So much of art is about metaphor and subtext, the delicate balance of communicating larger ideas into a seemingly unrelated storyline. When done successfully in film, the main narrative can stand alone as an intact, cohesive whole in which layers of commentary are woven into the piece so subtly they often require scrutiny and reexamination to fully unveil. When done unsuccessfully, the subtext is just text and the narrative and rules of the world that the film establishes go out the window in favor of heavy-handed messaging. Animals tells the story of Zoya (Serine Sianosian) a young woman of Muslim descent who is visiting the house of her recently deceased mother. When a mysterious white woman (Rachel Alig) shows up unexpectedly saying she booked the place as an Airbnb she quickly becomes an unwanted guest who won’t leave.
The reason the characters’ race is important to note is because this film is about colonialism. It’s fully and entirely about colonialism to the point where it has to bend over backwards to wedge all the key aspects of such a vast and complex subject into a short story about an online booking mix-up. It’s unfortunate because while the film makes valid points and brings up important topics that most people would rather sweep under the rug than think about it does so at the expense of telling a story that can stand on its own. Instead, we watch an unrealistic situation play out between a spineless doormat and an obvious lunatic.
Its a shame because the film is well acted and decently shot but it was fighting an uphill battle from the beginning in trying to condense an idea that big into any kind of short narrative. Colonialism isn’t something that occurs as an isolated incident that happens overnight and as such effectively portraying the metaphor requires a medium that can give the idea enough space for world-building and character development. The slow burn of the established reality giving way to an unrecognizable new one needs to unfold insidiously under the veil of banality because when the temperature goes up one degree at a time, the frog doesn’t realize he’s swimming in a cooking pot until its too late.
Availability: Unavailable
Currently there is no release date for the film but more info can be found on the film’s Instagram page
Balancing the “show don’t tell” concept in filmmaking can be difficult but writer/director Ari Groobman threads the needle perfectly as he incorporates just the right amount of backstory to flesh out the narrative in Projection and the results are very compelling. When a young woman, Hayley (Preslea Elliott) is fleeing a difficult situation with her younger sister Katie (Mikey Gray) in tow she finds their new apartment less than inviting. Nevertheless, they need a place to lick their collective wounds and what starts as a tense, ominous situation quickly escalates to a surprisingly gruesome and brutal climax.
Groobman doesn’t need a lot of dialogue to convey the underlying messages about trauma, abuse, and the struggle to feel safe while judiciously laying the necessary foundation for an engaging story. I was absolutely in from minute one and would gladly have stayed for another ninety to see this idea fully fleshed out and expanded upon. Its abbreviated length still works as a complete experience and beyond the story itself there are many other aspects that work in concert to create a compelling film. The acting is great across the board and everyone feels exceptionally suited to their roles. Every scene is very well shot, the use of low-light, forced perspective, it all comes together beautifully and is capped off with some truly incredible practical effects that are sure to please any gorehound.
Now the question becomes “can a work of brilliance be undone by a simple mistake?”. The short answer is “no” in this case, but this genuinely excellent film is hamstrung by an error in judgment that taints the whole experience. Yes, despite making so many great choices throughout the process Groobman somehow managed to commit the cardinal sin of using the dreaded canned scream. Clearly the actors are more than capable of using their real voices throughout but in one key moment he decided to throw in the same bargain-basement “scream” noise that has been kicking around consumer-level sounds effects packages for decades.
It’s baffling because such a pivotal, emotionally charged moment is so thoroughly undone by this awful noise and there is no world where this otherwise incredible film isn’t better for removing it. The fact that this is a near-perfect piece of art is what makes this moment so much more noticeable but other than that it’s an exceptional work by a director I hope to see more of going forward.
Availability: Unavailable
Currently there is no release date for the film but more info can be found on arigroobman.com
In terms of production value, short films really run the gamut from goofy DIY productions slapped together with little forethought in someone’s backyard, to slickly produced professional pieces with Hollywood-level craftsmanship. With recording and editing equipment being more accessible and user friendly than ever, barriers to creating a film have never been lower, but the ability to create a good one remains as difficult and elusive as ever. Regardless of the tools and technology, the biggest factor in determining the quality of a film is how well it’s able to succeed on the most fundamental level of being “a good story, well told.”
With a total runtime of just nine minutes and the film itself being contained to just over six, Beyond the Moonlight doesn’t have a lot of runway to work with but from the beginning is able to establish a level of quality with rich atmosphere and beautifully executed shots. The story follows a young woman (Isabella Jaimie) furiously practicing ballet at night and performing for a strict task-masker (Alexandra Almendarez) who keeps demanding more from her. The film at this point gives strong Suspiria vibes and effectively builds tension with excellent camerawork, well-crafted lighting, and a particularly impressive shot that utilizes mirrors to great effect.
While I applaud the use of practical effects here the main misstep in the film is the fundamental tonal shift at the end that takes a tense and intriguing set-up and puts a button on it that’s downright hokey. The idea itself is solid and had the scene been taken a little more seriously, it could have ended on a much stronger note. That being said, I was still left wanting more as this whole film really just hints at the beginnings of a larger story and fortunately the short is already being adapted into a one- hour TV pilot. I’m truly intrigued to see how that goes because if writer/director Natalie Rodriguez is able to strike the right tonal balance we could have something really interesting here.
Availability: Unavailable
Currently there is no release date for the film but more info can be found on the official website here
Understanding the artistic intention of a filmmaker is key to being able to determine the quality of the work. While you usually don’t have the ability to hear directly from the artist what their work meant, you also shouldn’t need to because, if done successfully, the message and intention should be evident through the language of film, no matter how abstract the work. Sometimes you have to let go of traditional narrative expectations entirely to meet the film on its own level, embracing the vibe and symbolism the director is using. For The Benefactress (an exposure of cinematic freedom) the intention clearly isn’t to entertain the audience with the kind of fun escapism they can get from a mainstream theater but rather to utilize the tools of filmmaking to explore how far the boundaries of art can be pushed. Now, as with any work of art, the determination of how successful it is depends on if the execution can live up to the intention.
The film is the creation of writer/director Guerrilla Metropolitana and starts with a long text crawl that, among other things, talks about how the director’s previous work gained the attention of individuals in “high ranks of society” who have now decided to fund this project and see what an underground filmmaker can do with mainstream money. After that, an unassuming middle-aged woman named Juicy X reads a statement to camera about her previous experience with Metropolitana’s unconventional methods. She also states that the financial resources being provided by the mysterious benefactress known by the pseudonym “Elektra McBride” has brought a new quality to his cinema. Now that the copious amounts of funding have been firmly established, the expectations are officially set, and I can’t wait to see what this edgy, unfiltered, underground film with Hollywood level production values looks like. Sounds like we have another Serbian Film on our hands.
After over eight minutes of preamble, the main film is ready to start and most of the remaining hour of the runtime is devoted to Juicy X sexually assaulting another middle-aged woman in light bondage gear who seems to be her captive. Playing himself as the director/camera operator in the film within a film, Metropolitana records everything in shaky hand-held as Juicy X forceably inserts various objects into her victim and performs other sex acts onto her seemingly unwilling victim. This is done for the benefit of the benefactress herself who watches via a livestream monitor wearing nothing but a gimp mask while breathing in heavily from an oxygen tank and masturbating. The film is loosely plotted but does take some twists and turns as new characters are introduced and Metropolitana even steps out from behind the camera to take his turn raping the woman as well. Perhaps this section was inspired by the controversial Belgian arthouse shocker Man Bites Dog, or perhaps not.
It’s unclear where all of the mainstream money they kept referring to earlier ended up, it certainly wasn’t in the single apartment that served as the shooting location or in the generic film stock filter that was put on the digital footage in post-production. This isn’t something that I would normally draw attention to because I don’t hold a lack of budget against a production but if you are going to repeatedly introduce the idea of the film having a substantial budget then it should be called out when we don’t see any evidence of it on the screen. This brings us to the biggest issue with the film itself which is the inherent disingenuousness of the production.
Every aspect of this film seems intent on trying to deceive the viewer into thinking it’s something that it is not from the bullshit story about the funding in the opening crawl to the fake film grain to the ear piercing canned mic feedback sound that is added almost compulsively throughout. The greatest offender by far however is the fact that all the sexuality in this “exposure of cinematic freedom” is faked. Now, there is a point while we see Metropolitana humping the nameless victim where a voiceover of him comes in to let the audience know he is really fucking her but we’ll have to take his word for it because the angle doesn’t reveal anything. There is also a moment when we see what looks like cum spurt out onto Juicy X’s backside from behind the camera which may also be authentic since the boner that Metropolitana displays through multiple scenes very much is.
So, a few possible exceptions aside, the film is a fake, softcore simulation and I can’t for the life of me understand why a film whose whole thesis is centered around cinematic freedom is not even able to commit to its own premise and resorts to unnecessary self-censorship. Had this simply committed to the concept and delivered a truly unfiltered explicit experience then it would be a solid piece of boundary-pushing filmmaking but as it is, it feels stifled and restrained and there isn’t enough of a story or creative film techniques to make up for it. There are so many films out there that effectively utilize explicit sexuality as a form of artist expression and Metropolitana should take cues from films like We Are the Flesh, Shortbus, 29 Needles, Flesh Eater X, Baise-moi, XXX: Dark Web, Portraits of Andrea Palmer and so many others that boldly push the limits of cinematic freedom and don’t simply take a half measure. I truly think Metropolitana could be capable of delivering some really interesting boundary-pushing art if he takes the gloves off and makes a film that owns and celebrates what it is instead of trying to convince you that it’s something that it’s not.
Availability: Limited
The film is being distributed by Blood Pact Films and can be purchased on their official website.
Art’s inherent subjectivity is never more apparent than in abstract films. Without a traditional narrative structure and so much of the imagery left up to interpretation, the goal isn’t so much about determining whether something was “good” or “entertaining” so much as it is understanding the artist’s motivation and goals and whether or not they were able to achieve them. Spearheaded by underground artist Daniel Valient, White Gardenia’s John Calvin is in many ways a significant departure from the style and content of their previous works in part because it shifts focus from nudity and self mutilation to biblical stories and also because it represents a collaborative effort with multiple other filmmakers.
Unlike traditional anthologies, the various parts aren’t clearly segmented by filmmaker and instead flow into each other with brief text on screen sometimes indicating the switch to a different segment. The presentation is a real variety of mixed media from static collage imagery accompanied by discordant and distorted soundscapes to live action scenes and old silent film footage reworked and reedited into Found Art style segments. This does make for a bit of an uneven tone as the highly produced black and white scene from Marian Dora (Melancholie der Engel) presents a much more professional tone than some of the less successful live action segments whose costumes and camerawork have a much more DIY aesthetic to them.
This collection is on a whole a very interesting and unconventional piece of artistic expression but is at its least successful when it leans into an over-reliance of on-screen text or direct voice-over to communicate the ideas presented in it. There are a lot of interesting concepts and ideas here dealing with religion, transhumanism, death, and resurrection but I would challenge Valient and the other artists to rely on their talents and abilities to process these concepts through a creative filter and express them more abstractly than simply telling it to the audience. I also found the choice to include footage that was clearly filmed handheld from another screen to be curious rather than just incorporating it into the footage itself.
The times when this film is at its most successful are when it’s able to lean into the surreal and bizarre aspects and run wild with them. The make-up effects on the lepers were truly inspired and genuinely haunting but the most interesting part of this experience is without a doubt the use of the bizarre collage imagery. The use of this creative technique, incorporating some moving images into a mostly static scene, coupled with distorted audio made for a unique and intriguing experience. I also like how the old footage was recontextualized into something strange and new and there were points that were reminiscent of early Lynch shorts and the kind of dark anatomical visuals Marilyn Manson used during his most provocative period. The time-lapse decomposition also brought to mind Peter Greenaway’s deeply unsettling masterpiece A Zed and Two Naughts.
Ultimately, a bit of a mixed bag as collaborations typically are, there are moments of experimental brilliance here and a more streamlined version that pairs down the overuse of text throughout would probably be more successful. While the effectiveness of the overarching message in the film will undoubtedly depend on your personal connection to the tenets of Christianity and interest in transhumanism, I always appreciate art that takes big swings and isn’t afraid to use highly unconventional and experimental ways of expressing ideas.
Horror and Alternative Cinema Reviews 