Category: Fantasia Film Festival
Fantasia 2011: Week Three Wrap Up – 14 Reviews To Chew On
Visit the official Fantasia Film Fest website Well we are officially through the third and final week of the Fantasia Film Festival, so I figured we should do a quick look back at all the reviews we have posted … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ is a perfect gateway into the world of horror films
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Directed by Troy Nixey Written by Guillermo del Toro & Matthew Robbins 2011, USA It’s been nearly 40 years since the 1973 ABC telepic Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark terrified youngsters across the … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘The Woman’ is both shocking and challenging
The Woman Directed by Lucky McKee Written by Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum USA, 108 min. Opening with a phantasmagorical montage of the beginning of life, The Woman first emerges. She moves with a primal grace and an impossible focus … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘BKO: Bangkok Knockout’ is among the best Thai martial arts movies to date
BKO: Bangkok Knockout aka Koht Soo Koht Soh Directed by Panna Rittikrai Written by Panna Rittikrai, Dojit Hongthong and Jonathon Siminoe Thailand, 2010 Fantasia imdb It comes as a bit of a shock to say that Bangkok Knokout is the … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘The Dungeon Master’ is an affectionate spoof, a love letter to role playing
The Dungeon Master Directed and written by Rider Strong and Shiloh Strong 2011, USA Shane and his friends immerse themselves in a D&D spectacular, all in the hope of reliving the geeky fun they had back in their younger days, … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘Absentia’ announces the arrival of a major new talent
Absentia Directed by Mike Flanagan Written by Mike Flanagan 2011, USA Writer/director Mike Flanagan’s partially Kickstarter-funded feature debut is without a doubt one of the best independent films of the year, an instant indie gem from a director to watch … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘The Wicker Man’ remains vital and subversive
The Wicker Man (1973) Directed by Robin Hardy Written by Anthony Shaffer UK, 88 min. In The Wicker Man, a small island community turns to paganism as a means of coping with failing crops. Framing regression as progression, they clash … [Read the Rest]
The Very Best Of Fantasia 2011 – Justine Smith’s Five Favourites
Justine Smith’s Five Favourites – Wicker Tree Made nearly 40 years ago, Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man has become so engrained in the public imagination that spiritual and religious beliefs have actually sprung from his creation. There is nothing redundant … [Read the Rest]
The Very Best Of Fantasia 2011 – Simon Howell’s Five Favourites
Simon Howell’s five favourites (These are in no particular order.) Bellflower Evan Glodell’s incendiary opus is wowing audiences everywhere, but here at Fantasia we were among the very first to see the final, post-Sundance cut of the movie, and the … [Read the Rest]
The Very Best Of Fantasia 2011 – Michael Ryan’s Five Favourites
Michael Ryan’s Five Favourites – Rabies This year at Fantasia we heard horror in an entirely new language. As Israel’s horror pioneers, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado borrowed from the World of Expoliation Cinema, but struck off in an entirely … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘Haunters’ is a funny, heartbreaking and action-packed superhero epic
Haunters aka Choneung Ryukja Directed and Written by Min-suk Kim South Korea, 2010 Fantasia imdb The best superhero movie this year is not Captain America or Thor or Green Lantern or X-Men: First Class; it features no costumes, no secret … [Read the Rest]
The Very Best Of Fantasia 2011
The Fantasia Film Festival is coming to a close this weekend and so we want to look back one last time at the highlights of the fest. It was an incredible year with many strong first time features, a … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘Brawler’ is a ferociously original film built on the bones of very old stories
Brawler Directed by Chris Sivertson Written by Chris Sivertson, based on a story by Nathan Grubbs USA, 2011 Fantasia imdb “As a kid, I had a record with the story of Cain and Abel on it. I used to play … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: ‘Kidnapped’ drags you by your eyeballs, leaving a lasting impression
Kidnapped Directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas Written By: Javier García, Miguel Ángel Vivas 2011, Spain Kidnapped begins with an unsettling sequence in which a battered and bloody man, with his hands bound behind his back, staggers through the woods blinded … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2011: An interview with the creators of UK found-footage thriller ‘Hollow’
The latest entry in the now-fully formed horror subgenre of the found-footage film, Hollow, had its World Premiere here at Fantasia this past weekend, and I had the opportunity to sit down with the film’s director, Michael Axelgaard, and its … [Read the Rest]
