Tag: Art House

[Fantasia Film Festival] Dog of God or God of War? Just Why Lycans Crucially Matter Here is…

…that we can expect the unexpected! This wonderfully edgy film redefines what werewolves represents. To say one can be a “Dog of God,” gets morally justified here!

Dog of God Movie Poster
This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on Monday evening, July 21st.

Potential Spoiler Alert

Vampire Hunter D better look out. There’s a new antihero in town, and his name is Dog of God! This character is more creepy than charming; given the movie’s title, I looked into its production history. And when the storylines of both are similar, I’m going to have a tough time deciding on who is the better hero.

This animated film made by Latvian filmmakers Lauris and Raitis Abele has lots of elements to like. It’s presented as a parable. When they drew inspiration from the court case where the Thiess of Kaltenbrun was accused of theft, he admitted to being a werewolf. It’s a story that might surprise even history buffs. According to records, officials brought an 82-year-old man to court, where he admitted to being a werewolf. He recounted his battles against witches and wizards who served the devil, and as an emissary of his mighty Lord and saviour, he’s out to do good rather than evil–which humanity is having trouble believing! 

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What Happened During The Beginning To Justify The End? Only Joshua Oppenheimer’s Strange Musical Knows.

The end is nigh in an art house style film about a family who survived the apocalypse who think singing out their feelings is the best way to keep on going. But some fantasies are just that, and could this movie be a parable?

The End (2024) Movie PosterJoshua Oppenheimer is better known for The Act of Killing, an extremely difficult film to view, and with his latest, The End, it’s just as hard. What I offer is more of a commentary with light review elements. I was curious about this musical because of the post-apocalyptic setting. Also, I always want to look at the next movie Tilda Swinton appears in. She’s well known for playing unusual characters, and I loved her performance in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. 

This movie has the feel of being set in an art history museum. That is because the paintings Swinton’s character paints encompass a wide range of artistic movements and like those masters before her, they are to express her feelings of anger, pain and happiness. I noticed, and this attention to detail is great because it’s her role I want to decipher the most. If I ever get a chance, I’ll have to ask this director and cinematographer Mikhail Krichmanis if that character design was their intention.

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Once Within a Time – A Captivating Art House Film for the Ages!

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Once Within a Time is with the casting of Mike Tyson as “a prophet.”

Once Within A Time Movie PosterRelease Date: Oct 20, 2023
Please visit the official website
for screenings near you.

Godfrey Reggio is not your typical filmmaker. He makes movies that are experiences. After watching his doomsday-fable Once Within a Time, I feel that he’s trying to show to audiences where he thinks humanity is headed by using collages of varying images to express it. Nearly every technique that was developed during the early age of film is used here.

That’s because his visual narrative begins with us staring at an audience looking at a stage, and the curtain opens with Yggdrasill (Sussan Deyhim) singing to us like that opera singer Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element. To note, this film is neither a truly fantasy and nor is it really fully science fiction.

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Danger, Danger, Miles Morales! There’s Trouble All Across the Spider-Verse!

Not everyone will have watched Marvel’s What If series which explains how many worlds exist in Across the Spider-Verse, and one nexus point concerns Miles Morales and canon events which define the foundation of how this omniverse continues.

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse Movie PosterTo answer the joke of what happens when one Spider-Man disappears from the multiverse, another version will simply take his place! Across the Spider-Verse, just how many of this hero we meet requires putting the film on pause and counting every iteration presented to audiences! That’s what I wanted to do when this action got really baffling, and this movie is not just about Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore).

Well, technically, it is about this version and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Both are having daddy issues. Regarding what these two have to measure up to is what parents want for their kids. This angle is at the heart of the film, and it’s wonderfully defined when they finally have the talk.

And there’s also all that glitz which makes watching this film a pop culture explosion of Andy Warhol, Leonardo da Vinci and many other post-modern artists put into a blender. But the range of styles don’t end there. There’s flourishes of Norman W. Marsh’s Detective Dan and much more. To name all the artistic influences would be tough, and I’m certain that amongst all the names who have drawn the wall-crawler, I’m still searching for a moment Todd McFarlane’s signature style is splashed all over.

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Coming to Home Video, the Space Vampire!

As an experimental film, I’m rather enthralled by the use of repetition, colours and shapes used in the cinematography and video editing to define what a Space Vampire is.

Space Vampire Movie Poster
Available to pre-order here.

Darkside Releasing
Release Date:
Aug 17, 2021

I can’t help but wonder if the Space Vampire is just a reinterpretation of Carmilla? This film by Chris Alexander (better known for Queen of the Blood) begins the same. In Sheridan Le Fanu‘s own work, we see a mysterious woman (Ali Chappell) walking alone in a snowscape, towards an isolated house (presumably in Northern Ontario, where this filmmaker is from). That’s where the similarities end.

What’s different is in how this mysterious stranger in a tight black leather outfit is getting visions of who she was before becoming fully isolated to the entire environment she’s in. She’s no Black Widow either, but instead is just a person completely hypnotized. Another girl (Cheryl Singleton) is just as lost. However, it seems she is in control of her senses. This experimental movie seems perfect for Fantasia Fest, but for whatever reason, it didn’t make the cut. Thankfully Alexander got a distributor so fans of vampire and oblique films can take a look at the work for themselves.

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VFFOnline: Pining for Spirits in Ghost Town Anthology

Denis Côté’s Ghost Town Anthology is a cozy supernatural character driven drama which, as the title implies, collects a few anecdotes together by those people who knew the person who killed himself at the start of the movie.

Ghost Town Anthology.jpgBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Streaming Online
at the Victoria Film Festival
Get your pass here to view beginning Feb 5th, 2021

Note: Available for residents in British Columbia. Please check local listings for availability near you.

Denis Côté‘s Ghost Town Anthology is a cozy supernatural character driven drama which, as the title implies, collects a few anecdotes together by those people who knew the person who killed himself at the start of the movie.

Everyone who lives in this small Quebec town of Sainte-Irénée-les-Neiges, population 215, knew Simon Dubé (Philippe Charrette). Nobody understood why he took his life and too much time was spent over thinking who he was and what happened which led to his suicide. When considering how icy hard the ground is (the tale takes place during the hard winter), he can’t even get a proper burial.

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