HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 15TH ANNUAL PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL – PART 2

Highlights from The 15th Annual Phoenix Film Festival – Part 2

Article by Ray Schillaci

Foreign films provided an eclectic experience with the World Cinema Competition film from Argentina, “Glories of Tango,” the Showcase Feature Film from Hungary, “White God,” and in the IHSFF (Int’l Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival) category from Denmark, “When Animals Dream”. Every one of these films is filled with so much awe and wonder, they will probably be an inspiration to many American filmmakers. After all, we would not have such popular American films like “Star Wars” or “The Magnificent Seven” without Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” or “Seven Samurai,” and even “Twelve Monkeys” without France’s famous short film, “La Jetée”.

Hernan Findling’s “Glories of Tango” sweeps us off our feet with the whimsical tale of a difficult senior patient who’s secret is discovered by a new psychiatrist with unconventional ways. Fermin has been committed by his loving granddaughter. What’s mistaken as feeble-mindedness for years is suddenly looked at in a different light. The man is actually reciting lyrics and titles of tango songs. And, what he is conveying speaks volumes.

Findling looks on most of his characters in a delightfully loving fashion. This film is a romantic ode to love, friendship and family, and compels us to hug our elders while embracing their stories. Not only do we see the struggles of the psychiatrist and granddaughter with Fermin in the present, we also get wonderful glimpses of Fermin’s more popular early days. The handsome young man with the debonaire ways, his family, friends and the woman he pines after.

Then there are the tango scenes with choreography that makes us want to applaud after every dance. The lighting, editing, timing, cinematography are all beautifully rendered. The story as a whole is simply lyrical, and at times brings to mind the endearing family qualities we had appreciated in Coppola’s “The Godfather”. “Glories of Tango” is light on its feet as it dances its way into our hearts. A pure cinematic joy.

I find it very difficult to review “White God,” and serve it justice. Some have simplified it as “Planet of the Apes” with dogs or compared it to Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. But the film goes much deeper than that. It taps into the very emotions animals can share with humans, and the inhumanity that we are capable of inflicting on what some would call our best friend. It is a survival tale of the highest order.

Kornél Mundruczo´ delivers a near miracle with his allegory about two troubled soulmates, one thirteen-year-old girl, Lili and her dog, Hagen. Lili comes from a broken home, and her only stability is her dog. But when her dad has to take care of the both of them it proves to be too much for this part-time father. He opts to drop the Hagen off in the middle of the city, and teach his troublesome daughter a lesson. Both pine for one another (young girl and dog), fall into a deep depression, and end up turning their lives upside down while searching for one another. It practically sounds like a Disney tale. But from there the director turns the tables on any possibility of kiddie fare.

Lili ends up rebelling against her father and goes from skipping class to attending raves and petty thievery while Hagen roams the junkyards for food with other dogs, hooks up with an abusive homeless person, then is sold to a trainer for dog fighting.

Lili goes through an emotional downward spiral as Hagen is forced to shed his domestication and seek out a new brutality. I know this sounds like a real bummer. But it’s actually fascinating the way the whole story is constructed in many layers, and as we peel back each episode, we are both shocked and cheering at the same time.

The dog fighting scenes are brutal. There is a reason for that, for what comes next will boggle the mind. We actually see Hagen communicate with other dogs and eventually lead a massive revolt on the city. The staging of this onslaught is breathtaking, but upping the ante is Lili’s insistence that her dog could be the cause of it all. The big question – if they do meet up will it be a happy reunion or a traumatic ending. What follows is near jaw-dropping, and has some audiences split in their feelings for the film. However one views this unusual tale, they must admit it is handled with precision and the director provides a unique set of storytelling skills rarely seen in cinema today.

“When Animals Dream” could be a wonderful companion piece to Sweden’s 2008 “Let the Right One In” which (in this critic’s humble opinion) is one of the best vampire films ever made. As with the Swedish film, director Jonas Alexander Arnby goes beyond just laying out a werewolf story. The film evolves into a sensitive portrait of the acceptance of being different, and intolerance in a repressed society. This may sound like high-minded nonsense to some, but make no mistake, this film works beautifully.

From the dreamlike cinematography and musical score, “When Animals Dream” takes us to a place so many have traversed, but rarely seen with such originality or finesse. Marie is a sixteen-year-old who lives with her father and ill mother. Marie struggles with her family practically being outcasts on the small island they live on with little to no explanation as to why they are looked at with such indifference.

Turning sixteen, she is struggling with emotions and physical changes that set her off into a whirlpool of emotions she finds hard to control. Murders are happening on the island, and Marie and her family somehow appear to be around the center of them. The town harbors some secret they are determined to keep amongst themselves, but Marie soon becomes rebellious and will not be deterred from the townspeople and her parents.

The film does bring to mind similar teen angst found in the Canadian horror film, “Ginger Snaps,” but Arnby demonstrates a far more artistic touch that sucks us into Marie’s strange world. And, this is what separates “When Animals Dream” from so much average horror fare. Director Arnby, his cast and crew bring us a bizarre reimagining that stays with us long after it is over.

Another Showcase Feature Film that garnered much praise from its audience was “Slow West” starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Writer/Director John Maclean presents a potboiler of a western with wonderful twists and turns. Nothing is quite what it seems, actors take on their characters as if they have lived in their skins through this rough and rugged era, and dialogue crackles with a fresh take on an old west.

Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Jay Cavendish, a 16-year-old babe in the woods from Scotland who has followed his heart into the wild west seeking out the love of his life. But Jay is unprepared for the treacherous journey and soon finds himself in desperate need of a more experienced guide. That’s where Michael Fassbender’s Silas Selleck comes into play. Selleck is a gruff frontiersman and for a price becomes young Jay’s protector and guide.

What innocent Jay does not realize is that his woman has hooked up with an outlaw with a price on his head, and now she has one on hers. He also is not aware that there are a group of ruthless bounty hunters seeking his woman and her mate, and that Selleck happens to be one of them as well. Throughout it all, writer/director Maclean unravels a bitter sweet coming-of-age tale that is near heartbreaking in its telling.

After all this heaviness, one is usually ready for a good laugh, and “Bad Exorcists” which was not entered in the IHSFF cateGORY, and instead was in the Feature-Length Film Competition, somehow found its way into doing just that – making us laugh. Maybe not always, but enough to bring plenty of good cheer to its audience. Sophomoric, juvenile, and maybe even infantile at times with its humor, director Kyle Steinbach was obviously out to have a good time with his people and ended up inviting the audience in on the fun.

This could have easily been a one-joke movie. But Steinbach and his cast bring a welcomed innocence to their movie, and even though not all the humor works, it proves to be an enjoyable time for most. Best friends Charlie, Matt and Dana, excited to enter a horror movie festival, decide to shoot their own exorcism. Unfortunately for them, their lead actress really becomes possessed.

What transpires is a series of mishaps with lower budget “Ghostbuster”-like antics. This is in no way putting the film down. It’s more of a compliment. While bigger budgeted fare have tried to capture that comical magic (i.e. “Ghostbusters 2”), “Bad Exorcists” does have its knee slapping flashes of hilarity, and a couple of “I can’t believe they did that” moments. Writer/director Steinbach pretty much brings the freshness back that we so cherished from some of the ‘80s most fun-filled films (i.e. “Goonies”, “Monster Squad”). What sets this movie apart from so many satires (i.e. “Scary Movie”) is that the humor does not feel forced. Steinbach and his cast have a light touch that encourages us to play along and enjoy the show. “Bad Exorcists” may not exercise restraint in its moaners and groaners, but it does succeed in making us feel like young boys again giggling away at the ridiculousness of it all. Of course, that is unless you’re a girl, then you may not want to join this boy’s club.

Some of the horror shorts this year begged to be feature length. They were that damn good. Delivering thrills, chills and a few good laughs with a slice of dark humor. Some may have mistaken Stephen W Martin’s “Dead Hearts” as a nod to Tim Burton with its wonderful dark take on a young mortician’s first love. Actually, “Dead Hearts” is far closer in spirit with the great Charles Addams than Burton. It is a pure visual delight.

For Hammer Film fans, Gregory Crosbie’s “In Extremis” captures all the earmarks of those fantastic British productions. The story involving a night watchman in a strange cellar of a museum gives us an intriguing mystery along with the bump-in-the-night goosebumps. Some “thing” resides behind the brick walls, and its calling out for help. Do we dare?

But the creepiest, and nastiest (that I witnessed) was Michael Kehoe’s “HUSH”. With all the scary movie tropes, a babysitter, creepy kid, lightning, thunder and a dark house, “HUSH” manages to sucker us in on what we think is the obvious. Then it makes a sharp left, giving us a major jolt. I can still hear the screams and applause.

Now, everybody had their favorites for IHSFF Feature Film Competition, and no matter who won it would be bound to cause at least a little controversy. Three very different films in the horror category received accolades from the IHSFF audiences (that I had the chance to see). Madellaine Paxson’s “Blood Punch” was the winner with its outrageous mix of horror, humor, murder and mayhem in a movie some described as “Breaking Bad” meets “Groundhog Day” in a “Cabin in the Woods”. That praise may be a bit lofty, but Paxson, and writer Eddie Guzelian with cast and crew provide quite a thrill ride and plenty of buckets of blood to quench the thirst of the most ardent horror fan.

Milton may be a college dropout, but he sure knows how to cook, and we’re not talking as a chef. He’s brilliant when it comes to chemicals. Unfortunately for him, the young man lacks the street sense to keep him out of trouble. And, trouble walks into his rehab center (high heels and all) with an offer too good to pass up including “want some of this” “then give me some of that, and more”. Skyler is a dyed-in-the-wool walking talking “use with caution” kind of gal. Her other fault is a maniac drug dealer boyfriend.

The three of them are a volatile mix that ultimately pay the price with a near unlimited amount of ammunition, hunting tools of every kind and a recurring series of deaths that had most viewers cheering in glee. What makes this film even more fun is to find out that this Grand Guignol affair is actually from the makers of such kiddie fare as “Power Rangers R.P.M.” and “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too”! Yeah, that’s right, and Ari Boyland who plays the maniac drug dealer, Russell, was a Power Ranger.

I cannot help but think this was why “Blood Punch” was so whacked out. These people were taking out all their aggressions on what they had been saddled with for years, and instead of seeking therapy decided to mess with our minds and be as brazen as possible. Can any of it be taken seriously? No, but that may be how it inched out the rest of the best for Best Horror Feature.

But for this critic, favor was found in more terrifying films that came in the form of the frightful hauntings of “The House on Pine Street,” and the near taboo breaking “Closer to God”. Perhaps both of these films were too intense and dark for some at IHSFF. For others, like myself, it made us thankful to know there are still new and exciting filmmakers out there that know how to successfully illicit scares with stories that tax our mind.

Aaron and Austin Keeling’s “The House on Pine Street” is an excellent twist on the haunted house genre. It harkens back to the uncomfortable feeling that came with Robert Wise’s “The Haunting”. The people feel real and not acting for the camera as so many POV films of this type do. And, clearly the directors/writers and writer Natalie Jones are tapped into the quiet moments that really unnerve us.

Jennifer, seven months pregnant, reluctantly returns to her home in Kansas. Her’s is not the ideal life with a strained marriage, an overbearing mother waiting for her with open arms, and an impending anxiety over being a new mom. Add all that to a recent nervous breakdown and we have someone that could easily have an overactive imagination. This is how her husband and mother explain her odd behavior.

But is it really that simple? Little unusual happenstances suggest perhaps Jennifer is becoming unhinged again. As the story unfolds, those simple annoying things grow into something malevolent and life threatening. But how does one explain the unexplainable when everybody else thinks its all in your head? That is how the Keelings and the star, Emily Goss as Jennifer, successfully keep us on the edge of our seat.

Casting Goss was a real coup for the directors. She’s given the daunting task of carrying the film, keeping it sympathetic and tossing in doubt at times. Her portrayal is edgy, frustrating and engaging, keeping us on our toes throughout the film. Between her intense performance and the Keelings’ taut direction, “The House on Pine Street” becomes another must see independent horror film creeping up on the heels of “The Babadook” and “It Follows”.

For me personally, I saved the best for last. It’s always exciting when one comes upon a talent that appears to have a quality that you’re almost sure is destined for greatness. I remember when “Shivers” first hit the screens and introduced us to a young David Cronenberg that I raved about to so many who did not feel quite the same. And, as different as it was compared to his later films, William Friedkin’s “The Night They Raided Minsky’s” gave me an excitable moment to step back and realize this guy was going to rock us sooner or later. Eventually he did with “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist”. Now I am shouting out to the celluloid (or digital) heaven to watch out for writer/director Billy Senese.

Senese’s “Closer to God” has an awesome ’70s look that harkens back to the former directors mentioned. He not only unfolds a cautionary tale of cloning, but adds to it the question of what is the soul, and where does it really come from? He carefully weaves us through this labyrinthine story of morals, man’s quest to be God-like, and the loneliness of genius all the while giving a sly wink to the famous Mary Shelley story.

Victor may be a brilliant geneticist, but he is pretty much a failure with the more human side of himself. He is so immersed in his work creating the first human being, that he has developed a near wall of indifference around colleagues, friends and family. He struggles with his attempt to show a warmer side, but his obsession with his work consumes him. Between battling the press, church groups, the attention of his family and their caretakers, Victor commits to a high wire juggling act that is bound to fail.

From the opening sequence, Senese delivers a story that makes us wince, squirm, and eventually gasp at his audacity as a filmmaker. There’s a coldness that might have turned off some audience members, but it purposely echoes the lead character. Senese puts us more into Victor’s head than we could imagine. It’s an uncomfortable place to be, and that is exactly where the suspense of this fine film comes from. “Closer to God” is a smart, classy first rate production.

The two standouts in Showcase Films (other than “When Animals Dream” – already mentioned) for IHSFF were the fascinating documentary “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau” and the U.S. premiere of Marcus Nispel’s “Exeter” (formerly “Backmask”). These two films had people talking long after the lights came back up. And, “Exeter” provided an added attraction of a fun and informative Q&A with its stars, Brittany Curran and Michael Ormsby.

“Lost Soul…” provided a unique look into the much troubled and eventually doomed production of New Line Cinema’s 1996 version of “The Island of Dr. Moreau”. Writer/director Richard Stanley is painted as a visionary, but clearly did not have the experience to helm such a production as it floundered for months attempting to shoot in a jungle. Stanley’s concepts were admirable, but once saddled with the likes of Brando and Val Kilmer, the production went wildly out of control. New Line brought in craftsman John Frankenheimer in the hopes of saving the film, but that caused a mutiny among cast and crew. The rest is a cinematic history lesson as to how everything could go wrong with a movie.

Egos and testosterone explode, sets are set afire, and Stanley is banned from the set, eventually resorting in sneaking back on in a dog mask. Hearing Stanley’s side of the story is far more captivating than when Frankenheimer takes over. At first, it is an interesting jaunt with what Frankenheimer had to put up with, but it does go on a bit long. Then there are the interviews of former cast and crew members and their priceless insight. “Lost Soul…” like its title does go on a little too long, but never ceases to engage the viewer with so many absurd anecdotes.

Marcus Nispel finally had a U.S. premiere of his long-awaited original horror film, “Exeter,” and it did not disappoint. Shortly after the Phoenix Film Festival announced their plans for a screening and word spread like wildfire on the internet, the raucous roller coaster of a film was picked up by Viva Pictures for a U.S. release in August. Music to the ears of rabid horror fans.

I reviewed Nispel’s movie back in May of 2014 when it was under the title of “Backmask” after seeing it with a wildly enthusiastic audience at the American Film Market back in November 2013. After nearly six months of not seeing any distribution information for the film, I posted my article not only as a review, but a call to arms for horror fans. Nispel’s new film could not have the unfortunate fate of being a straight to DVD release and not have the chance to be seen on the big screen where it belonged.

The “Exeter” screening at PFF/IHSFF proved to be a much tighter film than before. The pace was lightning-quick with its big, dark laughs and scares. Disturbing black & white footage has been added to give us a bit more background on the asylum where literally all hell breaks loose. One of the deaths in question is edited far better than before, and the sound now packs a helluva wallop.

People laughed, screamed, and cheered in all the right spots, and Nispel’s horror opus proved to be the biggest highlight of the festival for horror fans. For those not in the know, “Exeter” is the name of an abandoned asylum where a group of teens decide to hold a wild and whacked out party with drugs, sex and speed metal as the entertainment for the evening. The morning after finds a handful of young people attempting to come down from the festivities and just for kicks perform an occult ritual that brings much more than they bargained for.

Although it is the remarkable chemistry of the ensemble cast that raised the bar of this horror treat, there are standout performances and I would be amiss if I did not mention them. Nick Nicotera, Nick Nordella and Michael Ormsby bring the big laughs up front. In fact, I believe some of those laughs were trimmed from the original cut probably because they took away from the horror of it all. Watching all three work their magic both together and separately in some ways brings to mind the fun an older generation once had watching Abbott & Costello or The Dead End Kids confronting their boogeymen. And Brittany Curran as Reign, the troubled goth teen, delivers a quiet, likable and complex character that holds our interest throughout the whole hellish ordeal.

As mentioned before in my last article, “Exeter” is more than a horror show. Nispel’s film is also part mystery and part Ernst Lubitsch comedy of errors which makes it soar into the realm of such cult classics as “Re-Animator” and “Return of the Living Dead,” but with production values that far exceed those films. And, although it was not the last film screened at the Phoenix Film Festival/International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, it was definitely one of the most memorable.