THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW (2018)

  • Film Society of Lincoln Center Announces 11th Scary Movies Horror Film Festival Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_29258" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Anna and the Apocalypse Anna and the Apocalypse[/caption] Scary Movies XI,  the horror festival presented by New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center returns August 17 to 23, 2018.  The festival kicks off with the New York premiere of the delightful yet blood-soaked holiday-set high-school musical Anna and the Apocalypse, as a band of Scottish teens fight, sing, and dance to survive the undead horde taking over their small town in John McPhail’s sophomore feature.  Closing Night is Jonas Åkerlund’s harrowing black-metal tragedy Lords of Chaos, the true story of legendary Norwegian band Mayhem starring Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, and Sky Ferreira. Other highlights of this year’s lineup include a trio of creepy Latin American offerings featuring possessions (Guillermo Amoedo’s The Inhabitant), dark fairy tales (Issa López’s Tigers Are Not Afraid), and haunted hospitals (J.C. Feyer’s The Trace We Leave Behind); the new film from last year’s closing night director Colin Minihan, who reunites with his It Stains the Sands Red actress Brittany Allen for What Keeps You Alive; and a selection of new indie horror at its most promising, including Sonny Mallhi’s gruesome slasher flick Hurt, Patrick von Barkenberg’s Swedish novelist nightmare Blood Paradise, and Andy Mitton’s house-flipping horror The Witch in the Window. Scary Movies XI also presents the retrospective sidebar Tainted Waters, comprising a quartet of 35mm titles whose horrors take place above or below the surface—or sometimes come creeping onto the land: Phillip Noyce’s Dead Calm (featuring an early breakout performance by Nicole Kidman), Lewis Teague’s creature-feature classic Alligator, horror master Stuart Gordon’s H.P. Lovecraft adaptation Dagon, and Ken Wiederhorn’s Nazi zombie flick Shock Waves, starring the late, great Peter Cushing. Finally, the dynamic duo of Glenn McQuaid and Larry Fessenden present a brand new live edition of Glass Eye Pix’s acclaimed radio-play series Tales from Beyond the Pale. Entangling creatures, creeps, and ghouls with observations both personal and political, this special event offers two new Tales written and directed by Fessenden and McQuaid performed live on-stage with actors, foley artists, sound designers, and musicians. FILMS AND DESCRIPTIONS All screenings held at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street) unless otherwise noted. OPENING NIGHT Anna and the Apocalypse John McPhail, UK/USA, 2017, 92m New York Premiere As Anna (an enchanting Ella Hunt) nears the end of high school, the most pressing concerns are her questionable taste in guys and how to break the news to her widowed father that she plans to take a year of travel before heading to college. But those issues lose all importance when an unexplained plague begins spreading in her tiny Scottish town of Little Haven before Christmas break, and she and her classmates must battle hordes of zombies—and their unhinged headmaster (Paul Kaye)—in order to make it to graduation. Oh and they sing and dance, too… A highly accomplished musical, full of infectious songs and performance setpieces, and like one of its clear inspirations Shaun of the Dead, Anna and the Apocalypse features merriment and menace in perfect balance. An Orion Pictures release. CLOSING NIGHT Lords of Chaos Jonas Åkerlund, UK/Sweden, 2018, 112m New York Premiere Pioneering Norwegian black-metal band Mayhem experienced a rise and fall so notorious that it’s provided the subject of multiple books and documentaries. And now a dramatization of their tragic tale finally makes it to the screen courtesy of Swedish music video and film director extraordinaire Jonas Åkerlund. It’s a devastating portrait of youth mixed with power in dangerous doses, yet it humanizes its antiheroes in unexpected ways, in part due to memorable performances from Rory Culkin as Euronymous, Mayhem co-founder and a key figure in the world of black metal; Emory Cohen as Varg Vikernes, his bandmate and eventual murderer; and Jack Kilmer as Mayhem’s ultra-melancholic first lead singer known as Dead. Like the best of Åkerlund’s video work and his dynamite 2002 film Spun, Lords of Chaos is profoundly disturbing but with a macabre, comical touch. A Gunpowder & Sky release. Await Further Instructions Johnny Kevorkian, UK, 2018, 91m New York Premiere Nick (Sam Gittins) brings his girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik) home for the holidays after three years of avoiding his massively dysfunctional family. And it’s no wonder he chose to stay away: his grandfather (David Bradley) is a virulent racist, his father (Grant Masters) runs the family like it’s a business, and his mother (Abigail Cruttenden) just tries to hold it all together. Add in Nick’s high-strung pregnant sister (Holly Weston) and her dim-witted boyfriend (Kris Saddler) and Nick and Annji soon reach their breaking point. They attempt to leave early Christmas morning only to discover that a metallic substance has surrounded the house and there is no way out. The only clues to what’s happening come through the television, which, in the first of many cryptic messages, tells them to “STAY INDOORS AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.” Familial tensions and paranoia escalate into blood-soaked chaos in this ever-relevant chiller that contemplates the state of today’s technology-ruled world. A Dark Sky Films release. Blood Paradise Patrick von Barkenberg, USA/Sweden, 2018, 82m English and Swedish with English subtitles World Premiere Reeling after her latest novel flops, best-selling crime writer Robin Richards (Andréa Winter) is sent by her publisher to the Swedish countryside to regain inspiration. There alone, she indeed comes across an assortment of peculiar characters, including her driver and most obsessive fan, his explosively jealous wife, and the progressively more unhinged man who owns the farm that’s hosting her. Totally out of place in her new surroundings—for one, she is always dressed for glamorous, big-city life—Robin discovers just how dangerous these oddballs may be. The unpredictable debut feature by Patrick von Barkenberg (who also appears as Robin’s boyfriend) is bathed in dreamy atmospherics and streaked with offbeat humor, but remains grounded throughout by Winter, who holds your attention rapt. Boogeyman Pop Brad Michael Elmore, USA, 2018, 90m New York Premiere Tony (James Paxton) is a punk who dreams of escaping his small town but finds his release in drugs—until a friend gives him a new kind of pill called Wendigo and can’t remember what he did the night before. Meanwhile, Danielle (Dominique Booth), who likes Tony, spends her night taking care of her drugged-out friends at a punk club and getting tied up with the town dealer, Matt (Greg Hill), who is trading in something much darker and more sinister than pills. And three kids from Danielle’s neighborhood have a run in with a bat-wielding, black Cadillac–driving, masked killer. This trio of perspective-shifting stories intersect into a maelstrom of murder, adolescent angst, sex, drugs, and black magic. Set during the course of one summer weekend, this indie film has punk-rock energy to spare and a distinct cinematic vision that transcends its micro budget. Hurt Sonny Mallhi, USA, 2018, 93m New York Premiere Halloween in New Caney, Texas, is slow and quiet. Rose (model Emily van Raay, in a striking debut performance) is having trouble connecting with her husband Tommy (Andrew Creer), who recently returned from military deployment and is struggling with PTSD. Rose’s sister and her husband urge them to head to the town’s haunted hayride to relive old traditions and maybe try to rekindle their relationship. The fairgrounds are filled with masked monsters and fake blood and death. Tommy runs off and the night gradually descends into chaos. Sonny Mallhi’s exquisitely realized third feature digs up the violence bubbling under the modern American experience and serves up a smart treatise on trauma. This truly gruesome and terrifying slasher flick reminds us that death is very real, and it’s not only the monstrous villains who wear masks. Impossible Horror Justin Decloux, Canada, 2017, 75m New York Premiere Following a bad breakup, aspiring filmmaker Lily (Haley Walker) struggles with a crippling creative block. Unable to sleep, she begins hearing a sinister scream outside her window every evening. Convinced she needs to help, she heads out into the dark night and meets Hannah (Creedance Wright), a veteran scream hunter obsessed with stopping the creepy occurrence. The two women team up to try and locate the source before they become the scream’s next victims. As much a horror movie as a movie about the horror of creation, Justin Decloux’s ultra-indie second feature references everything from Asian horror to giallo, and its DIY spirit and eerie underlying dread secures its place as a small but mighty genre discovery. The Inhabitant / El habitante Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico/Chile, 2017, 92m Spanish with English subtitles North American Premiere In an attempt to secure some quick cash, three sisters break into the home of a super-wealthy family—and get a whole lot more than they bargained for. If this sounds tediously familiar, have no fear: The Inhabitant is no simple take on the old home-invasion-gone-wrong scenario. The film has serious political undertones—the house the women target belongs to a high-profile, and highly corrupt, senator—and its action opens up to also make room for a child possession tale like no other. Uruguayan-born, Chile-based filmmaker Guillermo Amoedo has made a name for himself working on screenplays for Eli Roth projects (The Green Inferno, Knock Knock, Aftershock), but this one outshines them all, featuring genuine chills and higher-gloss production values than usually found within such confined spaces. A Pantelion release. Tales from Beyond the Pale Live Event Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid’s “Tales from Beyond the Pale” returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for a double bill of contemporary audio dramas. Now in its eighth year, the primarily spooky show, produced by Glass Eye Pix, has taken cues from the likes of Inner Sanctum Theatre and the Mercury Theatre Company while putting its own rich spin on the format. Observations both personal and political are often deeply entangled with whatever creature, creep, or ghoul Fessenden and McQuaid conjure up. Two new “Tales” written and directed by Fessenden and McQuaid will be performed live with actors, foley artists, sound designers, and musicians; it’s quite a sight, and if you dare to close your eyes, quite a listen! Previous shows have featured the vocal talents of the likes of Ron Perlman, Michael Cerveris, Lance Reddick, Doug Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, Sean Young, and Alison Wright… so you never know who might show up. Tigers Are Not Afraid / Vuelven Issa López, Mexico, 2017, 83m Spanish with English subtitles New York Premiere In the midst of a world plagued by gang violence, 10-year-old Estrella (Paolo Lara) is left to her own devices after her mom disappears. As a protection measure—or is it a stroke of the supernatural?—Estrella believes to have been granted three wishes, and she uses one to bring her mother back, though failing to mention that she wanted her alive. Haunted by the dead shell of her mother, she leaves home and ends up taking up camp with a group of local orphan boys in their small Mexican village, nervously trying to remain hidden from murderous drug-dealing local thugs and forming a strong familial bond in the process. A fantastical tale that is also steeped in hard-bitten realities, writer-director Issa López’s alternately heart-wrenching and chilling film inevitably elicits Guillermo del Toro comparisons, mostly for its ability to extract wholly believable performances from its young cast, but stands firmly on its own as inspired cinema. A Shudder release. The Trace We Leave Behind / O Rastro J.C. Feyer, Brazil, 2017, 96m Portuguese with English subtitles North American Premiere João (a commanding Rafael Cardoso) is a doctor coordinating the removal of patients from a Rio de Janeiro public hospital that, despite harsh protests from the community, is scheduled to close due to Brazil’s recession. On the night of the transfer, a 10-year-old girl disappears without a trace and João must find her, even if just to prove to his pregnant wife Leila (Leandra Leal) that he can be a dependable father. The more he searches, the deeper he is drawn into a world he wishes he never entered. Long-kept secrets are unearthed and João struggles against the darkness that is closing in around him. Is the hospital haunted? Is he losing his mind? The feature debut by J.C. Feyer—a strong case for the resurgence of Brazilian horror—is relentless in both its dedication to scaring the pants off the audience and to shining a light on the country’s social unrest. What Keeps You Alive Colin Minihan, Canada, 2018, 98m New York Premiere The follow-up to Colin Minihan’s It Stains the Sands Red, a closing-night selection of last year’s Scary Movies, offers another twisty thrill ride starring the always compelling Brittany Allen. Here, she plays Jules, who heads to a lakeside cabin with her wife, Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson), to celebrate their one-year anniversary. The tranquil setting—the nearest neighbors are Jackie’s childhood friend and her husband across the lake—quickly turns terrifying, but to say anything more would spoil the surprises. Audacious and unsparing, the film veers into pitch-black comedy to keep the bloodletting and betrayal fun and boasts impressive cinematography that captures both the beauty and isolation of its remote environment and the ferocious violence that unfurls within. An IFC Midnight release. The Witch in the Window Andy Mitton, USA, 2018, 77m U.S. Premiere A divorced dad (Alex Draper) takes his 12-year-old son (Charlie Tacker) to the farmhouse he’s purchased to flip in middle-of-nowhere Vermont. It was cheap—and for a reason: there is an old witch, Lydia (Carol Stanzione), haunting the premises, mainly planted in a chair by an upstairs window. At first her presence seems harmless enough, but as the renovations continue, it becomes more apparent that she, the previous owner, has no interest in sharing her home. As in the two previous features he co-directed, YellowBrickRoad and We Go On, Andy Mitton’s solo directorial debut proves that big scares can come in small packages, and his latest refreshingly character-driven film, which sees a father desperately trying to protect a child he wants to reconnect with and the house he has always fantasized about, has way more on its mind than it initially lets on. A Shudder release.

    Tainted Waters Retrospective Sidebar

    Alligator Lewis Teague, USA, 1981, 35mm, 91m Twelve years after a little girl’s alligator is flushed down the toilet by her father, body parts start showing up at the local sewage treatment plant. David Madison (Robert Forster) is the detective (haunted by his past, of course) assigned to the case, who must contend with his captain, city hall, the tabloids, an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company, and male pattern baldness, all while a giant gator is picking off cops and sewer workers, and starting to chomp its way up the socioeconomic ladder. David teams up with herpetologist Marisa Kendall (Robin Riker)—the girl who bought the alligator now all grown up—to try and stop the rampaging reptile. Featuring notable character actors (Henry Silva chewing his way through the scenery as the big-game hunter brought in to handle the beast is a particular highlight) and a script from John Sayles that’s smarter than it has any right to be, this is one of the all-time creature-feature classics. Dagon Stuart Gordon, Spain, 2001, 35mm, 98m English, Spanish, and Galician with English subtitles Horror master Stuart Gordon has looked to H.P. Lovecraft as an inspiration for many of his works, and this adaptation of the famed writer’s tale “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” ranks as his second finest—following the inimitable Re-Animator—even if it never received a proper U.S. theatrical release. The modern-day set Dagon sees two couples’ paradise sailing getaway quickly descend into hell. Their boat hits stormy waters and in the process of finding help on shore, Paul (Ezra Godden) is mysteriously separated from his travel mates. Alone, he learns that the Spanish island, infested with fishmen, is under the worship of Dagon, who demands blood sacrifices and women to procreate with in return for the town’s prosperity, and makes the acquaintance of Uxia (the great Macarena Gómez of past Scary Movies selections Sexykiller and Shrew’s Nest), a mermaid who has appeared in his dreams—which increasingly become a terrifying reality. Dead Calm Phillip Noyce, Australia, 1989, 35mm, 96m Mourning the tragic loss of their young son, Rae and John Ingram (Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill) take to the open seas with their dog for some peace and healing. Aboard their yacht mid-Pacific, they cross paths with the Orpheus, a sinking schooner whose sole survivor Hughie (Billy Zane) takes refuge with them. Loosely based on Charles Williams’s crackerjack 1963 novel—also the source of Orson Welles’s unfinished film The Deep—Dead Calm is the ultimate in edge-of-your-seat suspense, as John becomes trapped on the submerging vessel while investigating Hughie’s suspect account of the his crew’s demise, as his wife is left alone with a man who becomes progressively more unhinged. Featuring spectacular direction (by Phillip Noyce), cinematography (by the Oscar-winning DP Dean Semler), and performances (by its three leads), particularly a gorgeously natural Kidman in an early breakthrough role, the film is a true terror treat, not to be missed on the big screen. Shock Waves Ken Wiederhorn, USA, 1977, 35mm, 85m The same year he appeared as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, Peter Cushing also played another grand villain in Shock Waves: a former SS commander involved in the creation of aquatic Nazi zombies as secret weapons. The “Death Corps” project was a failed endeavor to say the least, and now, after their boat begins to sink, a group of tourists find themselves on the island where the commander and the water-based menaces still reside. With a cast that also includes Brooke Adams as one of the shipwrecked and John Carradine as the captain, this odd, atmospheric little shocker by Ken Wiederhorn (who dabbled again with the walking dead for Return of the Living Dead II), started a long tradition of Nazi zombie flicks, and it still remains the finest.

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  • 2018 Fantasia International Film Festival Launches First Wave of Films

    [caption id="attachment_28777" align="aligncenter" width="913"]Parallel Parallel[/caption] The Fantasia International Film Festival, celebrating its 22nd Anniversary in Montreal this summer, from July 12 to August 1, 2018,  revealed the first wave of film titles, along with several special events.  In addition to the festival,  Frontières International Co-Production Market and Industry Rendez-Vous Weekend will be held July 19 to 22, 2018. The festival’s full lineup of over 130 feature films will be announced in early July. In the meantime, Fantasia.

    INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE OF BLEACH HIGHLIGHTS A TRIO OF BLOCKBUSTER MASTERPIECES BY PROLIFIC DIRECTOR SHINSUKE SATO

    The most anticipated Japanese film of 2018 will have its International Premiere at Fantasia 2018 and completely blow everyone’s minds! Adapted from one of the world’s most popular mangas, BLEACH is directed by Shinsuke Sato (GANTZ, LIBRARY WARS) and masterfully portrays the epic fight between Shinigamis (Soul Reapers) and monstrous lost souls called Hollows. BLEACH fans will shed tears of joy as they see teenager Ichigo Kurosaki (AS THE GODS WILL’s Sota Fukushi) slice his giant sword through superbly designed Hollows, while the uninitiated will be amazed by this action-packed fantasy loaded with young rising stars and state-of-the-art special effects. BLEACH has everything one hopes for in a summer blockbuster… and much more! Another crowd-pleasing powerhouse directed by Shinsuke Sato, INUYASHIKI, will set Fantasia 2018 on fire at its Canadian Premiere. The film reunites Sato with the universe of mangaka Hiroya Oku, creator of GANTZ, in a live-action adaptation that perfectly balances fast-paced action, humour, and bloody thrills! Winner of the Golden Raven at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, INUYASHIKI opposes a lovable bullied old man (comedian Noritake Kinashi) and a cold murderous student (RUROUNI KENSHIN’s Takeru Satoh), both turned into powerful cyborgs after a strange explosion. It’s a glorious, fun ride with far more depth than it seems. Lastly, to cap the festival’s celebration of Shinsuke Sato, Fantasia will be showcasing a special screening of the filmmaker’s celebrated 2015 instant-classic of the zombie sub-genre I AM A HERO, widely regarded as one of the best horror films in recent years. Acclaimed everywhere it was shown, the film won numerous awards, notably at SXSW, Sitges and Brussels, and it will soon be ravaging Montreal in its long-time-coming Quebec Premiere!

    FIVE FORCES OF FEAR COME TOGETHER FOR A TERRIFYING DOSE OF NIGHTMARE CINEMA

    As part of Fantasia’s Opening Night events, the festival will unveil the World Premiere of Cinelou Films’ hotly-anticipated anthology NIGHTMARE CINEMA, featuring segments by Joe Dante (GREMLINS), Mick Garris (THE STAND), Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD), Ryûhei Kitamura (VERSUS), and David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT) with a cast that includes Mickey Rourke, Richard Chamberlain, Adam Godley, Belinda Balaski, Elizabeth Reaser, and Annabeth Gish. It’s always cause for celebration when the acclaimed “Masters of Horror” brew new creations, and seeing their energies distilled into a single feature film will all but make the universe explode.

    LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR JOE DANTE!

    Fantasia will be presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to adored US genre legend Joe Dante, a man whose inspired filmography has touched generations of cinephiles. From PIRANHA, THE HOWLING, and the universally-beloved GREMLINS films to INNERSPACE, EXPLORERS, and his bold television work, Dante’s works are electric with witty personality and brim with innovative storytelling and a big-hearted affection for all things film. As Fantasia will be World Premiering his latest work with NIGHTMARE CINEMA, there couldn’t be a better time to honour the great man. Previous recipients of Fantasia’s Lifetime Achievement Award include Guillermo del Toro, Takashi Miike, Ken Russell, Tobe Hooper, Jean Rollin, Andrzej Zulawski, Mamoru Oshii, John Landis, José Mojica Marins, Larry Cohen, and Ray Harryhausen.

    THE INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE OF UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB

    In 2014, Fantasia World Premiered the cutting-edge independent horror breakout UNFRIENDED under its original title, CYBERNATURAL, to significant acclaim, leading to the film’s acquisition by Blumhouse and Universal. Now, four years later, the festival will showcase the International Premiere of UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB, a wholly unique – and deeply unsettling – standalone sequel that launched at SXSW this past March, as a special event screening on Friday, July 13th. UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB was written and directed by Stephen Susco and stars Colin Woodell, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Stephanie Nogueras, Andrew Lees, Savira Windyani, and Connor Del Rio.

    BE THE WORLD’S FIRST TO GAZE UPON THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW

    Andy Mitton, co-writer and co-director of WE GO ON and YELLOWBRICKROAD, goes solo this time as he continues his streak of staggeringly effective, character-driven supernatural horror. Stunningly scripted and performed, THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW (World Premiere) is a gripping paranormal chiller about a divorced father taking his 12-year-old son to rural Vermont to help him with a fixer-upper farmhouse – a farmhouse whose previous owner, however deceased she may be, has never left the premises. Produced by Richard W. King and starring Alex Draper, Arija Bareikis, Greg Naughton, and Charlie Tacker.

    THE RIVETING WORLD PREMIERE OF CAM WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

    Key among this year’s most exciting discoveries is Isa Mazzei and Danny Goldhaber’s CAM (World Premiere), a surrealistic thriller set in the world of webcam erotica in which an ambitious young camgirl (“The Handmaid Tale”’s Madeline Brewer) discovers that she’s inexplicably been replaced on her site with an exact replica of herself – a replica that knows personal things only she could know, and is considerably less guarded about privacy. The control that she has over her life, and the people in it, begins to break away. CAM is both an extraordinary genre vision and a milestone – the rare film about sex work written by a former sex worker. CAM brilliantly captures the anxieties and identity struggles of this unfairly judged field of work, with an approach that borders on the Lynchian. Produced by Blumhouse Pictures, Gunpowder & Sky, and Divide/Conquer, CAM also stars Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid, and Samantha Robinson.

    SIDES AND MOLECULES WILL SPLIT AT THE WORLD PREMIERE OF MEGA TIME SQUAD

    Bursting with comic invention and absurdist scenarios, MEGA TIME SQUAD (World Premiere) is New Zealand writer/director Tim van Dammen’s oddball sophomore feature, a wildly entertaining sci-fi tale about a two-bit criminal stumbling upon an ancient time-travel device. Ridiculous happenings ensue. Starring Anton Tenet and a slew of familiar faces from the Kiwi genre scene, including WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS’ Jonny Brugh and DEATHGASM’s Milo Cawthorne!

    UDINE WINNER LAST CHILD INTRODUCES A BRILLIANT NEW FILMMAKER WHO WILL LEAVE HIS MARK ON KOREAN CINEMA

    After Sung-cheol and Mi-sook lose their teenage boy, who drowns saving fellow student Ki-hyun, their lives collapse. When Sung-cheol takes Ki-hyun under his wing, things improve rapidly, but truth always rises to the surface, causing the dynamic between the trio of scorched souls to change drastically. Selected at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, LAST CHILD, which will have its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia, is probably the most powerful and poignant first feature film to come out of Korea since Lee Su-jin’s HAN GONG-JU. Thanks to beautiful performances by Choi Moo-seong (I SAW THE DEVIL), Kim Yeo-jin (PEPPERMINT CANDY) and Seong Yu-bin (ALONG WITH THE GODS), writer/director Shin Dong-seok’s masterpiece recently secured the coveted White Mulberry Award for Best Debut Film at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

    HOUSES ARE AS HAUNTED AS YOU MAKE THEM: THE WORLD PREMIERE OF OUR HOUSE

    Fantasia will be channeling the World Premiere of the Canadian paranormal chiller OUR HOUSE, a tight, engrossing remake of the clever 2010 indie GHOST FROM THE MACHINE (itself having world premiered at Fantasia under its original title PHASMA EX MACHINA), directed by Anthony Scott Burns (HOLIDAYS) with a screenplay by Nathan Parker (MOON) and starring Thomas Mann, Nicola Peltz and Percy Hynes White.

    THE WORLD PREMIERE OF INDONESIA’S ASTONISHING WESTERN BUFFALO BOYS IS THE FIRST REVEAL OF FANTASIA 2018’S ACTION! SECTION

    Genre producer Mike Wiluan (HEADSHOT, BEYOND SKYLINE, MACABRE) leaps into the director’s chair for this searing, screaming action epic set during the Dutch occupation of Indonesia. When all seems lost in a small town overrun by colonialist violence, two revenge-seeking brothers arrive, meting out bloody justice that leaps effortlessly between brutal Western gunslinging and stylized Eastern swordplay. Starring a gorgeous cast featuring HEADSHOT’s Sunny Pang and THE RAID 2’s Alex Abbad, BUFFALO BOYS (World Premiere) is a virtual who’s who of Indonesia’s finest action and stunt talent that will knock your skull through the back of the cinema.

    CAMERA LUCIDA UNVEILS UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, LUZ, MADELINE’S MADELINE, AND HANAGATAMI!

    Fantasia’s CAMERA LUCIDA section, dedicated to experimental, boundary-pushing and auteur-driven works of genre cinema, is back for its ninth consecutive year, and proud to unveil its first four titles. Join the festival for a Special Screening of UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, David Robert Mitchell’s much-anticipated follow-up to IT FOLLOWS! Fresh off the Croisette, Mitchell’s latest is, much like his previous take on horror, a playful exercise in genre-bending; an L.A.-set, sun-soaked noir-comedy – starring Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough – in the venerable tradition of THE LONG GOODBYE, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, and INHERENT VICE. Under the paving stones… the lake! Hot off its World Premiere at the 68th Berlinale, Fantasia welcomes Tilman Singer’s tectonic LUZ (North American Premiere). A first feature heralding a bold new talent in genre, LUZ recalls the best of ’70s arthouse and Euro-horror (Zulawski, Fulci, and even Fassbinder come to mind), without ever giving way to pastiche or citation. Instead, LUZ is a mise-en-scène tour-de-force; an experimental subversion of the familiar possession narrative by way of avant-garde theatre – even shot in scope on gorgeous 16mm! The section will also welcome back filmmaker-extraordinaire Josephine Decker (THOU WAST MILD AND LOVELY; Fantasia 2014), with her latest, deeply personal masterwork, MADELINE’S MADELINE (Canadian Premiere). An essential film about the search for one’s identity, the problematics of appropriation, cultural or otherwise, and the treacherous process of creating art from lived experience, Decker’s latest is an intensely gripping work, set in and around New York’s experimental theater scene, and unfolds in the mode of an edge-of-your-seat psychodrama. Much like her previous work, MADELINE’S MADELINE further blurs the boundaries between introspective arthouse and genre mechanics. Finally, the section is pleased to celebrate the great Nobuhiko Obayashi with the screening of his latest film, HANAGATAMI (Quebec Premiere). Diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer at the time of production (from which the filmmaker has since miraculously recovered), Obayashi has gone back to his first feature script, and directed a new film in the style, and with the vitality, of his beloved 1977 cult film HOUSE (HAUSU) – in what amounts here to an exaltedly stylized epic; a boldly experimental paean to youth, memory, and the resistance of the human spirit; and a dreamy narrative blending fantasy, horror, and melodrama at the brink of World War II. As of 2017, all titles selected in the Camera Lucida section are eligible for the Camera Lucida-AQCC prize, awarded by the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (Québec’s Critics Association), member of FIPRESCI.

    THE EVOLUTION OF ANIME CONTINUES IN FANTASIA’S AXIS SECTION

    Japanese animation remains a key ingredient of Fantasia’s recipe, and the year’s most notable works again grace the programming of the festival’s Axis section. The first three films announced in the 2018 Axis lineup reflect the strength and variety of the anime genre at this time. Screenwriter Mari Okada (THE ANTHEM OF THE HEART) makes her directorial debut with the breathtaking MAQUIA: WHEN THE PROMISED FLOWER BLOOMS (Canadian Premiere). Okada’s gifts as a storyteller fortify this medieval fantasy escapade, adding rare emotional heft to the dazzling visuals, further enhanced by legendary composer Kenji Kawai (GHOST IN THE SHELL). Celebrated producer Genki Kawamura (THE BOY AND THE BEAST, YOUR NAME) has breathed life into yet another essential work of the current anime renaissance. Adapting a cult ’90s TV series by Shunji Iwai, FIREWORKS (Canadian Premiere) is a keenly rendered drama of adolescent romance with a fantastical, what-if twist. Following up his 2013 debut BURNING BUDDHA MAN, ultra-outré Japanese creator Ujicha returns to Fantasia with the equally bizarre and marvelous VIOLENCE VOYAGER (Canadian Premiere) – a very, very unusual amusement-park experience. Ujicha is the world’s leading (and probably only) practitioner of “gekimation,” in which hand-painted cardboard are manipulated and filmed live.

    RENEGADE FRENCH ANIMATORS BOBBYPILLS BREAK HEARTS, MINDS, AND BONES WITH CRISIS JUNG

    Bobbypills is a renegade French animation studio whose web series fuse the flavours of Japanese anime and the Euro-American underground. Following their gloriously sleazy debut series VERMIN, Bobbypills will soon unleash Baptiste Gaubert and Jérémie Hoarau’s CRISIS JUNG (International Premiere), a tale of broken hearts, bent minds and bashed-out brains in a ravaged, savaged, sexed-up futureworld. Fantasia’s international premiere of CRISIS JUNG, in its entirety and in lustrous 4K, will mark a very rare opportunity to see this mobile-bound maelstrom of mayhem towering on the big screen.

    ADDITIONAL FIRST WAVE TITLES:

    ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE UK – Dir: John McPhail A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven – at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash, and sing their way to survival, facing hellish snowmen, an undead Santa, and bloodthirsty elves in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. Official Selection: Fantastic Fest 2017. Winner: Midnight X-Treme Best Feature, Sitges 2017. Canadian Premiere. THE DARK Austria / Canada – Dir: Justin P. Lange An undead teenage girl befriends a blind boy that she meets in a forest she haunts and hunts in. Both have been victims of unimaginable abuse, and each finds solace in the other. There may be a chance of light at the end of their tunnel, but it will come with a body count. Official Selection: Tribeca Film Festival 2018, Fantaspoa 2018. Canadian Premiere. THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL Various – Dirs: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, Peter Strickland, Ashim Ahluwalia, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Katrin Gebbe, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Yannis Veslemes They are known as myths, lore, and folktales. Created to give logic to mankind’s darkest fears, these stories laid the foundation for what we now know as the horror genre. This anthology film overflows with striking visions from Austria, Greece, India, Norway, Poland, Turkey, the UK, and the USA, each directed by their country’s leading genre auteurs. Official Selection: SXSW 2018.Canadian Premiere. KNUCKLEBALL Canada – Dir: Michael Peterson TURBO KID stars Munro Chambers and Michael Ironside headline this dead serious surprise from the director of LLOYD THE CONQUEROR. KNUCKLEBALL reminds you that there’s nothing quite like chilly Canadian landscapes filled with deadly intentions to bring a chill up your spine. Official Selection: Cinequest 2018, Calgary Underground Film Festival 2018. Quebec Premiere. THE OUTLAWS South Korea – Kang Yun-sung Anyone who saw TRAIN TO BUSAN remembers the huge, zombie-punching badass who stole the show – and now, Don Lee is back to kick more ass in this gritty action thriller! When a Korean-Chinese gang war lead by the cruel Jang Chen (POONGSAN’s Yoon Kye-sang) starts tearing his district apart, Detective Ma Seok-do must calm things down and protect his community – by redecorating rooms with gangsters faces! Extremely funny and entertaining, THE OUTLAWS is the ultimate gift for all 1990’s Stallone film fans! Official Selection, Dubai International Film Festival, Macao International Film Festival. Quebec Premiere. PARALLEL Canada/USA – Dir. Isaac Ezban From BRON Studios division The Realm comes the English language debut of award-winning Mexican science-fiction wunderkind Isaac Ezban (The Incident, The Similars), Parallel is a fantasy work without – well, let’s avoid the obvious title-derived pun! A clever sci-fi film that smashes through the multiverse, starring Aml Ameen, Martin Wallström, Georgia King, Mark O´Brien, and Kathleen Quinlan, featuring stunning visuals from cinematographer Karim Hussain… This year, get ready for a movie that is out of this universe! Official Selection: Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2018. North American Premiere. PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH USA/UK – Dirs: Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund Thomas Lennon, Udo Kier, Barbara Crampton, Nelson Franklin, and Charlene Yi star in this utterly crazy reimagining of Charles Band classic’s franchise about homicidal puppets created by a Nazi occultist. Filled with crazed gore, THE LITTLEST REICH is scripted with heaps of wit and cruelty by none other than BONE TOMAHAWK and BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 director S. Craig Zahler! Official Selection: Overlook Film Festival 2018, Fantaspoa 2018. Canadian Premiere. THE RANGER USA – Dir: Jenn Wexler The directorial debut of MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND producer Jenn Wexler (and a project born out of Frontieres, Fantasia’s co-production market), THE RANGER offers a modern take on survivalist horror that both celebrates and subverts slasher tropes – with equal parts humor, glitter, and gore – and a punk soundtrack to literally die for. Official Selection: SXSW 2018, Chattanooga Film Festival 2018, Fantaspoa 2018. Canadian Premiere. ROKUROKU: THE PROMISE OF THE WITCH Japan – Dir: Yudai Yamaguchi Those peculiar spirits of Japanese folklore, the yokai, are back on the big screen, but this time, with a creepy horrific twist! ROKUROKU is a delightful omnibus of episodic spook-outs from two luminaries of Japanese genre film, Yudai Yamaguchi (CROMARTIE HIGH) and Keita Amemiya (ZEIRAM). Official Selection: Busan International Film Festival 2017. Canadian Premiere. SATAN’S SLAVES Indonesia / South Korea – Dir. Joko Anwar A record-breaking box-office hit upon release, Joko Anwar’s affectionate remake of 1980’s PENGABDI SETAN is one of horror cinema’s recent triumphs: an atmospheric, expertly-shot roller-coaster ride of a haunted house film, inspired as much by Indonesian folklore as by retro genre classics. Official Selection: Rotterdam Film Festival 2018. Winner: Feature Jury Prize, Overlook Film Festival 2018. Canadian Premiere. SKATE KITCHEN USA – Dir. Crystal Moselle Documentary filmmaker Crystal Moselle’s fiction film debut following THE WOLFPACK is a superb girl-power anthem; a film beaming with raw authenticity, and mostly shot with non-actors. An empowering and uplifting counter-culture film described by some as a streetwise alternative to GIRLS, it follows a young woman’s drastic life changes when she meets the New York skate crew Skate Kitchen. Official Selection: Sundance 2018, Inside Out 2018. Quebec Premiere. TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID Mexico – Dir: Issa López A dark fairytale about a gang of children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war, TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID is the winner of 23 awards (and counting!) on the international festival circuit, and ranks among the great genre works of our time. Guillermo del Toro was so enraptured by it that he’s signed up to produce a film with its gifted director. Official Selection: Fantastic Fest 2017, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2018. Quebec Premiere. TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT Japan – Dir. Akiko Ohku The tale of quirky, 24-year-old Yoshiku’s ten-year crush on “Ishi” (her first), suddenly interrupted by “Ni” (second) provides the set-up for one of the most charming, psychologically resonant, and genuinely subversive romantic comedies in recent memory, based on Risa Wataya’s acclaimed 2010 novel. Winner: Audience Award, Tokyo International Film Festival 2017. Quebec Premiere. WILDERNESS: Part 1 and Part 2 Japan – Dir: Yoshiyuki Kishi In a near-future where Japanese society has collapsed and terrorist attacks frequently hit Tokyo, two drastically different men – cocky and aggressive Shinji and stuttering, shy Kenji – will try to find their place in this world through boxing. Widely considered one of the best Japanese films of 2017, WILDERNESS is a sensitive drama, beautifully depicting male friendship as a visceral sports drama in the tradition of RAGING BULL or CRYING FIST. Giving masterful performances, GINTAMA’s Masaki Suda was named Best Lead Actor at the Japan Academy Prizes and Yang Ik-june, who grabbed two awards at Fantasia 2009 for BREATHLESS, won Best Supporting Actor at the Asian Film Awards. Official Selection, Busan International Film Festival 2017. Canadian Premiere.

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