ÜBER UNDEAD: Dead Snow
by MALCOLM FRASER,
MARK SLUTSKY and
CHRISTOPHER SYKES
White Lightnin’
Those perpetual boundary-pushers over at Vice Films are back in a big way—Dominic Murphy’s White Lightnin’ represents the very best of what Fantasia stands for. The plotline pushes the limits without being outlandish: Jesco (Edward Hogg), a troubled man with a deep Southern drawl, recounts the story of his addiction to huffing gasoline, an illicit activity he’s been enjoying since he was six. Following the murder of his father, Hogg sets out on a campaign of self-destruction and revenge. The violence and candour are stomach-churning at times, but Hogg’s portrayal of a broken man is undeniably brilliant. As is the soundtrack. Promises to be one of the films in demand at the festival this year. (CS)
Dead Snow
Nazi. Zombies. From. Norway. That’s probably all you need to know about this gory, goofy entry from director Tommy Wirkola, who pays explicit homage to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movies and Peter Jackson’s Braindead (one of the characters even wears a t-shirt for the latter). A group of Norwegian medical students head to an isolated cabin for a vacation, unwittingly disturbing a cache of precious Nazi gold. The long-frozen, zombified baddies emerge from hiding to tear the kids up in as nasty a fashion as possible in this weirdly intestine-fixated bloodbath. While it doesn’t quite live up to its inspirations, this should be a serious crowd-pleaser, with plenty of laugh/groan-out-loud moments. And hey… Nazi zombies! From Norway! (MS)
FUTURE SHOCK: The Clone Returns Home
The Clone Returns Home
From the opening scene—a solemn, four-minute-long take inside a hospital facility—it’s clear that director Kanji Nakajima has created something special with this sci-fi drama set in the near future. To counterbalance the inherent dangers of space exploration, young Japanese astronaut Kohei (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) is given the option of a “special life insurance package” by his superiors: in the event of a fatal space accident, Oikawa can be cloned, complete with a full memory back-up. Following his death, a successful clone is produced, but not without complications. Wim Wenders lends a hand as executive producer, but what impressed me most is the film’s aesthetic, with parallels to Roy Andersson and Terrence Mallick popping to mind. Certainly worth checking out if you’re a fan of the genre. (CS)
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
Capturing a year in the life of a notoriously hell-raising Appalachian family, this documentary is a jaw-droppingly candid look at the kind of people polite society likes to pretend don’t exist. The White clan is unapologetically violent (uncle Jesco White, the real-life inspiration for the White Lightnin’ hero, boasts of threatening someone at knifepoint for undercooking his eggs) and blithely self-destructive (no occasion is too sacred to do a couple of lines, from Grandma’s birthday to a hospital bed while recuperating from childbirth). Social context is provided by visibly embarrassed local authorities, but mostly director Julien Nitzberg just captures the Whites doing their thing, the tone slowly shifting from guilty laughs to deep human tragedy. (MF)
Thirst
A real disappointment from Korean director Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy). Park’s re-imagination of the vampire fable seems pale, no pun intended, in comparison to other recent takes on the mythos, like last year’s Fantasia’s breakout hit Let the Right One In. Song Kang-ho plays a priest who becomes vampiric after receiving an experimental vaccine intended to stop a plague that mysteriously only seems to afflict male missionaries (though this “mystery” is dropped as soon as it’s brought up). He soon develops a penchant for blood and various vampy superpowers and at this point, no joke, is drawn into an illicit romance and family drama inspired by Emile Zola’s Therese Raquin. The movie chases its tail for far too long, with flaky, non-committal leaps from plot point to plot point, and at two-and-a-quarter hours, it feels as long as the average vampire’s lifetime. (MS)
SUCKER FOR ROMANCE: Thirst
Daytime Drinking
In the debut feature from Korean writer/director Noh Young-seok, a young slacker (Song Sam-dong), heartbroken after being dumped, is convinced by his friends to join them on a weekend trip. When he gets stood up at the rendezvous point, the getaway turns into a bit of an existential loop as he wanders through the wintery Korean landscape, his plans continually thwarted by strange recurring characters. Part Bukowsi-worthy bender, part Murakami-esque mind-fuck, the film lacks the “extreme” angle of typical Fantasia fare—nothing supernatural, violent or kitschy here—but it has a cool minimalist style and gripping atmosphere. (MF)
Must Love Death
This, on the other hand, is quintessential Fantasia—a twisted mash-up of horror tropes, sick humour, slapstick and broad satire whose topics include suicide, torture and sci-fi celebrity. German director Andreas Schapp makes his “American” debut with an all-German cast speaking English; the surreal effect is somewhat akin to Takashi Miike’s demented Japanese/phonetic-English Western, Sukyaki Western Django. Evoking John Paizs by way of Paul Verhoeven, Schapp’s USA is a retro-kitsch pastiche of diners, rockabilly and exaggerated swagger, a place where serial killers grinningly wish each other to “have a great day.” Perhaps intended to be part of Schapp’s cultural critique, the gruesomely explicit torture scenes are a jarring contrast to the rest of the film’s brightly satirical tone. (MF)
The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle
An ambitious and amusing, if not entirely successful, Seattle-set indie from writer-director David Russo. Marshall Allman is Dory, a spiritually minded young man who joins a team of freewheeling late-night cleaners, befriending the charismatic, kinda-crazy O.C. (Vince Vieluf). When they start to eat an experimental self-warming cookie being developed by one of their building’s product development firm tenants, things start to get hallucinatory and strange as the men discover they may be expecting… something. Russo has a natural flair for visuals and he throws tons of ideas on the screen, giving the movie a sort of ’80s punk rock feel I found charming. But the central character is too sketchily defined and the movie kind of wanders off in the second half. Still, an interesting and weird little find. (MS)
KEEPING IT SURREAL: Instant Swamp
Instant Swamp
What do you get when you toss Bridget Jones, Amélie and about five grams of ’shrooms into a Japanese cinematic blender? The stoner movie event of the summer, and every militant feminist’s worst nightmare. When her mother falls into a coma, Haname (Kumiko Aso) finds a letter that suggests her biological father is not who she had suspected. Quitting her job, she sets out on a journey to meet up with Pops. Subplots along the way include searching for a fortune-telling machine that provides a pic of your future hubby and creating a magical swamp with a garden hose that spawns a giant yellow dragon. Which proceeds to defecate on every woman in sight. Might be the best ending in Fantasia history—if you’re really, really fucking high. (CS)
Dead funny
Producer and star Larry
Fessenden and writer/director
Glenn McQuaid discuss I
Sell the
Dead, their tribute to old school
horror and storytelling
GRAVE CONCERNS: Larry Fessenden
by MALCOLM FRASER
Even in the strange world of independent horror filmmaking, Larry Fessenden stands out as a character. The New York City-based director, writer, editor, producer and actor has created several of his own films—most recently the environmentalist apocalypse flick The Last Winter—as well as producing notably non-genre fare like Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy. He’s also authored a book called Low Impact Filmmaking, a manifesto on how filmmakers can reduce waste. Intellectually engaged but unpretentious, and full of manic energy, he seems ideally suited to the similarly iconic yet scrappy Fantasia festival.
This year at the fest, first-time writer/director Glenn McQuaid brings us I Sell the Dead, which Fessenden co-produced and stars in alongside Lost alumnus Dominic Monaghan and b-movie icons Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm. A macabre but light-hearted horror comedy set in 18th-century England, it features Monaghan and Fessenden as grave robbers whose job is complicated by the arrival on the scene of various forms of undead.
The film is also a clever tribute to the practice of storytelling itself. “I grew up in Dublin, and storytelling was always a big part of my life,” explains McQuaid. “It’s called ‘codding’ in Ireland… it’s kind of a mix between pulling someone’s leg, telling a story and lying (laughs). I wanted to make a movie about storytelling and how you’re always in the hands of the storyteller—you’re never completely sure what to believe.”
The filmmakers’ approach stands out from contemporary horror. “I’m not hugely keen on anything that’s too brutal,” McQuaid says. “That’s definitely why I decided to go with a more escapist, atmospheric route than just throwing a bunch of people into a house and killing them.” But both creators are serious fans of the genre. “I see life through a filter of dread, and I think horror is just the most delicious genre because, in a way, you can be very creative,” says Fessenden. “There’s an element of artifice to the genre which makes it more fun to talk about the deepest, heaviest issues.”
FILM PHILOSOPHER
Clearly concerned with the big picture, Fessenden breaks down his personal filmmaking philosophy. “First of all, film is a great privilege to be involved in. You’re creating entertainment and art, all of the above. You should treat your crew well—every single person in that crew is an essential element. People should be respected for their contributions.
“Also, film is not so important that you can ignore the greater impact you’re having on waste. We don’t always succeed, but we try to recycle and have a small footprint—that’s the new terminology for just not being freakin’ assholes. Just try to treat your locations with respect, integrating the work into a larger approach to life, and never having self-importance, whether you’re an actor, the director or the sound guy. It’s a pitching-in-together kind of thing. It sounds naïve, but it is the only way the species will perpetuate, and it’s the only way to live.”
McQuaid and Fantasia veteran Fessenden will be in town to present the film, which has been getting great reactions at screenings around the world. “There’s just been a general enthusiasm for the infectious spirit of it,” Fessenden declares. “It’s clearly not taking itself seriously, it clearly celebrates this genre, and it has a big heart. I think that’s refreshing.”
AT THE HALL THEATRE
(1455 DE MAISONNEUVE W.)
ON MONDAY, JULY 27, 9:45 P.M. |
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