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Get the Date You Really Want

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Woman of the Hour

by Hope Madden

The Seventies were wild, weren’t they? No seatbelts, ashtrays at McDonald’s, gameshows fixed unsuspecting women up with wanted criminals. Plus, shag carpet!

Anna Kendrick makes her directorial debut with Woman of the Hour, which revisits a popular 70s gameshow and its seriously suspect casting direction. Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), a struggling actor waiting for a break, agrees to appear on The Dating Game.

This was a real show where a woman would ask mortifyingly innuendo-riddled questions (supplied by the producers) to three male contestants hidden behind a screen. Each contestant would respond with their own innuendo, and at the end of the episode, the woman would choose a date. The show would then send her away with a man she didn’t know at all.

And if that doesn’t sound dangerous enough, on one episode, Contestant #3 was honest to God serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto).

Though Kendrick’s Cheryl is the titular “Woman of the Hour”, her instinct as a filmmaker is to share the spotlight with a number of other women—witness, survivor, victims. The choice, which presumably began with Ian McDonald’s compelling script, is in keeping with a long-overdue move toward deflating the mysterious air often given to serial killers, instead respecting the perspectives of the people who should still be alive to tell their own tales.

It’s a powerful choice that keeps the film from feeling lurid while creating emotional connection that amps up tensions.

Cheryl’s backstory lets us see how even this smart woman caves to the need to be polite, and how that instinct is manipulated by individual men, but also (and more catastrophically) by the systems that support society. The conflict fuels Kendrick’s every smile, every glance, every expression. It’s a subtle but authentic performance.

Zovatto takes on a D’Onofrio-esque presence as the charming psychopath. He’s at his best in the character’s quietly sinister moments, nuanced shifts in his interior playing with quiet menace across his face.

A tight and emotionally honest supporting cast and a handful of excruciatingly tense moments keep the thriller gripping whether you know its outcome or not. Woman of the Hour takes on a story that could easily have been exploitation, delivering instead a thrilling, reverent, angry witness.  

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Beasts of Burden

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Rumours

by George Wolf

Did you know that swag bags at the G7 Summit come with a free copy of Incumbent Life magazine?

That’s just one example of the winking comedy at work in Rumours, which finds Guy Maddin teaming with brothers Evan and Galen Johnson to pen a well-developed satire about the “burden of leadership.”

At this latest Summit, the leaders of Germany (Cate Blacchett), the U.S. (Charles Dance), Canada (Roy Dupuis), Italy (Rolondo Ravello), Great Britain (Nikki Amuka-Bird), France (Denis Ménochet) and Japan (Takehiro Hira) all agree they need to draft a cohesive statement on an unnamed world crisis.

Actually doing it becomes more of a challenge, one that gets even harder when they all find themselves lost in the woods around the German compound. With no servants in sight, the Heads of State grow fearful of Bog Zombies, are perplexed by the oversized brain they come across, and incredulous when the missing President of the European Commission (Alicia Vikander) suddenly reappears.

That’s a busy night.

Evan Johnson directs, putting understandable confidence in these wonderful actors to craft distinct personalities while grounding the comedy with the bone dry delivery required to wring the last ounce of wry mischief from every line. The target is more than just fiddling while the world burns, it’s aimed at those who congratulate themselves just for agreeing that the temperature has changed.

This is high concept satire, for sure, but Johnston doesn’t front load the fun. The steady pace has room for surprises throughout, with enough relatable truth to smooth out the overly goofy spots.

And for those who thought Don’t Look Up was just too obvious and on-the-nose, Rumours may be the perfect blend of comedy and world’s end commentary. It’s quieter, more polite, but still able to wield absurdity as a potent spotlight on the pathetic.

And just look at that big brain near Blanchett!

Nightmares Film Festival

Blame Canada

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Hunting Matthew Nichols

by George Wolf

Is this a faux documentary? A true crime thriller? Found footage horror? It’s all of that, at least some of the time.

You know what, just don’t worry about it and enjoy the clever way Hunting Matthew Nichols tips its hat to a variety of genre influences.

Director and co-writer Markian Tarasiuk plays himself as a documentary filmmaker out to solve an over-two-decades-old missing persons case. Canadian teens Matthew and Jordan went missing on Halloween night of 2001, and now Matthew’s sister Tara (Tara Nichols) is teaming with Markian to get to the bottom of what really happened.

Early on, we come along on an engaging hunt for clues. A succession of solid supporting performances bring welcome authenticity to Tara’s fact-finding interviews, until a surprise discovery turns the film on its found footage ear.

The missing kids were big fans of the Blair Witch Project, and took a camcorder into Black Bear Forest to uncover the local legend of Roy McKenzie. This turns out to be a slyly organic way of acknowledging the big comparisons that will follow, and to setup the type of in-your-face finale that more than a few BWP naysayers may have preferred.

The ride is well-paced and impressively assembled, and the payoff is satisfying enough to make you forget about who’s manning the camera or why we’re watching reactions to a shocking videotape instead of the tape itself.

But this Hunt is a fun one, and it comes complete with a mid-credits stinger that flirts with the possibility of another chapter.

If so, count me in.

Nightmares Film Festival

A Deal with the Devil

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BA

by Adam Barney

I’m a sucker for Faustian bargain films, so I knew I was likely in the bag for writer/director Benjamin Wong’s debut feature film, BA. I wasn’t expecting a movie that would also be so touching and endearing.

What would you do to ensure a good life for your child? That is the question facing Daniel (Lawrence Kao, Walker: Independence), a single dad struggling to raise his daughter, Collette (Kai Cech). Daniel tries to hustle with side gigs and other menial jobs, but the pair faces eviction and family doesn’t seem willing to take them in. This is where the Faustian deal comes into play. Daniel finds a bag of money with a simple note – take the money and you will receive an eternal occupation.

That turns out to be a heavy price. Daniel is transformed into a reaper and must take souls for his end of the bargain. He was also unfortunately transformed, now burdened with a skull for a face and the power to kill anything and everything he touches. Collette doesn’t understand why her dad suddenly hides from her and keeps his distance. To make matters worse, social services are coming around to investigate. Money really doesn’t solve everything.

BA may not be an original tale. However, the film truly excels at delivering a heart-breaking and ultimately human story. Kao and Cech have excellent chemistry, which really drives us to root for them.

BA thoughtfully deals with the Asian American experience of existing on the fringe of society. As it opens, Daniel is one of many unseen workers taking unwanted night jobs and any other work that he can find. After his transformation, he must remain unseen so he can continue to provide for and protect Collette. In interviews, Wong has discussed wanting to blur reality and fantasy in his film but still deal with the real issues of single parenthood, social invisibility, and poverty.

BA also happens to look fantastic. The nightlife of Los Angeles pops, the dark alleys and basements are dreary, and the supernatural elements seamlessly fit right in. If you like a good devil’s tale, you will find a lot to love in BA.

Nightmares Film Festival

Reality Bites

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My Imaginary Life for Someone

by Adam Barney

I hope this isn’t viewed as a cop out, but it is hard to explain My Imaginary Life for Someone. It must be experienced. It’s a film that is clearly not for everyone. For those who can match its wavelength, they will find a lot to like. Everyone else will walk out and be perplexed by what they just witnessed. This is precisely the type of film that we are always searching for to showcase in our Midnight programming branch of Nightmares Film Festival.

My Imaginary Life for Someone takes aim at Real Housewives or any of the other similar reality shows and does its best to take down the whole genre and the people in front of the cameras. It’s clear that writers / directors Molly Wurwand and Ryan McGlade have a real disdain for reality television and if you are of the same mindset, you are going to enjoy this broadside assault.

Filmed in a mockumentary style, the film dumps you right into a “labyrinth” of Los Angeles McMansions where the denizens get stranger and stranger. The reality stars are living in excess but probably aren’t fully sure how they got to where they are in life. They have nothing to worry about financially, but they also aren’t sure what they should be doing with their lives, so they spend their time collecting Princess Diana memorabilia, getting extreme plastic surgery, or listening to their own voices on tape.

There’s a lot of dream-like logic at play as the various homeowners show you around, tell you odd stories, or otherwise fill the silence of the void by endlessly talking. If you have ever caught the late-night programming of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, you will quickly adapt to the vibe. It feels like a dry mix of Christopher Guest (Best in Show) and Jim Hosking (The Greasy Strangler, although this film is not gross).

My Imaginary Life for Someone will make you cringe, hate the characters, and wish for it to be over. And that is the whole point. It wants to show you that reality television is vapid, vacuous, and ultimately pointless and it does so by holding up a mirror to the genre.

Nightmares Film Festival

Club Creepy

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Dooba Dooba

by Brooklyn Ewing

Dooba Dooba feels like something special — like a movie from the 70s or 80s that you borrowed on bootleg VHS from a new kid in your town. 

The movie opens as Amna (Amna Vegha) shows up for a night of babysitting and learns that her ward —a sheltered sixteen year old girl named Monroe (Betsy Sligh) — is being watched at all times by in-home security cameras.

Vegha makes it all work. She brings together the absurdity of Monroe’s parents with the reality of this cringy babysitting job.

There are only four characters in the film and each one makes me feel some type of way. The parents generate equal levels of unease, and their interactions with Amna make me want to run out of the room. Monroe is wildly odd, at one point critiquing Amna’s musical endeavors, making me want to climb out the window because I’m so embarrassed for her. 

Dooba Dooba’s vintage vibes make it deeply creepy. You feel like you’re watching something secretly, and you want to warn Amna that something doesn’t feel right. If you are a fan of The House of The Devil or The Loved Ones, this will pull you right in. I loved the creative cinematography.

Director Ehrland Hollingsworth is new to horror, but I think he has a new home in the horror community, and I cannot wait to see how audiences respond to this movie. I feel like part of a secret club after being able to see Dooba Dooba and I’m ready to talk about it with the world. 

Nightmares Film Festival

Spooky Fun for Halloween

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Carved

by Brooklyn Ewing

Each Halloween season, horror fans go looking for new seasonal movies. This year, director Justin Harding (Making Monsters)brings his fun, spooky splatter-fest, Carved to Nightmares Film Festival and Hulu’s Huluween. 

A group of survivors — including comedy favorites DJ Qualls and Chris Elliott — find themselves trapped in a historical reenactment village on Halloween. There they must unite to battle an evil and vengeful pumpkin. 

This is not your typical killer food movie. Carved delivers inspired kills that almost made me root for the pumpkin. The special fx are a blast and the cinematography is gorgeous. They make this one a do not miss addition to your yearly 31 Day of Halloween watchlist. 

The standout in the cast is newcomer Peyton Elizabeth Lee. I loved the rocky relationship between Lee and Corey Fogelmanis. Lee brings the Halloween final girl baddie to the forefront again, and I couldn’t get enough of it. 

Some of my favorite scenes featured Stranger Things alum Matty Cardarople as a corn truck employee.  And Carved rounds out the fun ensemble with a comedy heavy hitter from the 2000s. DJ Qualls plays the perfect uptight jerk, and has some of the most memorable one liners. He brings the polish and snark to the screen and I couldn’t help but love his character.

If you love killer food movies, autumn ambiance, creative kills, and a delightfully talented cast, then add Carved to your Spooky Season watchlist.  

Nightmares Film Festival

A Deal with the Digital Devil

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Decibel

by Daniel Baldwin

At what point does an artist lose themselves in technology? Sure, tech is now an important part of art. It can help achieve quicker completion of a project. It can also add layers of depth and resonance to it that would not have been possible a decade earlier. But at what point can one’s art actually be undermined by technological advancements? It’s a conversation at the forefront of all forms of art these days, especially in the wake of A.I. It is also one of the questions that lie at the core of Decibel.

The film centers on a young, talented musician named Scout (Aleyse Shannon) who plies her trade in local bars. The crowds that she performs for might be small, but her musical freedom in those spaces is immense. There’s not much money to be had in small gigs, however, so she’s on the verge of becoming a starving artist. Perhaps even a homeless one too. Enter tech mogul turned music producer Donna (Stefanie Estes). A rising, powerful name in the industry, Donna offers Scout a chance to record her music at a state-of-the-art studio in the desert, away from all of the distractions of life.

Scout – apprehensive about losing some control over her art, but also needing some money and a big break – accepts the offer. After all, who can pass up such a chance of a lifetime? Being a thriller, you can see where this is going. And you would be correct. It’s a tale as old as time: if any offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

With his third feature, director Zac Locke ups the ante. From a technical perspective, this is his most accomplished work to date. From a narrative perspective, while he did not write this particular film, you can still see thematic continuations of his previous works.

Locke has managed to combine the notion of “fame comes with a cost” (#Float) and “don’t ignore your instincts when things feel wrong” (Santa Isn’t Real) into an intriguing cautionary tale on the dangers of allowing your art to be overtaken by others and weaponized against you. Add in two great lead performances and some striking visuals and you have what is his best film to date. Decibel is worth tuning into and Locke remains a filmmaker to keep an eye on.

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Fun Bones

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Title Below

by George Wolf

I had this review written and ready to post, but it seems the AI program picked up trigger words that seemed like a shady sales pitch, and wouldn’t allow it.

So take two.

Ahem…THIS IS A MOVIE about a woman not backing down from the evil spirits that are blocking the path to her dream house.

In the enchanting mockumentary titled For Sale By Exorcist, resourceful realtor Susan Price is likely to tell those ghosts “Out of the way, Jose!,” with a big smile and maybe even a “Bless your heart!”

Susan (Emily Classen) also happens to be a certified exorcist. After a decade of flipping haunted houses coast to coast, she realizes the irony of not having a home a call her own. But just when Susan is looking to put down some roots, the displaced spirits she’s sent packing through the years come back to torment her.

“I don’t want some boo-hag lookin’ at me when I’m down here doing my yoga!”

First-time feature director Melissa LaMartina digs into the silly charm of the premise with a confident and strategic touch. She employs plenty of quick cuts, reaction shots and non sequiturs to keep the pace lively and craft a “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation” – styled expose.

Classen is an engaging and energetic presence, while screenwriters Chris LaMartina and Rob Walker keep the goofs and gags coming, including a well-dropped aside about searching for a good BLT sandwich that eventually gets its other shoe.

Both the horror and the comedy here are on the lighter side, but THE MOVIE CALLED For Sale By Exorcist is heavy on love for each genre, and built with some seriously fun bones. It’s a delight.

And also a movie. Not a sales pitch.