Tag: Movie Review

Just What Survives “Out of Darkness” May Well Haunt You!

In this game of Cat and Mouse, there are times where Out of Darkness will remind viewers of Quest for Fire or even Prey!

Out of Darkness Movie PosterNow in Theatres

At a cursory glance, one may think Out of Darkness is Andrew Cumming and Ruth Greenberg‘s answer to Prey. This director and writer have a solid vision that kept me guessing, and while the comparison to the Predator film is unintentional, this horror movie kept me looking at what lays out of focus should that hunter be ready to pounce!

That terror is lurking out of the edges of what’s filmed, and if the group of Homo Sapiens landing upon a new shore is to survive, I’d say all of humanity rests upon who lives and dies in this film. I think who they have to face is not just a Wendigo. Just who this beast is, we’ll never know, and I don’t want to search my home library of monster lore just what legend it hails from. There are images of a horned beast to suggest there is more than one force at work here.

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From Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret to The Sacred Cave, NYC’s Animation First is Headed to a Weekend of Cinematic Wonder

In addition to what’s reviewed and put on the spotlight at NYC’s Animation First Film Festival, there’s also Robot Dreams and The Siren–these adult themed works look worth checking out.

As Animation First in NYC winds down its week long celebration, there’s still plenty to see as the weekend approaches. Not only will there be a spotlight on the National Film Board of Canada‘s French made works, but also there’ll be more feature films making their debut. Regarding the former, there’s eleven shorts (list can be read here) to take pleasure in checking out, and as for what was made available for me to screen in advance, I offer reviews of the following:

Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret

Nina and the Hedgehog's Secret Movie Poster - Animation First
Jan 27, 12pm at the FIAF Florence Gould Hall

This movie pays tribute not only to the early days of Disney animation but also becomes its own entity. That’s because the Hedgehog (voiced by Guillaume Bats) is drawn and animated much like how Mickey Mouse once looked, as created back in the Steamboat Willie days. While his interactions with the real world may well be a product of the title character’s imagination, what I got out of it is in how the two manage to help each other. The manifestation is right out of a storybook that Nina’s father would read to her every night.

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High Flying Adventure is in Store for Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds

The world one finds in High Flying Adventure is in Store for Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds will look somewhat familiar. I can’t help but be reminded of Studio Ghibli’s The Cat Returns.

Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds Movie Poster
Animation First 2024
Playing Jan 26, 7pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall, NYC

Anyone who loves anthropomorphic cats will adore what Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds has in store for them. Although the character designs are reminiscent of Hayop Ka! thankfully the narrative here is more family friendly and nurturing.

Here, we’re introduced to a writer (voiced by Géraldine Asselin) who suddenly has to babysit Carmen (Maryne Bertieaux) and her younger sister Juliette (Loïse Charpentier). But in order to prepare for their stay, she decides to let them play by themselves whilst she naps. Pretty soon, they are whisked away into a far off adventure!

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When There’s A Hauntingly Beautiful “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,” Who Needs To Run Away?

Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person twists two familiar genres into a hilarous film that works.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Movie PosterPlease check local listings for showtimes near you.

When there’s a movie title that gets right to the point, I knew I had to check it out. And oh, my bleeding heart! What’s presented In Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is everything I wanted to see in Netflix’ Wednesday with the sexiness and gothic taken away. In this world, there are people living quietly in the shadows of our own and they have their own community. Most of them are content to leave humanity alone; but when it comes time to feed, what happens is supernatural. Lamps flicker, and the victim they choose to consume are usually folks who won’t be missed.

But when one young lady decides that killing goes against all her principles, just how she survives depends on who supports her and doesn’t. For her parents, they are aghast! They have tried everything under the moon (since the sun kills them) to make her come around, but sadly her fangs aren’t showing.

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When Life Dishes out Lemons, What Onyx the Fortuitous And The Talisman of Souls Does Is….

It’s nothing but Scooby Doo style fun for the comedian and YouTuber making his own film, titled Onyx the Fortuitous And The Talisman of Soul!

Onyx the Fortuitous And The Talisman of SoulsScreening at the Fantasia Film Festival August 05, 2023
Please click here to purchase tickets

Real life YouTube occult celebrity Onyx the Fortuitous has a movie, and the brilliant mind behind this horror comedy is Andrew Bowser. After a successful crowdfunding campaign to get this film made, he’s ecstatic to play an evolution of what Marcus J. Trilbury should become. At the start of the film, he’s basically a nobody. In the eyes of his mean step-father, he’s insignificant. That also includes how he’s treated at a burger joint.

Technically, he’s a diamond in the rough and he wishes to do better. To see this character involved in a plot which includes the title “And The Talisman of Souls” suggests he’ll be going far should he make this item his own.

Here, what’s presented isn’t an evolution of his internet show. Instead, it’s a story that takes the character out of the world of YouTube and into a hyper reality where magik exists. And he’ll have to confronting his demons if he’s to become the fortunate one.

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