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Saw five films at Screamfest. Here is the report:
Diary of the Dead
It's better than Land of the Dead....and probably the best film he has done in 22 years...sadly that isn't saying much because he hasn't done much in the past 22 years and the films he has done are: Land of the Dead, Bruiser, The Dark Half, Two Evil Eyes (Argento had the better half of that film), and Monkey Shines.
I don't want to say much because I hate giving away anything. We'll start with the negative - The acting is not so great...and I was disappointed that he relied so heavily on the digital fx, of all the people, you would think he would be more apt to use practical fx. On the positive, it has a good script, is well directed (ignoring the acting) - i.e. camera, action and pacing. It's Blair Witch style, but the photography is professional, not like the shaky cam of Blair Witch. It's also shot on HD video, NOT low quality cameras, so the image looks good. It does look like movie lighting...I guess I wished it looked a little more raw.
This film has more to say than most of the other dead films...maybe it is on par with Dawn. The film doesn't point it's finger at anyone like Land. I thought Land was a big FU to the Bush administration. This film is more about the overall current climate. It's about the information age, the internet, news, and what is truth. He doesn't answer questions as much as explore them.
30 Days of Night
Soooo glad that the vampires weren't cool and hip. The audience is definitely not suppose to root for the vampires. We are strictly on the side of the humans in this film. I'm getting tired of the cool hip vampire movies (Underworld). The design of the vampires is nicely done, while not completely original, still seem to be new. They look a little...off...not quite human, but not clearly a monster...well other than the teethe. Their facial proportions are just a little off making them seem not quite human.
The reviews are split 50/50, but by reading the forums it seems some fans are..well...hating it. Sometimes I wish I didn't read forums. For the most part I think people are just...well....not rational. It feels like people WANT to dislike a movie. I will actually see people comment how bad a film is BEFORE they even see it! Why Oh why do I still read the forums...especially Mobius Home Video Forum. It use to be a good place for people to discuss movies, not so much any more. I really appreciated the film and would see it again.
The Signal
Basic plot - a signal comes across all tv's, phones, and radios that cause people's perception of reality to be warped....it also makes people violent. Hmmmm....maybe not too far off from reality. The film is told in 3 parts with characters overlapping in one story arc. Each segment has a different director. The first section is the most intense and dramatic. The second section is played more for laughs and the third section is back to being more serious in tone. The film felt uneven because of the process. In some ways that works because the film is about perception....but I still couldn't help but feeling that the film was uneven. I really did not care for the resolution (3rd segment) at all, but the other 2 were fun. Overall I liked the film...but it is hard to recommend because I simply didn't give a shit for the last 20 minutes of the movie....so some part of me wants to say that it sucked. It was very low budget...looked like it was shot on some form of HD and was transfered to film. Soooo mixed feelings. Interesting, but not great.
Timber Falls
This was the worst of the films that I saw at Screamfest. Basic plot - A big city couple are captured by hillbilly fundamentalist and forced to copulate so they can produce a baby for a barren couple. The problem is that the film seems like it is staged. All the characters seem like characters - the couple, the hillbillies, the locals, everyone feels like a headshot. It is not scary...I guess it's funny at parts. The director was a humble man (he was in attendance), but not a good director. Someone in the audience commented that the film felt like a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Misery, and Deliverance. The director said that those were the exact films he was hoping to get compared to. WHY! Wouldn't you want to make an original film. Well...at least it's not a remake.
A'l'interieur (Inside)
Without a doubt the best of the lot. I sent out a review for some earlier. Here is the same review with further thoughts below:
In the middle of watching A’l’interieur I remember thinking, someone let me off this ride. It’s like when you are going up the hill of a roller coaster and right before you get to the big drop you think, “Oh no, I have made a mistake. This is going to be too much!” Then you drop and you scream. You scream because of excitement and to release all of that tension. At the bottom you laugh. Now you are happy you didn’t back out – like you could really back out when you are 250 feet in the air. A’l’interieur is the climb and the first big drop. It’s not a roller coaster ride….that would imply ups and downs. This movie is the big climb and the drop. As you are dropping you think, “No fucking waaaaaaay! But once you get to the bottom and it is all over. You will laugh and want to get back on….maybe…afterall it was pretty scary.
Seriously, I was on the edge of my seat squirming, rubbing my face, fist in my mouth, curling my toes, breathing heavy, half looking away. This movie is in-fucking-tense. The plot is so simple – A pregnant woman is terrorized. It’s the execution of the film that makes it what it is. Brilliantly staged action and camera. This film has some creepy mother fucking images. Shit that will make your skin crawl. Oh…and there is lots of blood.
I don’t know if this film could ever get a release in the US. I think it would get cut to shreds. Plus I’m not sure that would appeal to American audiences. In some ways it reminded me of Haute Tension in the way that the film builds its tension. The music is somewhat similar too – a simple primitive, pounding, electronic beat broken up by schizophrenic scratching sounds and electronic pulses. The French….man – they can make some fucked up horror films. I’m going to have to start paying more attention to the French.
When the film ended some laughed, some clapped, some just sank in their seats – all of this was to release the tension that had built up throughout the film. “That was one intense movie.” “I didn’t think that I could bear it.” And my personal favorite quote, “Let’s go home and get you pregnant.” People were talking about the film in the lobby. Every conversation I heard was pretty much the same. Everyone seem to have just had the shit scared out of them. I hate to over hype a film, but this was one of the most intense movies I have ever seen. Right up there with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You must see it on a big screen with a big sound system. Not sure how I will react the second time around. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to get back on this ride, but now I have to. I have to see if it is as scary the second time around.
I read one guy's take on the film on AIC news. He thought it was really well done, but didn't see the point. So ultimately he didn't seem to like it. I guess kind of accusing it of being torture porn (don't read it, he gives away too much in his review). Hmmmm....I'm not sure I agree with his point. Horror films, in part, are ways for us to work through our fears, to put them on a petri dish and examine them. I love being scared watching a movie because I know that it isn't real. I can be scared and safe at the same time. So in that respect I don't think horror films have to be "about" anything. They don't need complex characters, they don't need complex plots, in fact, the simpler the better. Now that's not saying that you shouldn't care about the characters or that there shouldn't be plot points, just that it doesn't need to be so in depth - it's not a drama, it's a horror film. You do have to care about the characters in order for the horror to work though, and I definitely cared about the lead actress in Inside.
If the film, Inside, is about anything, it is about the will to live, the will to protect what is inside. Whether it be your home or the baby inside of you. There are some shots throughout the film that cutaway to inside the woman's uterus. We see the baby struggling in the womb as the outside world jars the very core of the unborn child's existence. The film is so simple that it can be summed up in one sentence. The film doesn't have a real complicated plot or structure. It doesn't have a moral or big point. It does have themes and reasons behind the violence, whether you think they are warranted or not is probably personal. No matter what you think, you won't find the film boring.
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