THE SACRAMENT (2013) movie review

Sacrament, The (2013) d. Ti West (USA)

Utterly pedestrian, nonsensical, and cinematically frustrating retelling of the Jim Jones/People’s Temple massacre where over 900 American civilians lost their lives in 1978 in Guyana, either courtesy of the gun-toting camp guardians or by their own cyanide-laced Kool-Aid-bearing hands. More irritating than the uninspired appropriation of this real-life tragedy is writer/director West’s decision to tell the story “documentary-style” (a clear attempt to avoid the “found-footage” stamp, but let’s face it, that’s what it is), a formal choice that yields nothing except that which is lazy and sloppy.

PROXY (2013) movie review

Proxy (2013) d. Zack Parker (USA)

After single mother-to-be Esther (Alexia Rasmussen) is viciously attacked by a hooded assailant, she strikes up a friendship with fellow support group attendee Melanie (Alexa Havins, Torchwood). Distraught and alone, Esther grows more and more attached to her new friend, with dangerous consequences arising from their increasingly tangled relationship.

YOU'RE NEXT (2011) movie review

You're Next (2011) d. Wingard, Adam (USA)

I’m sure 90% of the folks who strolled into that SXSW midnight screening had the same thought on their mind: “Please let this be worth the wait.” Following its buzztastic September debut at the Toronto International Film Festival followed by an equally enthusiastic bow at Austin’s Fantastic Fest two weeks later, You’re Next has been THE film on horror fans’ wish lists for what seems like ages. Lionsgate promptly scooped it up for distribution...and then proceeded to quietly hold all bets for over a year, parceling it out to a few select festivals before finally announcing a big screen bow in August of 2013. How could any scrappy little indie flick, especially one that lives solidly in the “home invasion” subgenre (don’t they know that's yesterday’s news?), hold up under such immense hype?

By being pretty f**king awesome, that’s how.

V/H/S (2012) movie review

V/H/S (2012) (1st viewing)
d. Bruckner/McQuaid/Swanberg/West/Wingard/Radio Silence (USA)

As evidenced over the years, the horror anthology format is not an easy one to pull off, regardless of the talent involved (hello, The Theatre Bizarre). Meanwhile, the “found footage” milieu has saturated the market over the past decade, a relentlessly problematic cinematic device increasingly employed by no-budget filmmakers who claim to be reflecting our self-absorbed society, but really just don’t feel like building or lighting a set.

Fantasia Day 10 (Saturday, July 28)

Holy schneike, we just went into double digits over here. Ten straight days of constant and consummate cinema consumption. Praise the movie gods and pass the popcorn…

I had hoped to get my tuckus out of bed in time to get the day’s writing done and catch the 12:30pm screening of Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend, a new kaiju featuring Ultraman with a new origin story, but it was not to be. Ol’ Man AC, he needed a few more Z’s after hitting the hay at 3am, so the giant suit-mation monsters will have to wait until I can see them on DVD. On the positive side, I was able to have a leisurely brunch and catch up on emails, one of which included a lovely conversation with Fantasia hospitality manager Stephanie Trepanier who kindly invited me to the Frontieres Market cocktail party.