Film Festivals Articles

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “Sleep” and “Strange Kindness” (Boston Underground Film Festival 2024)

Sleep (South Korea, 2023) A sleepwalking man becomes a danger to his family in writer/director Jason Yu’s eerie feature Sleep. HyunSu (Lee SunKyun) and SooJin (Jung YuMi) are a married couple expecting their first child. HyunSu begins having bouts...

Spoiler-Free Short Film Reviews: “Apotemnofilia,” “Lullaby,” “The Bleacher,” “Make Me a Pizza” (SXSW)

Apotemnofilia The titular condition is the desire of amputation for a healthy limb, and writer/director Jano Pita’s Spanish horror short Apotemnofilia finds actress Clara (Lucía Azcoitía) dealing with that as her highly anticipated post-pregnancy...

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Hunting Daze” (SXSW)

Writer/director Annick Blank’s French-language Canadian thriller Hunting Daze blends harshly realistic scenarios with dizzying drug-trip sequences. The result is a fascinating, often disturbing look at toxic masculinity.  Sex worker Nina (Nahéma...

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Natatorium” (SXSW)

Writer/director Helena Stefansdottir’s Icelandic thriller Natatorium is the type of film where you just know that something is off from the onset, and the mystery as to what exactly is happening keeps you wrapped up until the climactic reveal. The...