THE LAST THING MARY SAW is an eerie feature, with a brooding ambience and a fresh approach to the period horror genre. While there are areas of the writing that do not have as much to offer as many horror enthusiasts will expect, there are more elements that work exceptionally well than ones that do not.
ALIEN ON STAGE revels in these images contrasting Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi horror film with the everyday nature of suburban British amateur dramatics.
DEAR HACKER is a short documentary that brings together IT, philosophy, and occult esoterica to discuss the ubiquitous webcams that we point ourselves towards.
WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED might not find an audience outside those already obsessed with folk horror, but it’s a real treat for those who are and, through Janisse’s strong arguments and exhaustive research, is an essential text in debates about the definition of this weird subgenre.
To those of you who also harbour the guilt-laden secret that you have viewed, even relished, TLC’s car crash reality television series People Who Love Objects, the unconventional romantic plot of JUMBO will come as no surprise. To the other, more well-adjusted people, JUMBO may be a fresh oddball love story about acceptance and the … Continue reading Jumbo
In THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, director Petra Costa’s camera flows through the sleek and spacious rooms of the Palácio da Alvorada, Brazil’s presidential residence designed by modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, in slow travelling shots. As the camera traipses around the empty, noiseless halls and doorways, it becomes clear that the stillness and quietude of these … Continue reading Alvorada
ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE succeeds as a primer on visual literacy, always questioning its images, asking what they omit, how they are structured, how the form makes claims on the visual information it contains.
SUMMER OF SOUL assumes a natural position alongside a group of the essential American music documentaries.
The Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in far northeastern Russia is far removed from the political, social, linguistic, and cosmopolitan realities of Moscow or St Petersburg. In this environment, a local cinema culture has flourished, and Dmitry Davydov’s SCARECROW (PUGALO) brings Sakha cinema to an international audience at IFFR.
While an imperfect effort, DEATH ON THE STREETS is an interesting outside-in angle on a forgotten America. Heart and honesty make up for lack of polish, and it treats its subject with uncomfortable, unrelenting respect that drives home the lack of quick fixes and easy answers.
