Category: REVIEWS

Things are not going well for poor Sam. It’s her first date at the local skating ring, and she has had her first experience with her time of the month. One of her friends is too open and lacking support. Her new boyfriend will freak out at the sight of blood. And the power to the ring momentarily goes out. But things are only going to get worse.

There is a local myth, an urban legend about the Boogeywoman. The Boogeywoman is a literal man eater, seducing and then devouring young men – but she has an insatiable taste for women on her period. But she is just an urban legend, right?

The Boogeywoman is a short horror film that makes the old feel somewhat new again. I have seen this story before, a good number of times – but the films this reminds me most of are It Follows and Candyman. We have the atmosphere, and even some of the cinematography feels reminiscent, of It Follows. The bright lights that feel borderline neon helping to solidify this image. But the story, the themes of urban legends and even the reveal of the titular character feel very much inspired by Candyman. But, the combination of the two is so seamless and perfectly executed that it honestly felt new.

The Boogeywoman must have been a low budget, but I find that hard to believe. It looks just as good as a number of the films I saw in the cinema just last year. Visually it is gorgeous. I don’t make the It Follows comparison lightly. The sets look great – they’re real and lived in. I feel like I would be able to visit this place this weekend.

The use of lighting, however, adds a sinister layer to it. There is something off about the skating ring. It feels muted and dark, even before the power goes out – like there is something hidden within this very room. It’s also very dirty, it gives off the feeling of foreboding, almost like nobody dares clean it at night for fear that they won’t be alone. Again, not dissimilar from Candyman.

What I will remember most fondly of this film – well, fondly might be the wrong choice – is the film’s use of sound. There is very little music here. When people are on the ring the rolling of the wheels sounds deafening. It’s claustrophobic and has you listening out for anything else that could give away where the Boogeywoman is. When we actually get to the Boogeywoman, what we hear is completely unnatural. There is the sound of stretching rubber as she breathes, like her skin is struggling to hold her inside herself.

An eye blink has a very insectoid clicking sound. With so little effort, it felt like I was in the presence of a monster – and with the short runtime, and ever shorter screen time of said monster, it was the most effective way they could have possibly done this.

This is a much watch for any horror fan. My one gripe is that – ironically despite reminding me of two films that genuinely terrify me – The Boogeywoman never feels scary. It’s unsettling for certain, which for me is enough to carry the film. It’s certainly one of the most effective and well-constructed short films I have seen in quite some time.

Rock Paper Scissors (Piedra, Papel, Y Tijera).

Rock Paper Scissors is a slow burn psychological thriller from Macarena Garcia Lenzi and Martin Blousson. Set in modern Argentina, the film is intentionally claustrophobic; exploring agoraphobia, mental illness, and the trap that we all experience; the mind, except this mental jigsaw puzzle is much more sinister than overthinking. 

The film revolves around three siblings. Maria Jose (Valeria Giorcelli,) Jesus (Pablo Sigal,) and their estranged step-sister Magdalena (Agustina Cervino.) From the opening scene of the film we are introduced to Maria’s obsession with “The Wizard of Oz” (1939.) With the house serving as her mind-trap, Maria drifts off into a fantasy world where she is Dorothy Gale, far removed from reality and living an alternate life inside her head.

In a disturbing biblical allegory Maria, one can assume the name was drawn from a comparison to the virgin Mary is nearly incestual with Jesus, who, in a biblical sense, would be her son. Enter Maria and Jesus’s step-sister Magdalena, whom I assumed to be named after Mary Magdalene, serving as the sacrificial lamb to Maria and Jesus’s mental conditions and mind games.

After a freak accident, Magdalena falls down the stairs rendering her immobile and at the mercy of Maria to tend to her. What ensues is really full on DSM-5, and I couldn’t quite grasp what to make of the tension, or why it was happening. The film never really fully explored who each character was or how their past traumas’ shaped them into the dynamic that was created. I knew there was a more existential question that was burning in the undercurrent, but I never quite understood what it was.

Visually speaking, I have not felt so walled-in viewing a film since watching “Buried” (2010.) Though the square footage of the Rock, Paper, and Scissors house is significantly larger than the casket Ryan Reynolds is trapped in in “Buried” I still felt creeped out and stifled. The cinematography, by DP Nicolas Colledani, successfully added to the effect. The use of close-ups and tight two-shots became a character in and of itself, stitching the story together with much needed visual fluidity.

Overall this film has all the inner workings of something great, there are shades of “Misery” (1990,) “Crimson Peak” (2015,) and even the famed existential play by Jean-Paul Sartre “No Exit” (1944.) Though interesting philosophical allegories are at work here and are great stand alone elements, when they fill the 83 minute run time they feel incongruent and jumbled.

Their meaning is somehow lost, and the film never quite reaches the notes of a terse psychological thriller, furthermore I see no elements of the advertised black comedy. Though, if you are a fan of slow tension thrillers, this one may be right for you. Not a masterclass in the genre, but a valiant effort.

Tito is the feature debut of writer/director and actor Grace Glowicki. Tito (Grace Glowicki) is an introverted, paranoid and frightened man who is extremely cautious of the world around him. He keeps himself to himself and goes out of his way to avoid other people if possible.

He’s tall, dresses as inconspicuously as possible and yet with his cartoonish stance, exaggerated body and facial expressions it would be hard not to notice him. However, being alone and doing whatever he likes suits him fine and so when a stranger, John (Ben Petrie) arrives in his house and cooks him a meal, Tito takes some time to adjust.

Tito is probably one of the strangest and yet familiar films you may ever see. Glowicki gives an incredibly physical performance, using her body and her face to contort into extreme expressions, almost becoming a male caricature which may unsettle or amuse some audiences.

However, audiences may find something very close to home in Glowicki’s story of toxic masculinity, peer pressure and what really defines being a man. For the most part, Tito is just a story of a cripplingly shy man who is forced to interact and suddenly finds a friend who he can share his time with. Although much later into the film, Tito starts to realise that John’s influence may have crept in a little too much and by this time he finds that it may be too late.

Glowicki’s performance may seem extreme from a physical standpoint, but she still manages to show all the fears and anxieties of somebody who is very uncomfortable with being forced to adhere to a stereotyped and damaging depiction of masculinity. So, like a dog in a pack, John starts to assert his dominance over Tito (which isn’t difficult) and as Tito starts to lose himself, he finds himself going down a dark path from which he may never return.

The themes and discussions that Tito brings up is something that most audiences may recognise in one way or another and it can affect men in many different ways. Not all men want to go out partying and trying to get as many women as they can to assert their masculinity, yet that is an image of what masculinity means for a lot of people and it is constantly reinforced in society.

It can mean that a lot of men can find themselves pushed into this way of thinking before they even really get to know what kind of person they really are. It can also mean that those men who are not like that may start to wonder whether their behaviour is normal, starting to question whether they’re ‘man enough’. Tito shows that it’s fine to be whoever you want to be, but if you were ever forced into a situation and lost control, you may never be able to get it back.

“Vinegar Baths” is a Chinese short film by Amanda Nell Eu, it explores the complicated relationship a woman has with her own body. In the film, an overworked nurse in a maternity ward consistently eats throughout the day and into the night, trying to find a balance between mind and body.

Thematically the film holds cultural significance, enrobed in the body positivity movement and the general stifling pressure females feel to be thin.

Interwoven into the plot are symbolic images and characterization including a severed head signifying a woman in a desperate attempt to free herself from her own physique. In its own unique and bizarre way, this film is relatable and I even saw myself in the character. I, like many women, have consistently struggled with body image issues my whole life.

No matter how thin I am, either my own brain or society tells me there’s always something I can improve upon. The film even made me think of plastic surgery, a field largely dominated by men, with most of the elective offerings geared towards reforming women’s bodies in an attempt to squeeze us into perfection.

One poignant image was of the nurse is watching and mimicking the “ideal” woman dancing on her Instagram feed, the scene felt similar to the daily struggles many women face. In the airbrushed Instagram model culture we live in, women tend to compare themselves to a non-existent ideal, always finding someone else’s body more perfect than our own.

There is gorgeous production design, sound mixing, and color work throughout the piece. Fine attention to details and a luminous, glossy color grade really added to the artistry and gave it a feminine airbrush. The camera work was incredibly significant and took on its own character. The film had a fish eye lens effect in the sense that it was disconnected from the subject, it reminded of “Being John Malkovich” (1999) where we see the character’s world through a practical viewfinder. 

One thing I had hoped to see more of was the backstory of the nurse and how she became so involved in loathing her own body, I suppose the maternity ward was meant to signify her issues stemming from birth, but I think understanding more of where she was coming from would have made it a bit more well rounded story wise.

All in all, “Vinegar Baths” was a joy to watch and a delight to see a talented female director explore important cultural issues.

Rating 4/5

Hunting Season: Final Girls Berlin Review. It’s late at night at a gas station. The attendant, Callie (Hannah Levien), is battling her past vice as well as the graveyard shift. The lights keep flickering, and some customers heckle her for working in such a place. She’s a woman who seems to have a bad history with alcohol, no one says anything explicit, but one can easily infer that she found herself on the wrong side of the law because of it.

The customers and her radio both mention a creature prowling the town, initially thought to be a bear but now believed to be more sinister. These are the events of Shannon Kohli’s short film “Hunting Season” which is ultimately about the fateful meeting between Callie and the unknown beast.

On the surface, there isn’t much to unpack about Hunting Season. It’s a very well made short with very little to decipher outside of the ending. An ending which could simply mean nothing at all, certainly nothing seems to stand out. Upon further inspection what I genuinely believe the beast itself isn’t representative of anything other than the unknown and maybe the magical or mystical, both of which are grand themes, but neither clearly link to Callie. However, the moment of their meeting does mean something.

Most of the brief 12-minute runtime is given to depicting Callie as a struggling outcast shunned for her apparent damaged relationship with alcohol. When she meets the creature, it’s wounded, much like she is. They are the same, but neither of them is a monster, their only issue is that they are both damaged. This meeting was fate assuring Callie that there’s nothing wrong with her; it was an intervention to change her life and let her know she’s not alone. 

Hunting Season is the first short I’ve seen in a long time that I wish was longer. There’s a lot that could come from where the film ends off and the style and acting is all so well done that seeing performances develop in this world would be interesting.

Kohli weaves plenty of emotion into this short as well, especially suspense which builds smoothly and slowly to the fateful encounter. This short has all the potential to be expanded upon if those involved so choose and I would be more than happy to watch it. 

To sum up, Hunting Season is an eye-catching trip through the abstract and metaphor, and Kohli manages to pull it off without being pretentious and instead makes something you only want more of.