Special guest coauthor: Chris Weatherspoon
The 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), the largest genre film fest in both its home of South Korea and of Asia as well, took place about a month earlier than its preceding editions (running June 27–July 7 this year) and delivered one of its strongest lineups in recent memory. BIFAN boasted horror, thriller, action, and other genre films of all stripes from around the world. Following are our thoughts on five of the fest’s offerings.
Chris Weatherspoon: Irish horror-comedy Extra Ordinary is the feature debut for writing/directing team Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. Comedian Maeve Higgins (Inside Amy Schumer) stars as Rose Dooley, a bumbling spinster who earns her living as a driving instructor; however, Rose is far from being an ordinary, lonely middle-aged woman, as the movie’s title notes. Rose has the ability to communicate with the dead and to exorcise ghosts, but a childhood incident has left her traumatized, and for decades she has chosen not to use her gift. This is unfortunate as her small Irish town seems to be teeming with supernatural activities and residents routinely asking for her help. These residents include the equally awkward, but not quite as lonely, single dad Martin Martin (Barry Ward, Maze) whose wife passed away some time ago, but who continues to nag Martin and his moody, foul-mouthed teenage daughter Sarah Martin (Emma Coleman) by haunting them. Martin comes to Rose for help when one-hit wonder American musician Christian Winter (Will Forte) possesses Sarah to use her for a virginal sacrifice to Satan to help revive his long dead career. Martin’s only hope for saving his daughter is Rose, but will that be enough to convince her to come out of retirement and use her extraordinary gifts? Extra Ordinary will feel both familiar and fresh to those who are fans of the horror comedy genre. The film’s cheesy mood is set in the opening moments by an informational VHS tape clip about exorcisms and in general the tone is kept light, though the directors didn’t shy away from gore or darker moments when the time was right. Though Higgins does a wonderful job of carrying the film, Extra Ordinary features a strong supporting cast, including Terri Chandler as Rose’s outspoken, worldly sister Sailor Dooley and Claudia O’Doherty (Love) as Christian Winter’s cutthroat, impatient wife Claudia. Extra Ordinary’s ending is somewhat predictable, but the twists and turns that our awkward ESPer heroine and her band of colorful supporting characters encounter keep the story fresh until the film’s closing moments. Though on the surface this might seem like just another silly horror comedy, a deeper look at the story’s themes reveal something more meaningful. At its core, Extra Ordinary is really a story about overcoming past trauma and hitting one’s stride in middle age. Who couldn’t love that message?
Joseph Perry: Latin America was well represented at this year’s BIFAN, including a trio of suspensers that are well worth seeking out. Cuban director director Rudy Riveron Sanchez’s Is That You? — set in a harrowing world of despair dominated by brown, beige, and other muted colors — captured the BIFAN Jury’s Choice Award. Lili (Gabriela Ramos) is a suspicious, misguided 13-year-old who seems to love her sadistic, domineering father Eduardo (Osvaldo Doimeadios), despite his cruelty toward her mother Alina (Lynn Cruz), whose feet are bound and who Eduardo forces to live in a pig shed. When Lili and her mother have a chance to escape, the girl spoils the attempt because of her attachment with her father. After Eduardo suddenly goes missing, she comes into contact with a woman who tells Lili she can bring her father back using black magic. Naturally, things don’t go according to plan as a diabolical force asserts itself into the proceedings in this chilling horror movie/psychological thriller. Further elements of mystery allow viewers to fill in some blanks on their own. Sanchez’s bleak, suffocating work places viewers in the middle of a heinous situation from the beginning and the unease never lets up.
In Mexican chiller Feral, writer/director Andres Kaiser tells the story of troubled priest Juan Felipe (Hector Illanes), who left the church to live an isolated life in the mountains of Oaxaca. He happens across a feral boy (Farid Escalante Correa) in the woods near his home and takes the wild child, who he names Cristobal, under his wing as both a son and a project, trying to teach him how to sit in a chair, walk, communicate verbally, and trust other humans. Using mostly a found footage/cinema verite approach, Kaiser employs static shots, documentary-style footage, and video diaries recorded on beta max tapes by Felipe instead of the shaky, jerky camera movements that have given found footage horror films a negative reputation. When two more feral children, found chained up in a cave, come to live with Felipe and Cristobal, events become more dangerous, resulting in a horrific incident revealed at the outset. The documentary sequences are so well directed and acted that they could easily pass for authentic, and the third act delivers a good deal of tension, along with some sadness. Illanes leads a fine cast as the deeply scarred Felipe, and Correa impresses as Cristobal. Feral feels wholly original, exploring the conflicts that religion can cause both within individuals and communities. Highly recommended, the film is sure to linger with you long after the ending credits roll.
Chris Weatherspoon: There is nothing that makes me feel old more than watching a horror film with teens. Why is it that teenagers these days are so dumb? The group of teens in Indonesian horror DreadOut (AKA Dreadout: Tower of Hell) are no exception. For those who don’t know, and that’s because frankly this generation doesn’t read enough anymore, DreadOut is based on the Indonesian horror survival computer game of the same name. The game was notable for its use of Indonesian ghosts and legends and became a hit internationally, partially thanks to being promoted by PewdiePie, an internet celebrity and famous YouTuber, as they’re calling it these days. Anyway, similar to the game, the plot of the film begins when a group of high school students come up with the brilliant idea of broadcasting a live stream of their visit to a creepy, abandoned, and possibly haunted location to increase their social media following. In the movie adaptation, this location is an apartment building. Not so bright in my opinion, but telling teens such things just encourages them. This group of numbskull high school students includes the film’s main character Linda (Caitlin Halderman), who, it turns out, knows the building’s security guard, so the gang is able to sneak in. Like almost all teen horror flicks, DreadOut includes your typical high school archetypes, such as handsome prince Erik (Jeffri Nichol), rival popular bitch Dian (Susan Sameh), bitch’s nice friend who just follows along Jessica (Marsha Apuan), bully and popular jock Beni (Iryssadilah), and duplicitous, selfish asshole Alex (Ciccio Manaserro). However, as innocent and naive Linda is the main focus, she is also the one who exhibits magical potential, and so her Einstein idea of reading a curse while standing over a large demonic symbol is what sets the whole film’s supernatural plot into motion. The symbol becomes a pool, sort of a water gate, to an alternate, supernatural dimension inhabited by foul creatures that include zombies and one very persistent demoness in a striking red dress who really wants to kill these idiot kids. Personally, I don’t blame her. When they’re not falling into an inter-dimensional pool or a shallow ditch, and this happens way too often, they’re just tripping over themselves in terror, screaming. Well, honestly, I can’t really fault them on that last one as teens have been falling down for no reason, at the worst possible moment, in horror films since the beginning of time. Anyway, these teens fall down a lot and scream a lot, but who knows why, as DreadOut doesn’t really have a lot of terrifying moments. Director Kimo Stambeol (Headshot) does deserve applause for creating the film’s dreadful, uncomfortable atmosphere. The decrepit apartment complex was legit creepy, as was the abandoned village in the supernatural world. The creature design was also quite effective, with the film using both CGI and practical effects to bring some truly memorable undead monsters to life. However, it was hard to feel any connection or empathy for the film’s large cast of unlikeable teenagers, who at a point, become hard to keep track of as the story continues to weave in and out of the ghost world and real world. Horror film 101: when you don’t like the characters, who cares who dies? Well, while watching this film, it becomes a wonder if any will survive, as I don’t think anyone makes a smart decision in this movie. Ever. Anyway, DreadOut drags along until the movie ends without any clear antagonist or motivation for the events of the film. The twist ending however, leaves room for more story to be told, but I don’t know, these kids have already had enough of my time and can get off of my lawn. In all seriousness, fans of horror survival games may enjoy the creepy atmosphere and supernatural mystery of DreadOut, and those who have played the game will feel a deeper level of enjoyment when seeing the film’s connections to certain plot points and locations. The film adaption of DreadOut only loosely follows the game, and according to the official website, the events of this movie serve as a prequel to the game. Now that I think about it, I change my mind (an elder can do that). I’m not totally opposed to a return visit to the world of DreadOut. I’m sure these poor dumb-dumbs have learned their lesson and will be back with a plan. After all, teens know everything.
After learning of the death of her estranged father, young virtuoso violinist Rose (Freya Tingley, Hemlock Grove) reluctantly decides to visit the mansion that she has inherited in French/Latvian/Russian/U.K. co-production The Sonata. Unbeknownst to the world, including her agent and manager Charles (Simon Akbarian, Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad), Rose’s father was the great Richard Marlow (Rutger Hauer), a brilliant composer who was also destined for greatness, but who instead disappeared from the public eye after succumbing to his own musical obsessions. When Rose discovers a music score with unusual markings, she works with her manager to decipher it in hopes of performing the piece to honor her late father. However, while unraveling the score’s mysterious melody, Rose uncovers secrets about her father’s dark past that reveal that sonata’s true sinister purpose. The Sonata examines themes of personal sacrifice and unchecked personal obsessions and will be a treat for anyone that has spent time locked away perfecting any kind of craft. Freya Tingley’s take on Rose, as a strong woman who resents her father but who also wants to offer him redemption by completing his final work, gives the story emotional depth, and audiences will root for her to finish, even though her goal may have unpleasant consequences. Though he has little screen time, Rutger Hauer’s Richard Marlow character manages to maintain a menacing but unseen presence throughout the film. Andrew Desmond (Galaxy of Horror) has masterfully spun a mystery horror film that will keep audiences watching until the end to see if Rose is ever able to perform the somber, haunting titular work in its true form for its intended purpose.
Originally from the Midwest, Chris Weatherspoon is a writer and producer currently based in Korea.
