There’s something inherently creepy about somebody whispering in your ear, especially when you don’t know who’s whispering. The thought of somebody being up close to you and quietly whispering something in your ear can send a shiver down your spine and that’s why so many people feel freaked out by it, but some people find it has a calm and soothing effect if it’s done in the right environment.
Recently, the craze of ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) hit the internet and soon many streamers and YouTube channels picked up on its popularity and began to benefit from having hundreds, maybe even thousands of people listening to them creating that ASMR feeling that helps them forget about their problems and relax – this is where Tingle Monsters begins.
Dee (Alexandra Serio) is an ASMR streamer, she regularly goes online and talks in a calm, hushed tone that her viewers find pleasing, helping them to wash their stresses away. However, this is still the internet and whereas most people are happy to watch and love everything she does, there are still a few that like to disrupt the peace and mindfulness of Dee’s channel.
Told only through Dee’s webcam, all the viewer can see is what everybody else can see when they log on to a video streaming channel, one person with a microphone talks to their fans. Along with that there is the constant stream of dialogue alongside the stream where her fans, well-wishers and trolls like to make themselves heard.
The dialogue for this chat section is very realistic, just like anybody may encounter online, so the audience are fully immersed in the scenario, maybe even more so if they are wearing headphones while watching. Then one of the chatters says something bad, the rest of the chat turn against him and he gets banned for obvious reasons and this is where Tingle Monster’s story changes.
I can’t really go into too much detail of what happens next, and perhaps some people would have a good idea where this is going, but for the rest, the film manages to build tension and surprise its audience right up until the final moments. Considering the nature of the internet and how anybody can seemingly do or say anything with little consequences, the results of Tingle Monsters is also left up to the audience to decide the validity of what they just saw.
However, in such a short space of time those familiar with online streamers such as this will find a very familiar space with a story that’s tightly told and still manages to entertain.
Re-home: Final Girls Berlin Review. Re-Home sets its very short story in a not too distant future where the wall between Mexico and North America has been built and the cost of living is high, so much so that people are forced to be re-homed like pets.
Maria (Gigi Saul Guerrero) is moving into her new home, a place Laura (Kasey Lansdale) and her husband Matt (Morgan Peter Brown) call Future Horizons. Once there, Maria is greeted very warmly and made to feel at home, even having dinner ready for her when she and her baby arrive.
Obviously a little scared and cautious about her new home, the tension never eases in Maria’s new situation – especially when her baby is taken out of her hands as if it was all part of the service that Maria’s new housemates like to provide.
Then the tone very quickly changes and the fears of not only Maria, but that of the audience are confirmed to be far more intimidating, swift and final for Maria as Laura and Matt’s plans for her are put into action. However, its short format and predictable setting are over far too quickly leaving the audience with little to no surprises.
Anybody with a passing knowledge of horror in cinema, literature or television would know what was about to happen to Maria. From Lansdale’s eerily friendly demeanour, Brown’s patronising manner and even when the audience is told that the place Maria has found herself is called Future Horizons, the audience knows that there is something wrong with this place and Maria should get out as fast as she can.
Being so short, the film does get to the point rather quickly which means there is very little time for exposition which would be a blessing in most films. Unfortunately, there is very little to play on, leaving mostly everything up to the imaginations of the audience which suggests that the film doesn’t really achieve what it sets out to do.
Even the explanation about the Mexico/American border wall is very briefly touched on, coming across as a comment on what is is now rather than it being fully built in the not too distant future.
If Re-Home intended to show how a scene can be set up where something happens and little explanation is given then it does exactly what it intended.
However, if it was trying to make a comment on the current state of America and what may be just around the corner, then a little more explanation would have been needed to make the audience wish that they could see more.
By Naseem Ally. Diego Armando Maradona. It could be argued that he’s perhaps the most divisive figure in the history of world football. Adored by millions, despised by many. Well, maybe just the English.
Asif Kapadia, director of the documentary films ‘AMY’ and ‘SENNA‘ follows up both servings, with an intimate tell-all story of one of, if not, the greatest football player of all time – Diego Maradona. This film is filled with a vast array of ‘never seen before’ archive footage of Diego Maradona. From his come up in the shantytown of Villa Fiorito, making his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors, his short but ‘spicy’ spell at Barcelona, through to his messiah-like status during his time at Naples.
And of course, the infamous 1986 World Cup.
What I appreciate most about this documentary film, is that it separates itself from all the others that are based on specific individuals, by the fact that in this film, the viewer never sees the ‘subject’ as it were, answering any questions or talking about their life directly to the camera. Throughout the whole film, Diego is off-screen giving his input on key stages and moments in his life. We only hear his husky voice, laced with a strong, patriotic tone from his Argentinian roots.
This is also perhaps a reflection of his age and his fondness for the finer things in life, like Cuban cigars. When he speaks, there’s a feeling that the wisdom gained over the years from looking back on his life, leaves him with a sense of slight remorse. I repeat, slight remorse. It’s almost as if is he wants to ask himself ‘Diego, what could you have done differently?’
But, he’s quick to brush this off because after all, he’s Diego Maradona, and in his eyes, he can do no wrong.
You could say, he views himself like an Argentinian ‘Robin Hood’ or as one of cinema’s most iconic characters, Tony Montana. It wouldn’t be outside the stretch of the imagination to picture Diego Maradona deliver the words ‘I always tell the truth, even when I lie’ on the big screen. Diego really feels at home in this film, and I think Asif has given him the freedom to ‘roam the pitch’ when talking about his life, as it never feels forced.
Diego Maradona moves at his own pace. He gives himself time to pause and think, calculating every word, almost ‘Machiavellian’ in his approach.
There are some great quotes in this film. He delivers them in such a way that they don’t hit you immediately, but you have to sort of, let them ‘marinate’ for a few seconds before you reach an ‘aha’ moment.
Diego talks with such nonchalance and bravado, bordering on the line of arrogance. He knows how to keep your attention. But at the same time, he doesn’t necessarily crave it. In other words ‘you can either take it or leave it’. It never feels like he’s trying to sway your opinion of him one way or another. He’s just being…Diego.
In reference to this, those closest to him have described him in the film as having two personalities. There is Diego, and then there is Maradona.
Diego is the family man, the prankster, the mama’s boy.
Maradona is crafty. Audacious. But most of all, he’s the underdog.
What I appreciate the most about this film is that it’s a very fair and honest take on the man. I haven’t seen anything this frank since James Toback’s ‘Tyson’. Both Diego Maradona and Mike Tyson share similar stories. Two underdogs, who are propelled out of adversity to reach heights that they themselves, couldn’t have even imagined.
However, as time has unfolded both men have had to bear the burden of handling enormous success at such a young age. ‘Diego Maradona’ is a documentary film done right. Too many of them are overpolished.
But not with this, it doesn’t pull any punches. A perfect case in point is Cristiano Ronaldo’s movie ‘Ronaldo’. It’s just too…well, perfect. This comes as a surprise as Asif is credited as a producer on ‘Ronaldo’. In ‘Ronaldo’ we hardly see his flaws or weaknesses. However, I understand the likes of him and Messi are playing in a much more squeaky clean era of football, compared to Maradona’s.
His era was a lot more like Studio 54 turned up to eleven. Diego was one of the last of a generation of footballers that weren’t overprotected by PR teams. Perhaps the only footballers left that could receive this kind of documentary treatment are, the ‘Original Ronaldo’ of the late nineties and mid-noughties, and the all smiling, samba dancing ‘Ronaldinho’. Both, marvellous players on the pitch but also no strangers to the fast life.
They both played in a time where footballers had an air of mystique about them. In the current age of social media, we already know what a footballer ate for breakfast and which new hairstyle they’ll debut for their next match. We know way too much about them, and it takes away that ‘mystique’ which is what makes this film on Diego Maradona so fascinating.
This documentary is very raw and gritty, leaving the viewer with a lot of information to dissect. It’s not a holiday brochure for you to quickly gloss over. No stone is left unturned. In this, you see Maradona struggling to balance his private life, due to the overbearing affection of the supporters.
He’s not superman by any stretch of the imagination, nor is he trying to be.
Case in point, there’s a scene of him in a brawl during his time at Barcelona, which looked like something straight out of a ’70s Kung-Fu flick. You can hear every thump and kick from a tackle, and every flick and dribble of the ball. It’s awe-inspiring and a testament as to what can be done in a documentary film with a compelling subject like Diego Maradona.
In a day and age of pc culture and cookie-cutter athletes, I don’t know of too many active athletes who would be able to bring something to the table, quite like this. Perhaps Lewis Hamilton or Mario Balotelli?
Whether that happens or not, ‘Diego Maradona’ has set the bar.
It’s just unfortunate that this film didn’t walk away with the Bafta gong for ‘Best Documentary’ before the final whistle.
This latest adaptation of Emma. directed by Autumn de Wilde should be viewed as Austen for the Instagram generation heavily filtered.
Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a spoilt young lady of 21 years of age who has never had to struggle or suffer any hardship. To fill her days she likes to meddle and matchmake in others lives.
It’s picture perfect with a dazzling array of filters: indigence, charm, pride, frivolity but crucially with all the subtlety stripped out so requiring little industry of the audience perhaps just to keep their eyes open for the 125 minutes run time. The director Autumn de Wilde’s background is in music videos and so the imagery and colour is spot on but the direction is too fast for the subtlety of Austen’s words.
The overbearing country/regency soundtrack is an assault on the ears. The acting is fine and Mr Knightley (Johnny Flynn) certainly tries to give another Austen hero, last century’s Mr Darcy (Colin Firth), a good run for his money but doesn’t quite do it.
Any adaptation should have something new or take a different look at the originating text. This version is intent on girl power and feelings. The frothy feelings and vulnerability that the male characters display are meant to show that not all men are brutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5yLcPzwPvk
There is certainly an attempt or at least a flirtation with some deeper idea but neither the script or direction commit and so what the audience is left with is a rather simplistic and superficial adaptation of Austen’s Emma.
Emma. is released in cinemas across the UK on 14 February.
Attachment, directed by Katarzyna Babicz is a modern day take on the succubus myth. Maybe even that is a generous assessment. It is disjointed and disappointing.
Attachment sees Babicz plucking themes from Aronofsky and Cronenberg at will, but imbuing the story with little depth. It appeared more like an exercise in zombie make-up and horror soundtracks than anything of particular narrative interest.
Final Girls Berlin Film Festival showcases horror cinema that’s directed, written, or produced by women and non-binary filmmakers. We are committed to creating space for female voices and visions, whether monstrous, heroic or some messy combination of the two, in the horror genre. We’ve seen more than enough representations of women as beautified victims and constructions of male fantasies or anxieties, and are working towards the primacy of women as subjects and storytellers in horror.
The “final girl” horror trope refers to the last woman standing in a horror film, who manages to escape or defeat the film’s villain/monster (e.g. in ALIEN and HALLOWEEN). While “final girl” is an ambivalently feminist figure in film criticism, often desexualized and tainted with the male director’s moralization and punishment of other female characters’ behavior, the festival utilizes this figure as a starting point for carving out space for new and undiscovered positions of power for women in horror, not only in front of but also behind the camera.
