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FilmQuest

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Movie Reviews: “Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes” and “Two Witches” (FilmQuest)

Movie Reviews: “Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes” and “Two Witches” (FilmQuest)

Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes Similar to how films like The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears and Berberian Sound Studio have evoked giallo, director Kevin Kopacka’s Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes (Germany, 2021) draws its inspiration from European arthouse films, of the horror genre and otherwise. It’s best to go into this outing cold, so I will only give a brief, spoiler-free set-up regarding its plot: Margot (Luisa Taraz) and her husband Deiter (Frederik von Lüttichau) have inherited a remote castle — with Bava influences in more than just lighting — and as the tension between the couple rises, gothic-horror madness sets in. Try learning nothing more than that for maximum surprise from the film. Kopacka, who cowrote the screenplay with Lili Villányi, has crafted a mind-bender of a movie that fairly drips eerie atmosphere, with scenes that range from the tried-and-true method of having off-screen occurrences for viewers to fill in with their imagination, to a graphic gore

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Joseph Perry
Nov 22, 2021
Horror Fuel

Genre-Movie Mecca FilmQuest Reveals Its 2021 In-Person Lineup

Provo, Utah’s FilmQuest film festival has announced its lineup of cinematic genre-cinema gems — including 14 feature films and dozens of short films from around the world— for its 2021 in-person lineup. The fest takes place from October 29–November 6. Following is the official press announcement. FilmQuest, one of the largest genre festivals in the country and one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 2021 “Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” announced its 8th annual edition. The 2021 in-person lineup is headlined by the Tim Blake Nelson, Angela Bettis, and David Arquette starring Ghosts of the Ozarks, Netflix’s The Old Ways, The Free Fall starring Andrea Londo and Shawn Ashmore, and the Slamdance Best Documentary winner Code Name: Nagasaki. Taking place October 29th–November 6th in downtown Provo, Utah, the festival is requiring all guests be vaccinated, following a model it was able to test run successfully in May. “We were able to host our postponed 2020 festival this past May in-person,

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Joseph Perry
Sep 24, 2021
Horror Fuel

Directing Duo Nick and Lexie Trivundza Score Sixth FilmQuest Selection with “Danger! Danger!”

Utah’s FilmQuest film festival, which “celebrates the majesty of genre filmmaking in the realms of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and the beyond,” has selected an entry from the directing duo of Nick and Lexie Trivundza for the sixth time with the feature film Danger! Danger! Following is the official press release about this intriguing movie. Danger! Danger! is the second feature film by directing duo Nick + Lexie Trivundza and their 6th project to be featured at FilmQuest, one of the best genre film festivals in the world! Danger! Danger! is a love letter to the Spielberg films of the ‘80s that made the directors want to make films in the first place — films like The Goonies, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones. Danger! Danger! is an adventure movie with healthy doses of sci-fi and horror mixed in for good measure making it a super fun ride for the audience! The Trivundza’s previous films to screen at FilmQuest were

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Aug 10, 2020
Horror Fuel

FilmQuest Official 2020 Selections Offer Bloodsuckers, Brains, and Danger Galore

FilmQuest, a film festival that celebrates the majesty of genre filmmaking in the realms of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and beyond, backs up its stellar reputation with an amazing lineup of official 2020 selections. I can highly recommend the incredible horror anthology The Mortuary Collection, the rowdy, punk rock-driven horror comedy Uncle Peckerhead, and the humorous reimagining of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, and I cannot wait to see the other features on tap. Dozens of mouth-watering short films are also scheduled. One of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2017 and 2015, a MovieMaker Magazine Top 30 Bloody Best Genre Fest in the World in 2018, a FilmFreeway Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival, and Utah’s three-time Best of State Film Festival (2018, 2019, 2020), the seventh annual FilmQuest will take place on dates to be determined at the Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, Utah. Following is the official announcement from FilmQuest. The 2020 FilmQuest

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (FilmQuest Film Festival): The Black String (2019)

Life goes from boring and lonely to maddening and terrifying for twentysomething Jonathan, the protagonist of director Brian Hanson’s The Black String, a terrific supernatural/body horror film with paranoia thriller and film noir elements. Jonathan, superbly portrayed by Frankie Muniz of Agent Cody Banks (2003) and the TV series Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), is a loner who lets life pass him by while working at what he calls a “lifestyle convenience boutique,” but what most of us refer to as a liquor store. His outgoing boss and friend Eric (Blake Webb of the American Horror Story [2011] TV series and Alienate [2016]) coaxes him into living life a bit more, which leads Jonathan to call a singles hotline number after seeing its seemingly personalized commercial on television. As a result, Jonathan winds up on a date with the fetching Dena (Chelsea Edmunson of 14 Cameras and Howlers, both 2018) and contracting a horrid looking rash from having unprotected sex

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Joseph Perry
Sep 18, 2019

More from FilmQuest

Movie Reviews: “Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes” and “Two Witches” (FilmQuest)

Movie Reviews: “Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes” and “Two Witches” (FilmQuest)

Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes Similar to how films like The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears and Berberian Sound Studio have evoked giallo, director Kevin Kopacka’s Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes (Germany, 2021) draws its inspiration from European arthouse films, of the horror genre and otherwise. It’s best to go into this outing cold, so I will only give a brief, spoiler-free set-up regarding its plot: Margot (Luisa Taraz) and her husband Deiter (Frederik von Lüttichau) have inherited a remote castle — with Bava influences in more than just lighting — and as the tension between the couple rises, gothic-horror madness sets in. Try learning nothing more than that for maximum surprise from the film. Kopacka, who cowrote the screenplay with Lili Villányi, has crafted a mind-bender of a movie that fairly drips eerie atmosphere, with scenes that range from the tried-and-true method of having off-screen occurrences for viewers to fill in with their imagination, to a graphic gore

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Nov 22, 2021
Horror Fuel

Genre-Movie Mecca FilmQuest Reveals Its 2021 In-Person Lineup

Provo, Utah’s FilmQuest film festival has announced its lineup of cinematic genre-cinema gems — including 14 feature films and dozens of short films from around the world— for its 2021 in-person lineup. The fest takes place from October 29–November 6. Following is the official press announcement. FilmQuest, one of the largest genre festivals in the country and one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 2021 “Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” announced its 8th annual edition. The 2021 in-person lineup is headlined by the Tim Blake Nelson, Angela Bettis, and David Arquette starring Ghosts of the Ozarks, Netflix’s The Old Ways, The Free Fall starring Andrea Londo and Shawn Ashmore, and the Slamdance Best Documentary winner Code Name: Nagasaki. Taking place October 29th–November 6th in downtown Provo, Utah, the festival is requiring all guests be vaccinated, following a model it was able to test run successfully in May. “We were able to host our postponed 2020 festival this past May in-person,

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 24, 2021
Horror Fuel

Directing Duo Nick and Lexie Trivundza Score Sixth FilmQuest Selection with “Danger! Danger!”

Utah’s FilmQuest film festival, which “celebrates the majesty of genre filmmaking in the realms of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and the beyond,” has selected an entry from the directing duo of Nick and Lexie Trivundza for the sixth time with the feature film Danger! Danger! Following is the official press release about this intriguing movie. Danger! Danger! is the second feature film by directing duo Nick + Lexie Trivundza and their 6th project to be featured at FilmQuest, one of the best genre film festivals in the world! Danger! Danger! is a love letter to the Spielberg films of the ‘80s that made the directors want to make films in the first place — films like The Goonies, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones. Danger! Danger! is an adventure movie with healthy doses of sci-fi and horror mixed in for good measure making it a super fun ride for the audience! The Trivundza’s previous films to screen at FilmQuest were

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Aug 10, 2020
Horror Fuel

FilmQuest Official 2020 Selections Offer Bloodsuckers, Brains, and Danger Galore

FilmQuest, a film festival that celebrates the majesty of genre filmmaking in the realms of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and beyond, backs up its stellar reputation with an amazing lineup of official 2020 selections. I can highly recommend the incredible horror anthology The Mortuary Collection, the rowdy, punk rock-driven horror comedy Uncle Peckerhead, and the humorous reimagining of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, and I cannot wait to see the other features on tap. Dozens of mouth-watering short films are also scheduled. One of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2017 and 2015, a MovieMaker Magazine Top 30 Bloody Best Genre Fest in the World in 2018, a FilmFreeway Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival, and Utah’s three-time Best of State Film Festival (2018, 2019, 2020), the seventh annual FilmQuest will take place on dates to be determined at the Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, Utah. Following is the official announcement from FilmQuest. The 2020 FilmQuest

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (FilmQuest Film Festival): The Black String (2019)

Life goes from boring and lonely to maddening and terrifying for twentysomething Jonathan, the protagonist of director Brian Hanson’s The Black String, a terrific supernatural/body horror film with paranoia thriller and film noir elements. Jonathan, superbly portrayed by Frankie Muniz of Agent Cody Banks (2003) and the TV series Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), is a loner who lets life pass him by while working at what he calls a “lifestyle convenience boutique,” but what most of us refer to as a liquor store. His outgoing boss and friend Eric (Blake Webb of the American Horror Story [2011] TV series and Alienate [2016]) coaxes him into living life a bit more, which leads Jonathan to call a singles hotline number after seeing its seemingly personalized commercial on television. As a result, Jonathan winds up on a date with the fetching Dena (Chelsea Edmunson of 14 Cameras and Howlers, both 2018) and contracting a horrid looking rash from having unprotected sex

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 18, 2019