By Adam Ruhl
Well the first full day of the festival has come and gone and I am exhausted. It's only going to get busier from here, but Friday was jammed packed with great films. Let's get right to them.
We Are What We Are
A suspense masterpiece from the director of Stakeland Jim Mickle;
this film about a family with an unusual religious practice is beautifully shot
and written. I was captivated by the twists and found myself cringing at all
the right moments. In tone I equate it with Silence of the Lambs and Texas
Chainsaw Massacre. I think this film is going to draw a lot of attention when
it finally is released. It’s a remake of a 2010 Mexican film but quickly diverges off on
its own path. We Are What We Are is a really great chiller that left me
haunted.
Escape from Tomorrow
There’s been a lot of hype around Escape, mostly stemming
from covert shooting in “the happiest place on earth” and the “will they, won’t
they take legal action” thrill. Escape was not at all what I was expecting from
the trailer, less surreal and more straight forward “bad dad” humor to it. It
was still an enjoyable movie with a lot of laughs and good performances all
round. My advice is see the movie regardless, but if you can see it before it’s
wide release. The experience benefits from the guilty pleasure that you’re
watching something that might ultimately be taken away.
Grand Piano
Actor, hobbit, and Fantastic Fest fanatic Elijah Wood had
the world premiere of his new film Grand Piano at Fantastic Fest on Friday. The
film follows a concert pianist trying to make a big comeback five years after
freezing up mid performance. During the concert he is faced by an assassin who
has a laser scope pointed on him and threatens to shoot him if he plays any
wrong notes during the concert. This was a taught, amazing film and a must see.
At several points in the movie the festival audience broke out into applause, I
kid you not, from the edge of their seats. During the Q&A after the
director revealed that just today Magnolia picked the film up for US
distribution so look for it soon. Yes, right now the trailer only seems to be available dubbed in Spanish, you'll still get the feel.
Witching and Bitching
This is the unusual American release title for the Spanish
film The Witches of Zugarramurdi (translated). Witching is just starting to
play the American festival circuit so I’m not sure when or if it will become widely
available. I caught it at a midnight showing and thought it was a lot of fun.
The plot follows a group of men post-jewelry heist who are trying to escape to
France. Similar to From Dusk Til Dawn on their way they end up in the midst of
a bunch of monsters, this version though has witches instead of vampires. In
the small town of Zugarramurdi they encounter a coven and have to fight for
their lives before they’re eaten. It’s a comedy with a lot of energy and all
the actors going way over the top. Hopefully this gets a US release because it’s
a really fun gross-out horror-comedy.
Detective Downs
The title is politically incorrect but the film itself walks
the line between being offensive and being true to the protagonist’s world.
Robert Bogerud is a man with downs syndrome who works as a private investigator.
After much trouble finding a case he is approached by a woman whose husband has
gone missing. The story is well crafted and the actor playing Robert (Svein
André Hofsø Myhre) does a fine job
with the character but there’s too much humor based on his condition for
comfort. That along with characters using multiple variations of the word ‘mongoloid’
made for an uncomfortable experience at times. I would still recommend this Norwegian film for
Svein’s strong comic sensibility.
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