The Weekend (Nigeria, 2024)
Good foreign fright-fare gives viewers culturally different spins on subgenres. Daniel Oriahi’s The Weekend certainly delivers the local-flavor goods and the chills with its Nigerian take on in-laws-from-hell eeriness. Engaged couple Nikya (Uzoamaka Aniunoh), orphaned as a young girl and dreaming of having a close knit family, and Luc (Bucci Franklin), who has fallen out with his parents but still talks with his sister, travel — Luc reluctantly so — from their home in the city to his rural hometown with a local holiday approaching. Local criminals who threaten the couple turn out to be the least fearful of dangers that await. Aniunoh and Franklin head up an excellent cast, and Oriahi delivers the shudder-inducing goods as the mystery behind Luc’s family and the reasons for their high ranking in their village are revealed — and the aforementioned holiday serves up its nightmarish tension, too. Sumptuously shot by cinematographer Idhebor Kagho, The Weekend delivers a gruesome shocker boasting a unique cultural perspective on familial horror and other fear-fare elements that I won’t spoil here. Highly recommended for horror film aficionados of all stripes.
Untitled Tim Burton Docuseries (U.S., 2024)
Photo credit: Wood Entertainment
Part one of the four-part documentary series Untitled Tim Burton Docuseries (the only segment presented at Tribeca) is an absolutely mesmerizing look at the life and work of filmmaker Tim Burton. More than simply a biographical approach to its subject, director Tara Wood’s documentary is a joyous celebration of Burton’s seemingly endless creativity — a treasure trove of incredible drawings from his school days to his storyboards are alone worth watching the documentary for — and the true teamwork that his cast and crew members, as well as industry professionals, felt with him. Interviews with Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and many others provide deep insight into the personal and professional lives of Burton. The first installment covers Burton’s home-movie–making days to 1989’s Batman, at the time a major studio risk that turned out to be a blockbuster that kickstarted the still-popular comic books superhero trend in cinema. Part one of Untitled Tim Burton Docuseries is an absolute blast that delivers the message of acknowledging the glee that can come from being an outsider and staying true to your visions. I can’t wait to see what the other three installments have in store.
The Weekend and Untitled Tim Burton Docuseries screen as part of Tribeca, which runs June 5–16, 2024. For more information, visit https://tribecafilm.com/festival/film.
