Author: Joel Fisher

Kerry Reynosa (Elohim Pena) is a widower who is having trouble dealing with the death of his wife. It’s made even worse as he keeps experiencing visions of her ghost that come to him and she seems distressed, leading Kerry to think that his wife may be having trouble getting to the other side.

However, in his dreams he finds the answer as he is contacted by a psychopomp who starts to tell him stories about the spirit world in order to help his wife. Although through the various stories that he’s told, Kerry may not be sure how to save his wife.

I Dream of a Psychopomp is a horror anthology directed by Danny Villanueva Jr. and co-written by J. Anthony Ramos. Framed in a rather inventive way, the anthology starts out with a story which may keep the audience’s attention as much as the stories within. However, once the tales begin then it may be more obvious where the budget got most of the attention.

As clever of a launching point as it may be, audiences may think they’ve been lured into a significantly lower budget affair than they’re getting. Also, thankfully the stories are as varied and interesting as the production value.

Three stories that couldn’t be more different and it’s interesting that they come from the same writer/director as Villanueva Jr. has certainly made the most of his attention to detail as he has his cast.

A high school student changes forever in the lead up to a prom in one story. In another, a depressed man is brought under interrogation which leads to an unusual twist. The last of the supernatural stories tells of a girl who comes to an old house looking for somebody to make her live forever.

It couldn’t be more different between the three stories and although anthologies are usually made to showcase a variety of writers and directors, having one director does help to bring the stories together. This helps to make them feel cohesive and perhaps even showcases Villanueva’s versatility even though the stories all share a common theme. Ignore the low budget pieces in-between though and I Dream of a Psychopomp is a satisfying story which pulls its parts together well.

Inu-Oh (Avu Chan) has a very special ability that nobody else can do. He seems to have discovered that he can extend his arm to extraordinary lengths which nobody has ever seen before. He also likes to wear a mask because he says he was born hideously ugly, or it could just be an affectation of his theatrical sensibilities.

Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) was blinded in a boating accident which killed his father and he sometimes still speaks to his spirit. However, time has moved on and Tomona has found a talent in playing the Biwa which was taught to him by a local priest.

When Inu-Oh and Tomona meet though, they find that they compliment each other well and Tomona also has an incredible singing voice, so they decide to put on a show. Soon Tomona is the talk of the town and his popularity is quickly growing, but there are some priests who frown upon Tomona’s rockstar lifestyle while he sings of the ancient tales he was told.

Inu-Oh is a Japanese animated rock opera which is based on the novel Tales of The Heike: INU OH by Hideo Furukawa and is a truly unique film. Taking inspiration from other musical animations and rock operas such as Tommy and Yellow Submarine, director Masaaki Yuasa has created something which blends tradition with modernity as well as influences from the east and the west.

Fans of modern musicals will be captivated by the musical numbers and the story which may not be all that original, but evokes a universal tale which everybody can enjoy. Although sung in Japanese with English subtitles, the songs are catchy enough that you may even find yourself singing along in a language you don’t understand.

This is why Inu-Oh works so well in its original language, because an English dub may ruin the chance to experience such great vocal performances.

However, there are issues with Inu-Oh’s story as it seems to be cut short rather abruptly, although there is something to be said about leaving your audience wanting more. Overall, you may never be swept away by an animation and feel like you’re at a concert in any other film this year.

Jeff Blake (Bret Lada) is on the verge of a major career change. He has a YouTube channel where he goes around the country critiquing food in various restaurants and has caught the attention of a network that want to make him a star. Jeff also has some other life changing news that he decides to share with his audience, he has recently found out that he has a half-brother, Andy Baker (Dustin Fontaine) and he wants to bring him into his life.

So, armed with his camera he goes to meet Andy and get to know him while introducing him to what he does. However, despite their initial meeting where they get along surprisingly well, their personalities start to clash in various ways. Meaning that Jeff quickly becomes more demanding and Andy slowly reveals his curiously unfiltered fascination with his brother.

Whatever happens, this will be the last time either of them is ever seen.

The Andy Baker Tape is a found footage horror movie about two men meeting for the first time and getting to know each other. Written and directed by Bret Lada and Dustin Fontaine and filmed during 2020, the movie seems like an ideal premise for people with a low budget and a limited cast and crew. However, it may also feel familiar to some audiences who know their indie horrors.

In the same way as 2014’s Creep, the premise is simple and effective. The audience thinks they know where the story is going, but it’s the journey that matters. However, with Creep being more of a comedy and setting the precedence, it shows what The Andy Baker Tape is lacking.

Creep slowly builds the tension and is played for unnerving laughs, but The Andy Baker Tape is played as realistically as possible. This means that for a lot of the time there is very little plot and a little more character exploration may have fleshed things out more.

Also, the final act may give its audience what they want, but the way that it gets there feels forced as the tone seems to shift in order to please them. The Andy Baker Tape may not be all that original, but in trying to be too real it unfortunately forgets to build up its characters successfully.

Chase Iron Eyes has an ambition to help the Oceti Sakowin Oyate Nation to finally be seen as equal by the United States of America. He plans to run for congress and to become the first Native American member who will bring change and hopefully peace.

In 2016, a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline became violent, many Native people were arrested and abused by the police and it took years for Iron Eyes’ arrest to get overturned. Things certainly weren’t helped by Donald Trump coming to power as he had an investment in the pipeline, so as soon as he got in, he undid all the good that President Obama had done.

Oyate is a documentary about Chase Iron Eyes and his struggle to be heard as a spokesperson for his people. It also talks about the history of indigenous people and the many different ways in which they have been oppressed right from the moment Columbus landed in America.

Different issues such as native women being more in danger of physical and sexual abuse, the damage that inequality can do on a young mind and straight on racism are all covered. In the light of the Black Lives Matter movement, it also highlights how little is heard about the problems that indigenous people face. Not just the issues with trying to become any kind of political power, but also from living in a country that they were a part of long before white people took over.

Oyate pulls no punches when talking about the problems faced by indigenous people and is a stark reminder to anybody about how far they’ve come only to be pushed back over and over again. However, there is hope and it lies in the next generation as is shown with Chase’s daughter, Tokata.

Although, despite a surprisingly sweet moment between them while discussing racial politics, Tokata is shown to be just as fierce and passionate as her father.

Oyate is worth watching as a reminder of how far America has to go for racial equality, despite the tide seemingly turning in recent years. With Trump now in America’s immediate past, then there may even be hope that progress can be made once again

Wes (Jesse Janzen) and Izzy (Leah Finity) have grown up together and Izzy has known that Wes has always had a dream to make it in television. Their close bond and his interest in the paranormal have led Wes to naturally think about shooting a pilot for a ghostly TV show. Finding a school where a recent incident has brought about rumours of paranormal activity, Wes, Izzy and their cameraman go to investigate and end up getting far more than they bargained for.

Infrared is a found footage horror movie with a couple of twists along the way. Written and directed by Robert Livings and Randy Nundall Jr., Infrared is an attempt at turning the found footage genre on its head.

Presenting itself as the found footage from a discarded paranormal TV show, the story plays out like most shows of that type. The issue is that most people know that those kinds of shows are staged and so the audience watching the movie may keep that in mind right from the start.

It may be an interesting premise and something which hasn’t been done before with this kind of authenticity, but there lies the problem. In order for an audience to be immersed in a horror movie then they have to suspend their disbelief just a little.

With Wes constantly going for another take and getting his performance just right then the audience are never able to forget that they are watching a performance.

There are good performances from the cast though and particularly Finity who is put through the ringer as a woman who can supposedly communicate with the dead. However, the further they go into the story, the less the audience believes in the authenticity of the characters.

Then there’s the final act which seems to change tone completely and gives the movie an unintentionally funny twist which may evoke Scooby Doo for some. Infrared puts itself across as a found footage movie, but not necessarily the kind you’d expect. There are far too few scares up until the very last second and when it does come, it feels completely unearned.