Something in the Dirt
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead strike again with another enigmatic, thought-provoking drama. A man wakes up in the LA apartment he has just begun renting to discover lots of maths written on the walls and possibly the gateway to another dimension in his closet. Teaming up with his downstairs neighbour to film a documentray on the phenomenon the situation they find themselves uncovering is due to end in tragedy. Like much of B&M's work, there's more concentration on the process (finding mathematical patterns, strange 'coincidences' regarding times and places) rather than the consequence (although we get to that at the end). As such SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is more THE ENDLESS than SYNCHRONIC and is a fascinating film in it own right. Once again they've proved that there are no film-makers out there now who are remotely like them, and for that alone they deserve praise.
They Wait in the Dark
Writer-director (and in this case editor) Patrick Rea (ENCLOSURE, I AM LISA) returns to Frightfest with a piece that mixes a pastoral setting with Grindhouse horror themes. Amy (Sarah McGuire) is on the run with her son Adam (Patrick McGee). She eventually makes it back to her home town, one which harbours a dark secret from her childhood, but perhaps nowhere near as dark as the reason she has had to return there. Pursued by her abusive lover Judith (Laurie Catherine Winkel) who is busy causing as much carnage as she can along the way, the movie culminates at Amy's ancestral home in a final act that turns things on its head and rewards the audience's paying attention to what has gone before. As with his previous work Rea makes evocative use of landscape, with emphasis on the claustrophobia and isolation of horror in the parochial setting, making THEY WAIT IN THE DARK another important addition to his developing oeuvre.
The Leech
If Dennis Potter had been commissioned to write an episode of My Name Is Earl we might have ended up with something a bit like THE LEECH, probably the most deliciously cynical Christmas movie we'll see this year. Father David (Graham Skipper) takes pity on homeless Terry (Jeremy Gardner) and allows Terry and his girlfriend Lexi (Taylor Zaudtke) to stay with him over Christmas. There's the suspicion that Lexi might be pregnant but as the two turn out to be the guests from hell David has to seriously reconsider the Christian values he has been preaching to his pitifully small flock. What begins as a potential comedy, THE LEECH becomes more uneasy as it goes along, escalating into blood-soaked hysteria by the end. Writer-director Eric Pennycoff manages a nice line in subtext, with this one working on a number of levels for the viewer to either read into if they want, or just enjoy an entertaining, tightly written low budget thrill ride.
Eric Pennycoff's THE LEECH will be getting a release from Arrow Films
Lola
In the late 1930s two sisters invent a machine that can see into the future. When World War II breaks out they use it to predict bombing raids and consequently save thousands of lives. But their actions have other effects they haven't reckoned with, leading to Germany ultimately winning the war and the face of Europe and the world being changed forever, not just politically but culturally. Andrew Legge's remarkable, prescient and terribly clever film was shot on hand-cranked 16mm using a Bolex camera so expect an extremely grainy black and white film in 4:3 aspect ratio. Expect to be blown away and profoundly moved by this unique movie that also boasts an extremely effective music score by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. Destined to become a future classic.
Raven's Hollow
1830. Military cadet Edgar Allan Poe and his fellow soldiers-to-be are on manoeuvres in upstate New York when they come across a dying man strapped to a wooden framework in the wilderness. They take his body to the nearest town, the Raven's Hollow of the title, where everyone behaves shiftily and it soon becomes apparent to Edgar that something's Not Right. RAVEN'S HOLLOW boasts good photography in nicely atmospheric standing sets (in Latvia, apparently), excellent supporting performances from Kate Dickie and David Hayman, and a terrific monster creation that's responsible for all the mayhem. It's therefore sad to report that stylistically the film as a whole is as flat as a pancake, with insipid leads (male and female) and uninspired direction of the 'point and shoot' variety.
More Grindhouse-style mayhem to add to yesterday's NIGHT OF THE BASTARD. Unlike that film, however, this one's more firmly in the mode of movies like TRUCK STOP WOMEN and HITCH HIKE TO HELL, but the pre-publicity stating it has a hefty dose of Alfred Sole's classic COMMUNION isn't wrong either. A group of Lot Lizards (prostitutes who hang around truck stops) welcome a newcomer to their ranks, not realising that she's a psychopathic Christian intent on killing everyone she meets in order to cleanse their souls so they can enter heaven. Cue plenty of extreme violence in this well acted, expertly paced bit of down and dirty exploitation cinema.
Dead Stream
A disgraced youtube celebrity tries to rebuild his following by investigating a haunted house, inadvertently releasing evil spirits during his bumbling progress. That rarest of beasts, DEADSTREAM is a comedy horror that's frequently very scary and very funny, often at the same time. It benefits greatly from a tremendously creepy setting and an EVIL DEAD II 'throw anything and everything at its hapless central character' attitude. A big crowd pleaser and definitely one to catch up with when it gets its forthcoming Shudder release.
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