Tag: Horror

Foundations are Shaken in The Witch, A Movie Review

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Robert Eggers directorial debut in the historical film The Witch is more than haunting. To watch a Puritan family descend into madness is a spine-chiller. As an audience, most will notice why. But how many people will pick up on the fact that this movie is set before the Salem Witch-Trials? The fact the craze happened as a result of misplaced fears and due to consumption of diseased rye is a detail deserving to mention. Without this knowledge, trying to understand this film will have some folks wondering what kind of point Eggers is wishing to make.

The film certainly highlights the hysteria that occurs after William (Ralph Ineson) and his family is told to leave by the village council. After an argument over sanctuary, the entire clan departs. One detail an eagle-eyed fan of CW’s Supernatural will notice is that the Governor is played by Julian Richings (who plays Death in the television series). Could this nod be an intentional foreshadow of what’s to come?

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[VFF ’16] The Girl in the Photographs, A Time Capsule to a Lost Sub-Genre, A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The-Girl-in-the-PhotographsVictoria Film Festival 2016
Fri, Feb 12th 8:45pm
The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas St,
Victoria, BC

The movie The Girl in the Photographs fondly recalls films like Halloween in it’s no holds barred approach to possibly reigniting the slasher genre. This detail makes this film worth noting. It’s directed by Nick Simon, a relative newcomer to the scene and it was the last movie that Wes Craven (Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street) had his hands on as an executive producer. Most of his films have a trademark style to them and while it’s sad he’s passed on, the lessons Simon learned will most likely carry on in the next project he works on within the horror film genre.

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2016 Victoria Film Festival Guide Launch & Genre Picks

In this list, we offer our choice picks of the 2016 Victoria Film Festival to go see.

Victoria Film Festival 2016The Victoria Film Festival‘s online guide goes live today at midnight, and the launch party had the who’s who of cinema aficionados from this city in attendance to get the first sneak peek. The printed version will see distribution in the coming days at this operation’s offices and at kiosks around town.

Announced is this year’s opening gala film, My Internship in Canada. This political satire features Irdens Exantus as a Haitian intern navigating his way through Canadian politics and sports in his attempt to understand this country. The film stars Patrick Huard as Steve Guibord, an independent Member of Parliament who has the powers in his hands to decide if Canada will go to war with the Middle East. Just which way this film will go will depend on the point of view writer/director Philippe Falardeau is focussing on. When this film has been earmarked by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as one of Canada’s Top 10 Best Canadian Films of 2015, it’s a safe bet this movie is very reverent today because of the issues it touches upon.

In addition to documentaries which provides social insight and enough foodie inspired movies for me to savour (like Sergio Herman: F*cking Perfect and The Sandwich Nazi), the picks of this year’s films playing at the Victoria Film Festival of 2016 range from animated fun, historically significant, musically mysterious to the terrifying!

McDull: Me & My Mum Movie PosterMcDull: Me & My Mum
(麥兜˙我和我媽媽)
Feb 7 * 1:00pm * Odeon 2

Cantonese with English subtitles

Whenever the police encounter a difficult case, they will call on him to help to solve it; The FBI, Scotland Yard, all hire him as a consultant. He is Detective Mak, Bobby Mak, the private detective who is known to be the most famous detective since Sherlock Holmes.

Bobby Mak used to be the kid who is called McDull. McDull is a slow kid, but his mum is shrewd. She transforms a 300-square foot apartment into a 2 bedroom, with dining and living room, sauna, gym and library. From a 100-square feet shop, she manages a real estate agency, tuck shop, plumping service, beauty salon and second hand mobile phone shop, plus a private detective agency. (no joke, private detective!) She can use rice, salted fish, and cabbage to cook Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, French, or even a buffet. She can use a wire hanger to fix the toilet, remote-control toy plane, ceiling lamp and umbrella …. — Twitchfilm.com

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsC1DSwn6Bo%5D

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10 Monster Movies to Haunt Christmas With

Some of us love a good monster movie to enjoy on that cold winter’s night.

A Christmas Carol DVD CoverTo hear those sleigh bells jingling, going ring ting tingling will certainly hail the start of the holiday, but just how often do you hear a boo during this season? Some of us love a good monster movie to enjoy on that cold winter’s night. To wait for that final ray of light to fade away is enough to signal it’s time to get some fright on!

Assembled here is a list of monster movies threatening the holiday season by tormenting unlucky mortals who come across their way. Sometimes the message is clear in these films: it’s to help unite divided families to fight against a common threat. In others, it’s to show how better a person can become when not isolated away from society.

For the rest, a good horror tale helps make communities stronger. Slasher films featuring a deranged serial killer is its own special category and they tend to dominate other holiday lists. Some of the films in this list have a lesson to end with, but not all of them do. Some movies are just made to simply entertain.

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With Big Horns and a Wail, Krampus is Coming to Town! A Movie Review

You better watch out, You better not cry, Better not pout, I’m telling you why: Krampus is comin’ to town.

Krampus Movie PosterWhether you celebrate Christmas or not, Michael Dougherty’s Krampus is a cautionary tale which tries to leave a mark. This writer/director wants audiences to leave with an understanding of what the holiday is about and most viewers will get it. In what may not get recognized by everyone is this film’s historical and cultural identity.

This movie started playing at theatres the night before December 6th to coincide with the established Germanic folklore of when this supernatural beast appears to reward or torment children. On the morning of the next day, kids go to look at the shoe or boot they left outdoors contains a present (to reward good behaviour) or a rod (for bad). In this old country — which includes Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic — celebrations take place to remind people of all ages to play nice year-round. Variations of this legend includes this entity leaving the good alone whilst Saint Nicholas would place sweets in the footwear.

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When Reading A Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is Important, A Movie Review

When Ben and Carter are questioning why they are still scouts, that one moment of indecision creates a plot where they feel conflicted over abandoning Augie on the night the Zombie apocalypse.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Advance Teaser PosterTrying to convince me watch a zombie movie these days require the plot to either be wildly original or absurdly funny. Either does not have to be perfect. When the guffaws come from the gut, that’s a good sign in what I enjoyed from Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Sure, it’s immature and sophomoric in its approach, but it’s Halloween! People get silly around this time just so they can unleash some inhibitions. I suspect this movie will do better once it hits video than persist on the big screen.

This film is simple popcorn entertainment. It blends the best of what camaraderie represents in The Goonies to the wildness of the situation from Zombieland. With character-driven elements taken from Superbad, this combination works to drive home a character drama.

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