TagAnother Hole in the Head Film Fest
6 stories
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Writer/director Alexander Roman returns with another feature to warm the hearts of viewers who appreciate old-school occult movies and noir films with some modern twists, Cats of the Bayou (ASMR). Like Roman’s previous features, it deals in style and elegance, eschewing graphic gore and violence in favor of good storytelling and leaving certain elements to the imagination of viewers. Members of a group called The Cat Society meet in New Orleans to listen to a tape from Egyptologist Horace, and then learn that one of their members has been found dead, with scratches all over his face and body. A few months later, a young woman named Jacqueline (Max Reeves) returns to the city, where she had lived as a child before being moved to an abbey. As she begins to become increasingly intrigued about the secretive Cat Society and its members, and as she starts to unearth shocking clues about the death of her parents, esoteric mysteries begin to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
The Unhealer Director Martin Guigui’s The Unhealer (2021) is a “the bullied becomes the bullier” revenge tale that plays like a 1990s horror movie, with plenty of familiar genre-film faces on display. Pflueger (Lance Henriksen) performs faith healing miracles — for donations, of course — having gained supernatural powers from the hoary cinematic chestnut that is “Indian burial grounds.” He accidentally and unwittingly transfers his powers of instantly healing from any injury or pain to Kelly (Elijah Nelson), a teenager bullied by classmates because of suffering from the eating disorder pica. His childhood friend Dominique (Kayla Carlson) is a popular girl at their high school who tries to get her jock boyfriend and his buddies to cut Kelly some slack, but an incident in which one of them tries to fight Kelly and gets injured instead helps Kelly realize that he has inherited powers that turn others’ violence toward him on the perpetrators. Megalomania ensues, along with deadly acts of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsReviews
The Boy with the Sombrero Written and directed by Constantien Konstin While walking with his mother (Dawn Briceño), a young boy (Cristiano Briceño) sees the titular character (Broadie Briceño) nearby, but his mother does not. After returning home and spending time with his father (David Briceño), the boy learns that he wasn’t merely seeing things. This slow burner pays off nicely with a sudden shocking climax. Kudos to Alicia Barry for her impressive makeup and special effects work. Hell Hath No Furie Written, directed, and animated by Kitty Faingold This fun, wicked short boasts a unique style of hand-drawn animation heavy on red and black. Its tale of three furies hanging out and getting on each other’s nerves is both comical and violent. The music and sound design by Max Mannone round out Faingold’s short well. You can watch Hell Hath No Furie now at https://vimeo.com/372211393. Wendigo This short from Large Ark Films shows how three friends learn the hard
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMovies
Director Jason M. Koch — no stranger to controversy with his ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016) segment “M is for Munging” and his grisly feature 7th Day (2013) — tackles Chritsian faith and lack thereof in his latest film, Beneath the Black Veil. The lives and marriage of Genna (Samantha Jean) and her husband Aaron (Michael Acosta) are shattered when their child is killed by a driver. When the driver is not punished by law for the accident, the couple plots to take their anger at God out by killing the driver and breaking all of the Ten Commandments. This proves difficult when Aaron cannot find the willpower to leave their house, and then finds himself growing grotesquely sicker. Meanwhile, Genna’s behavior becomes ever odder, alarming her coworkers and close friend. Koch, who wrote the screenplay based on a story by Stephen Biro (writer of the American Guinea Pig films), doesn’t shy away from blasphemy in this body horror/occult horror
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Director Jeremy Kasten’s The Dead Ones tackles current hot-button issues about high school violence, including school shootings and bullying, with a supernatural spin. The film will likely take many viewers out of their comfort zones, and this challenging outing is bound to remain in the minds of those who see it for a good while. Four teenagers — introverted Alice “Mouse” Monroe (Sarah Rose Harper), former juvenile hall charge Scottie French (Brandon Thane Wilson of 2011’s Lovely Molly), psychologically troubled Katie Foster (Emily Davis of Lovely Molly and 2010’s Ghosts Don’t Exist), and Katie’s violence-prone boyfriend Louis Friend (Torey Garza) are tasked by school faculty member Ms. Persephone (Clare Kramer of Tales of Halloween [2015], the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series, and Kasten’s The Thirst [2006]) to spend what would have been their summer vacation in detention, cleaning up a huge mess at their high school. As these characters are introduced and that initial set-up is begun, The Dead
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
SF IndieFest’s Another Hole in the Head Film Fest celebrates its 16th year with two weeks of a “cinematic excursion into the realms of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other assorted genres . . . [pulling] together a diverse collection of films representing all varieties and budgetary considerations,” according to the film’s website. The fest takes place from December 1st –15th at New People Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown. The festival states, “From your buddy Keith’s skateboarding footage in an enchanted forest to Burt Reynolds in Space, to tomorrow’s cult classic destined for Lionsgate, Another Hole in the Head provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema.” With a mind-blowing lineup of feature films and short films from around the planet — many making their world, U.S., or regional debuts — Another Hole in the Head has a wide array of selections to get excited about. Following are four of the features that yours truly is especially looking forward to, with
Continue reading →
More from Another Hole in the Head Film Fest
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Writer/director Alexander Roman returns with another feature to warm the hearts of viewers who appreciate old-school occult movies and noir films with some modern twists, Cats of the Bayou (ASMR). Like Roman’s previous features, it deals in style and elegance, eschewing graphic gore and violence in favor of good storytelling and leaving certain elements to the imagination of viewers. Members of a group called The Cat Society meet in New Orleans to listen to a tape from Egyptologist Horace, and then learn that one of their members has been found dead, with scratches all over his face and body. A few months later, a young woman named Jacqueline (Max Reeves) returns to the city, where she had lived as a child before being moved to an abbey. As she begins to become increasingly intrigued about the secretive Cat Society and its members, and as she starts to unearth shocking clues about the death of her parents, esoteric mysteries begin to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
The Unhealer Director Martin Guigui’s The Unhealer (2021) is a “the bullied becomes the bullier” revenge tale that plays like a 1990s horror movie, with plenty of familiar genre-film faces on display. Pflueger (Lance Henriksen) performs faith healing miracles — for donations, of course — having gained supernatural powers from the hoary cinematic chestnut that is “Indian burial grounds.” He accidentally and unwittingly transfers his powers of instantly healing from any injury or pain to Kelly (Elijah Nelson), a teenager bullied by classmates because of suffering from the eating disorder pica. His childhood friend Dominique (Kayla Carlson) is a popular girl at their high school who tries to get her jock boyfriend and his buddies to cut Kelly some slack, but an incident in which one of them tries to fight Kelly and gets injured instead helps Kelly realize that he has inherited powers that turn others’ violence toward him on the perpetrators. Megalomania ensues, along with deadly acts of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsReviews
The Boy with the Sombrero Written and directed by Constantien Konstin While walking with his mother (Dawn Briceño), a young boy (Cristiano Briceño) sees the titular character (Broadie Briceño) nearby, but his mother does not. After returning home and spending time with his father (David Briceño), the boy learns that he wasn’t merely seeing things. This slow burner pays off nicely with a sudden shocking climax. Kudos to Alicia Barry for her impressive makeup and special effects work. Hell Hath No Furie Written, directed, and animated by Kitty Faingold This fun, wicked short boasts a unique style of hand-drawn animation heavy on red and black. Its tale of three furies hanging out and getting on each other’s nerves is both comical and violent. The music and sound design by Max Mannone round out Faingold’s short well. You can watch Hell Hath No Furie now at https://vimeo.com/372211393. Wendigo This short from Large Ark Films shows how three friends learn the hard
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMovies
Director Jason M. Koch — no stranger to controversy with his ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016) segment “M is for Munging” and his grisly feature 7th Day (2013) — tackles Chritsian faith and lack thereof in his latest film, Beneath the Black Veil. The lives and marriage of Genna (Samantha Jean) and her husband Aaron (Michael Acosta) are shattered when their child is killed by a driver. When the driver is not punished by law for the accident, the couple plots to take their anger at God out by killing the driver and breaking all of the Ten Commandments. This proves difficult when Aaron cannot find the willpower to leave their house, and then finds himself growing grotesquely sicker. Meanwhile, Genna’s behavior becomes ever odder, alarming her coworkers and close friend. Koch, who wrote the screenplay based on a story by Stephen Biro (writer of the American Guinea Pig films), doesn’t shy away from blasphemy in this body horror/occult horror
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Director Jeremy Kasten’s The Dead Ones tackles current hot-button issues about high school violence, including school shootings and bullying, with a supernatural spin. The film will likely take many viewers out of their comfort zones, and this challenging outing is bound to remain in the minds of those who see it for a good while. Four teenagers — introverted Alice “Mouse” Monroe (Sarah Rose Harper), former juvenile hall charge Scottie French (Brandon Thane Wilson of 2011’s Lovely Molly), psychologically troubled Katie Foster (Emily Davis of Lovely Molly and 2010’s Ghosts Don’t Exist), and Katie’s violence-prone boyfriend Louis Friend (Torey Garza) are tasked by school faculty member Ms. Persephone (Clare Kramer of Tales of Halloween [2015], the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series, and Kasten’s The Thirst [2006]) to spend what would have been their summer vacation in detention, cleaning up a huge mess at their high school. As these characters are introduced and that initial set-up is begun, The Dead
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
SF IndieFest’s Another Hole in the Head Film Fest celebrates its 16th year with two weeks of a “cinematic excursion into the realms of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other assorted genres . . . [pulling] together a diverse collection of films representing all varieties and budgetary considerations,” according to the film’s website. The fest takes place from December 1st –15th at New People Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown. The festival states, “From your buddy Keith’s skateboarding footage in an enchanted forest to Burt Reynolds in Space, to tomorrow’s cult classic destined for Lionsgate, Another Hole in the Head provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema.” With a mind-blowing lineup of feature films and short films from around the planet — many making their world, U.S., or regional debuts — Another Hole in the Head has a wide array of selections to get excited about. Following are four of the features that yours truly is especially looking forward to, with
Continue reading →
