MEMORY OF THE DEAD (2012) review

Memory of the Dead (2012) d. Diment, Valentin Javier (Argentina)

A nonsensical gorefest in same vein of early ’80s Italian horror efforts, this Argentinean occult romp makes next to no narrative sense and should be purely enjoyed for its juicier parts. Seven weeks to the day after her husband’s mysterious death, grieving widow Lola Berthet gathers a select group of friends and family to honor the dead…a reunion that evolves into a sea of vivid sanguinary effects and head-scratching hokum. With homages running rampant (nodding to Evil Dead, The Shining and the aforementioned Fulci flicks) and some impressive emoting occurring throughout, it’s a shame that it’s all being done in the service such incoherent blather. Seriously, I called the logic police about a half dozen times before they took the phone off the hook and left me to muddle through on my own. Switch off your brain and bring your plastic raincoat - you’ve been warned.

Fantasia Day 5 (Monday, July 23)

Day started off a little wonky – got behind schedule as I was racing to prepare lunch/dinner offerings for the week, and so ended up being about 15 minutes late for the first feature, the charming Japanese comedy, Mitsuko Delivers. That said, I’m glad to have the food element under control for the next few days – it’s not easy to do the festival thing on the cheap, and eats are a big expense if you’re not planning ahead. Maybe after I’ve done a few more of these, I can write a film festival survival guide or something. We shall see.

Another element that is rough to navigate is how early one needs to arrive at the next screening in order to gain admittance. Due to the sometimes limited seating, the powers that be have decided that a select number of VIP (industry/press/etc.) pass holders will be admitted prior to the G.P. (general public, i.e. the people who actually bought tickets), then those who exceed the cutoff limit (75 for Concordia Hall, 25 for the Seve) must wait until the G.P. have secured their seats. So, it’s important to be toward the front of the pass holders line, especially if it’s a film you want/need to see. I’ve yet to be shut out, but it’s been close a couple times. Fingers crossed.