorry to say, I did not like this movie although I'm all for poppets that can cry like pinocchio (played him in fourth grade). (By the way the person missed the interesting thing about a "mermaid".) Still a fan of this site, not at all the other. Been watching horror movies for 70 years. And yes, I give 10 when it's a really innovative and intersting movie.

This is a low budget independent film, with its obvious constraints that come from that, which should be taken into consideration before watching it. However, if you pass that, you will find that its heart is in the right place. I really enjoyed it, because it presented something novel, different visions of the many fears and troubles that women face daily. There were tragic and funny stories, and all the spectrum in between, different ways to narrate the varied experiences of women told through women's perspective. There are subtleties and sensitivities that might appear "boring" to some (I suspect men), but if you enjoy these type of style, you will love it.

*My favourite was the last one and the one that involved plants.

I hope there will be a volume 2, so we can see more of the work of female directors.