The Minions – 2014 – A new short from Jeremiah Kipp

I’m Jeremiah Kips greatest fan! I guess I’m not but for the time being lets pretends that it’s so. I admire his way of taking a very simple setting and make it very suspenseful. That is a great talent and he clearly makes use of it in this short. There doesn’t even have to be much of a plot, most of it is mysterious in this one. It’s still very suspenseful and you can’t wait ‘til you se what really going on. Of course this comes as a surprise of sorts in the end.

Most of this short is told in past tense but what really happened is hidden from us. We can only guess. For me it was somewhat of a surprise to watch the end. I had not expected that ending. I knew something was coming, a twist of some kind, but not exactly what. The only thing wrong with it really is that in IS a short. I would have liked this to be a feature film. That would have been amazing! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very rewarding film!

8/10

Bounty – 2014 – Adorable coming of age film

I won’t bore you again with how difficult it is to write reviews on shorts. But then again, I just did, didn’t I? The truth is that even if this is a 22 minute film it still has a lot of content. Many short movies have a scene or two in them and that’s all it is to it. Everything is very compressed and a lot of this has to happen in a short amount of time. I never get that feeling here. It’s better paced that many of the feature films I see every week. The story may not be vast but it’s still enough for it to work.

Tako, is a black kid. He’s adopted by a lesbian couple and raised accordingly. Some of the other kids call him bounty, because he’s brown on the outside and white on the inside. Tako hates it and wants to blend in with the other kids. He claims that his father is a well known artist, a rapper called “dirty man”. That’s not true of course but it gives the other kids something else to pick on him for. They need to show him how to behave “proper”.

I think the film tries to teach us right and wrong and I think it does a fine job doing it. There are morals in the story which should appeal to all of those who preaches about finding your “inner peace”. It’s not about what other think of you. What’s important is what you think of yourself, if you’re true to your “inner peace”. I think there’s a lot of kids out there trying to be someone that they’re not just to impressed their friends. But I say that real friends encourage you to find yourself and accept you for who you are, not anything you pretend to be.

As I said, it’s 22 minutes but it’s rich when it comes to emotions and I really liked the morals of it. This film is needed. Everyone should see it!

7/10

A Day for the Fire – 2014

Once again I must admit that I find it difficult to write about short movies. I mean those that consist of more or less one scene or one set to tell their story. This particular film focus on a man that returns to his home village after twenty years in exile. He walks into a pub and orders some coffee. Soon he’s joined by another man who, just like the first man, finds the burning fire cozy. They start to talk to each other and the other man reveals some very personal things, about his dead kid. The kid apparently committed suicide.

But it doesn’t really matter if he committed suicide or not. What the conversation they’re having is about is of little importance. At least as long as it’s a melancholic one. The whole point of it all is essentially an exercise in storytelling with very small means. Both of the men are brilliant performers and the direction is splendid. The music is very important of course as well as the cinematography. I like it even if it didn’t bring me to tears. It made me think about what’s important in life even though I feel that the main purpose of the short is in the technical aspects.

7/10

I have permission to share it with you so here it is!

Lone – 2014 – Something different

I find it very hard to write something about this. That’s not unusual of course since movies that don’t follow the usual conventions are a bit harder to comprehend. If you go for a different way to tell a story you’re bound to narrow down you audience. On the other hand, I don’t think you totally have to “get it” every time. Imagery can be “felt” and taken aside from the rational mind that we usually rate movies with. Mark Pellington does a fine job with that here. I wouldn’t go as far as comparing this with Alejandro Jodorowskys surreal masterpieces but now you know just which direction to expect from it.

This is more or less a musical video, but it’s quite lengthy (about 57 minutes) and there’s not music all the time either. The artist in question is Chelsea Wolfe whom I had no previous knowledge about. I can say that I enjoy her singing more than I would any other professional singer but she’s ok. I didn’t watch this for the music anyway.

And I’m sure there’s a story in there somewhere. But I can’t account for it. That’s not the point of this movie anyway, not in my opinion. What you should do is to let your mind flow and don’t try so much. Either you like it or not. I can’t say for sure what I think as far as a grade goes. I do know though that I had to watch it multiple times before getting any sense to it. Who said reviewing movies, short or long, blockbuster or independent, should be easy?

Creature 2013 – 2013 – No, I’m not sure I get it..

Director: Ronny Carlsson

Short/Art House

I can’t remember when I started to get absorbed by the films of Ronny Carlsson. He has made some brilliant movies and I was so taken by one of them that I decided to co-fund its release. Somehow I managed to mention that in every review I’ve made about his movies since then. I guess I’m proud of my contribution to film history! But it also means that I compare everything he does to that one movie which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Its my problem of course, not Ronnys and it shouldn’t really affect what I’m thinking about his creations but I can’t help myself. I want to experience the same magic all over again one more time in my life!

I really like the style of this one; it was filmed using a cell phone just as the previous Goodbye Little Betty. It makes it look gritty and cheap which suit the film very well. There’s a major difference between the two though, this one has sound and even dialog. I can’t say that I’m used to that in a Ronny Carlsson film. Its not much dialog mind you but there are a few sentences here and there. I’m glad to say that these are in Swedish and even what sound like natural dialect to me. I hate when there’s none natural dialog in movies!

But… I’m not sure I got the story… I mean, I get that the female lead is experiencing something overwhelming but I can’t exactly say what. But that’s also the beauty of it. Why do you have to know every thin in detail to appreciate a movie? Why can’t the metaphors simply speak for themselves? We really don’t have to see everything the characters are experiencing! I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again (and again). Less is more every day of the week!

That doesn’t apply to the editing of this film though. The editing is also done by the Writer-Director Ronny Carlsson and emphasizes the bad feelings we feel when watching the woman descent into darkness. He did a marvelous job here. I imagined this took quite some time to get right! And there’s the usual Midas touch of suiting music to the imagery that Ronny Carlsson always seems to get just right!

7/10

                                                                                                                                                               

In Bocca Al Lupo – 2004 – In the Mouth of the Wolf

Director: Christos Mouroukis

Short/Horror

According to IMdB, this short horror flick was co-produced in Greece and Spain. The dialog, even if there’s not much of it, is in Spanish. I don’t mind. The most important thing about a movie isn’t which language it’s in but since I like to understand what’s going on I needed the English subtitles, thanks!

The title translated into something like In the Mouth of the Wolf, which is an expression very similar to the way of wishing for good luck by the phrase – break a leg. Having got that clear to me I understand the context of the flick much better. It makes total sense that the title wishes the lead female good luck, with an ironical tone, as she’s really beyond all hope. She’s lying on the floor, bloody, and there’s this guy ready to beat her up some more. At the same time we see her smoking a cigarette and talking about what’s happening to her. I interpret that as her visualized thoughts really. It’s done in a very clever way!

It’s a very intense little thing even if it's just a few minutes long. As usual these short movies are more or less one scene, a small fragment of something that could’ve been a story on a much larger scale. I wish this was a longer movie actually! I think that the director, who also plays the part on the killer by the way, could keep it interesting for an hour and a half. This short story has such a promise!

As always when it comes to these short flicks, it’s hard to fit them into a grading system. It’s not really fair to compare them with longer more complex movies. But you have to take them for what they are and compare them with their own peers so to speak. This is a quite suspenseful and thrilling little piece that I’m glad I was able to see!

8/10

Short films of Jeremiah Kipp

I got a query if I was interesting in reviewing a few genre short films by Jeremiah Kipp. I didn’t think about long, I always thought that writing about flick you know nothing about is the most rewarding. If I could choose I’d write about stuff like this all day long. Short flicks or feature films that almost no one knows something about. I like writing about blockbusters and big budget films as much as the next guy too, but when people send their work to me it’s like Christmas time really. I just love getting stuff for consideration!

Contact

Contact – An about eleven minute long tale. As always, the short flicks are always the hardest to figure out. There’s no time to develop an in depth story with dozens of characters. But there’s not always a need to either. This particular story might revolve around one single event but it’s still pretty intense. I really like the imagery that Jeremiah Kipp delivers. There’s no need for much dialog and the few lines that are in there serve a purpose. I get the feeling that this is an exercise in suspense and it’s a successful attempt at that. At the end I can think of multiple solutions to what this film is really about. Pay attention and I think you will too.

Crestfallen – Short flicks also has the advantage that you can watch them a few times without wasting too much time. Imagine an epic film with a duration of  two and a half hours and that you see that three or four times in a row before you realize what’s it about and what to write about it. It’s an impossible task really! But with this six minute piece it’s different. If you don’t pay enough attention the first time you can easily make up for it right away. Not that the plot is very hard to figure out in the first place. I think it’s very well told using the imagery. There’s not much doubt about the storyline even if it’s not told entirely chronically. Maybe that’s just what appeals to me with this one, which I like very much. The sounds and the music emphasize the imagery very nicely! It’s quite an emotional tale which proves that you really can tell a heartwarming story in six minutes!

Drool – for me this is a very sensual… no sexual piece! It’s about four minutes long and kind of strange to watch. There are basically two bodies rolling around in some sort of gel. It may be a metaphor for something else but I interpret is more or less as a sexual act. I think what we see is the final stage of an intercourse with a mesmerizing orgasm ending. How much can be done I four minutes? Well, it’s not about what; it’s about how! It looks great but to be honest this one is a little too arty for me to enjoy at the fullest. A great play with the imagery though! There’s no dialog at all, and it’s not needed.

The Days God Slept

The Days God Slept – This one is hard to figure out. I mean there must be some morality to it right? Some bottom line, something the film is supposed to tell us. I’m not sure if I get it at all but that doesn’t mean that the ten minute long film isn’t good. I really like it! It shows the same degree of mastering the imagery. There are plenty more dialog in this than all the others short flicks put together. It seems to be a somewhat bigger production and there’s certainly a nice vibe to it. I just wish I could figure out what it’s really about. It obviously has something to do with religion and something else not usually connected to belief in God or a supreme being. There’s this stripper which claims that things are both precisely and not at all as they appear. I think this clue is very important and I based my solution of the movie around that, which, of course, doesn’t mean that I can put my thought into words.

Overall I really like the short films of Jeremiah Kipp! As I’ve said over and over again, the imagery is the strong side of these flicks, the thing that really stands out. There is acting way superior to the acting of most short – amateurish – flicks. This of course means that this is not amateurish at all! It seems to me that Jeremiah Kipp knows exactly what he wants and makes I happen! Very Nice!

Rape/Revenge flick review: MR RAPE'S FIRST DATE - 2013

Mr. Rape´s First Date

Director: Nik Box

2013

Horror/Short

Set in the future. The world has become a different place to live in. Censorship has taken such a leap forward that all entertainment is now forbidden. Crime rates have dropped and education has increased for 99 % of the population. However, the remaining 1 % lives like outcasts. One day Mr. Rape finds an old 14” monitor and immediately starts to hear voices from it, telling him what to do.

Before we get into the political aspects of this, speaking of the censorship going too far, I’d like to ask you a question. How do you keep your audience interested during a somewhat dull introduction to the future world? You can just state the facts and hope that the audience won’t become bored. The answer is of course by showing a woman’s tits and some pubic hair alternating from hip to hip. If you can alternate the grainy black and white imagery into negative colors once in a while to you make sure your audience is interested.

I figure there’s a political statement to be said here. Stay the fuck away from censoring everything; let the people decide for themselves what’s good or bad for them. Less government involvement and more individual thinking is the way it should be. Is the TV really to blame for all the things that has gone bad to the world? Nik Box seems to make a point of this! Maybe the education rates have gone up in the future where the flick is set but it seems to be a damn boring world. Maybe the boredom creates the violence rather than the old saying – violence creates violence. It’s an attractive idea nevertheless.

The film is made in grainy black and white and it has a silent movie feel to it. I don’t think it’s some kind of hommage to the old movies but it looks very good. I really like the voyeuristic feel to some of the scenes. At first when Mr. Rape sneaks around it’s obvious but even later we get the feeling that we – the audience, are the true voyeurs!

There is sex and there is violence in the flick, it’s even quite disturbing. But it’s never a pornographic film. Sure, we get to see some tits but that’s all. We get to figure the rest out for ourselves. I really like the music choice for the rape scenes. I realize that it’s not for everyone with loud punk rock music put it gets your attention and it certainly makes you wake up when something happens.

I think this is an interesting little piece, and I think there is something to be told. Some of the scenes are a complete mystery to me as far as metaphors goes, some are spot on. I have no idea if my interpretation of this is intended but I hope so, it brings some much more to the movie that just a straight forward shocking movie. Oh! And yes, there is a revenge involved!

6/10

You can get it here: http://www.deadgoodfilmslike.co.uk/

Finnish Horror Flick Review: BEHIND THE CROSS - 2012

Behind the Cross

Director: Tomi Kerminen

2012

Horror/Art-House/Short

The plot or storyline are really too hard to put down in words so I won’t even try to capture it in a few sentences. Instead I’ll incorporate as much as I can in the text below. I don’t think there’s one straight storyline that’s told here though and I think the viewer brings lots of him- or herself into it. If you really want this to be about a straight forward serial killer I guess it could be. On the other hand you can probably interpret some childhood issues into it (as I did) and most definite there’s religious aspects here. That’s probably the hardest bit to comprehend for a straight forward viewer – religion and violence. For someone like me (and probably most of those who’ll read this, who have seen countless violent and controversial flicks, it’s not a big deal. I rather like when the two subjects are connected with each other like in an oxymoron. What’s really going on behind the cross?

These days there’s been so many shocking news about the Catholic Church, pedophilia and stuff that there’s really a need for something like this to come and question it all. I guess this film takes it a bit further than a mainstream film would do but I say it’s necessary! I don’t think it necessarily had to be so hard to understand but on the other hand, flicks that don’t give you an easy answer right away are almost always preferable over those who do!

The technical aspects here are very good! During the opening and closing sequences it’s almost like a music video being played. It does not hurt to be a fan of brutal metal either I guess. There aren’t so much of the in the movies though, which is more art-house and experimental. I love the concept! The only downside of it for me was the acting which doesn’t hold up to the high standards of the “behind the camera” stuff. I realize that it’s must be hard to write, direct, produce and act in the movie of course. You just can’t be as talented in all areas; sometimes it might be better to choose what your best at! But on the other hand, most of the small parts – girls in captivity and stuff like that, are really good and convincing!

I don’t know what to tell you more. I found it quite good as a whole and I’d gladly recommend it to anyone who can take the religion/violence combination. And as an extra teaser I’ll give one scene away (sort of). You have to be pretty desperate to jerk off during grabbing a mannequin’s breasts…

8/10

News: Another Short from Davide Melini!

This one is planned to 2014 and has in pre production since November 2012! I for one is looking forward to it since the previous short I saw by Davide – The Sweet Hand ofthe White Rose, was a fine piece of art! This one is said to pay homage to the itallian “giallo” genre and the very title comes from a mix of Dario Argentos Deep Red and Mario Bavas Shock. I can’t wait to see it!

Don’t you feel attracted to lines like "Her worst nightmare has become a reality"? I Do!

The plot is as follows, seems to me as a worthy one for giallo homage!

Sarah can’t completely overcome the deaths of her grandfather and her older sister. The trauma and lack of sleep cause her to embark on a strange journey of apparitions and murders, apparently caused by her mind...

Italian Giallo is ready to make its return

Check it out on IMdB HERE

Official Facebook page HERE

Short flick review: The Prospector’s Curse - 2013

The Prospector’s Curse

Director: Josh Heisie

2013

Horror/Short

This is something as unusual as a western horror flick or a horror western flick. You can choose which epithet you wish for this short, both genres are present to be sure. The environment is that of the old west. We get to follow two criminals who are blamed for a murder. I have no idea if they did it or not but they have an angry mob chasing them. They come across a mutilated prospector dying on Indian ground. He makes them promise to give him a Christian burial but when he dies they steal his gold and get on their way. He comes back to haunt them of course.

The story is not unique in anyway but it works and there’s really no need to complicate things. The environmental aspects of the flick is gorgeous, it looks just like we’re back at the settler era. Actor wise I’m not overwhelmed. I’m split actually, I can’t decide if I think that they’re supposed to over act to make a comic effect or not. I certainly hope so because it’s the only way it’ll make sense. I can’t say that I’m overjoyed but the comic aspect but when the end comes, it’s kind of splatter-ish and comedy seems to work pretty good with that. I couldn’t find Robert Nolan, one of my favorite actors but it had a simple explanation. H plays the part of the prospector and is covered by tons of makeup.

Apparently this is just the first short flick in an anthology series. Each episode meant to pay homage to a different kind of b-movie genre. It’s a very interesting concept to be sure. But even if I weren’t blown away by this first installment I’m still looking forward to the next take in the series. I like ambitious project and this one doesn’t seem to be a bit pretentious which could ruin everything.

5/10

Short Flick Review: The Shower - 2012

The Shower

Director: Gianluca Minucci

2012

Short

What we see is in essence a woman taking a shower. She get is, put on the water; soap herself, wash of the soap and climbs out of the shower. This is made really sensual by beautiful music and it’s a very beautiful scene to watch. Although we get to see her breasts and some pubic hair I would not consider it a sleazy short of any kind. It’s extremely tasteful and kind of sexy and there are no strings attached. We might expect to see more of her body but at the same time we realize that this isn’t going to happen. Absolutely adorable! It’s about 8 minutes long and doesn’t contain more plot than I already have described. It’ll be hard to rate it so I won’t…

It can be viewed HERE!

Extreme Flick Week: Pig - 1999

Pig

Director(s): Nico B, Rozz Williams

1999

Extreme/Short

This is a movie in black and white with some very disturbing elements. It’s not very long and I recommend turning the volume up a bit before watching it. There are no opening credits but if there were they would have been silent. It take a while until you realize that there’s actually sound! And once you realize it and the film starts using it it’s very effective. There are some sequences close to genius execution of sound/picture combinations.

The plot revolves around a killer and his victim but it seem to be kind of voluntarily that the victim agrees to being treated the way that he does. He does not fight the aggressor and let’s himself get tortured in different ways. A central part of the film is also a book titled Why God Permits Evil or something similar in which the antagonist gets ideas for his methods of torture. This is included in the DVD release by the way!

I don´t want to get into too many details as it’s a short movie and I feel that some should be left to be surprised or astonished at when watching the movie. But even if I can’t be entirely sure it looks like that the violence is done for real! I can’t think of any other way to express it but if I put it simply I should plainly say that I love this!

8/10

Review: Doll Boy - 2010

Doll Boy

Director: Bloody Bill

2010

Horror/Short

This flick has a very shallow plot possibly not worth mentioning. Well, of course it is! It’s just that it can be describes in just a few words and it feels more appropriate to incorporate it into the text rather than use an entire paragraph in bold letters. The main thing about the flick isn’t really the deep plot anyway. We have all seen films where the main thing is to watch the killer kill his victims rather than a great character development. This is one of them! But the actor is quite nice and the killers mask is very creepy! He has some people locked up in this maze of tunnels that used to be a flea market of some sort. He terrorizes them by chasing them and kills them one at a time. That’s the whole thing really.

But as I said, the acting is good and the murder scenes are not bad either! There are some splats on the wall and things like that which add to the experience of watching it. Small details are often what make a movie like this watchable. You can’t really make an interesting movie with such a shallow plot without adding something. Here both the environment and the killer himself are very cool plus the actors as I already claimed a couple of times. There are also a couple of truly gruesome scenes – not necessarily filled with guts and gore – that makes me feel kind of revolting inside. This happens for the first time in the opening sequence and that’s a good place to start making it interesting for us.

Since the flick is just about half an hour long there’s really not enough time to add any suspense, but it’s still very exciting at times. I would be lying if I’d say it was all the time but as most movies it has its ups and downs. There’s more positive thing than negative thing though and considering that this is “Bloody Bill’s” directional debut I’ll be very forgiving.

I’m not sure if the intro trailers are for real or fake but I must say that I need to see a flick called Mister Fister and is about a lunatic killer obsessed by killing women in a certain particular way. I think you’ll figure out just how by the title! There’s also another one which seems very entertaining about cannibalistic clowns… God, I hope these are for real. That’ll put “Bloody Bill” up with some of the more deranged and sick directors out there! And I mean that in a good way! Just saying!

6/10

Review: The Sweet Hand of the White Rose - 2010

The Sweet Hand of the White Rose

Director: Davide Melini

2010

Short/Horror

I always have some difficulty writing reviews of short films. They don’t work in the same way as proper features and they usually tell the story in a very fast manor. It’s in the nature of them of course. To tell the story in just a few minutes instead of an hour and a half is a totally different thing. You need to be very precise with what you’re telling and there is no time for character development. At least very little time!

I think that writer/director Davide Melini does a fine job here. It’s very clear that the story follows to different individuals and that their paths will cross somewhere. It’s also very clear that the crossing won’t be a pleasant one… The moral of it all is that life is precious and that you should be careful about what you do on the roads. Yes, the story concerns a car accident! I can’t really figure out what the opening sequence has to do with anything though?

But it’s also a horror story! Or at least it has elements of it. The second part of it is very gothic and kind of scary. There’s a lot of inspiration from Asian ghost horror movies even if the themes is nowhere near as confusing as the Asian ghost stories can be. And I must confess that I got kind of fooled by it too. I thought I had it all figured out but I was wrong! I like being wrong! That means that the filmmakers have made a good job with the twists. There’s no point of having twists in a movie if you can smell them a mile away is there?

I liked this and I feel it’s a pretty damn important issue! Don’t drink and drive and don’t text and drive either! It can only end with disaster. This might be an eye opener to some!

7/10

Review: My Monster - 2009

I was very impressed by Ronny Carlssons first film in this trilogy - Video Geisteskrank (well, there’s really two movies, not three) and my hope were sky high for this one. But I’m afraid it’s a little bit too odd for my tastes, it’s very well made as an art film and the visual stuff is amazing. There’s no holds barred there what so ever! If you have seen the cult film Begotten or I Never Left the White Room a film that I know to be one of Ronnys main influences you know what I’m talking about! There are strange colours or just something that looks plain odd. Unfortunately I feel this ruins the film a bit, there are too much form but on the other hand, it wouldn’t work at all without this visual excellence. The story is very shallow and the visuals are needed to give it a special boost so to speak.

It’s a very loose connection between this and Video Geisteskrank but this movie has some of that gruesomeness that made Video Geisteskrank so scary too! I don’t feel it in my marrow in the same manner but it’s there. I think it’s a bit more “difficult” to understand and that’s why it doesn’t appeal to me as much as it’s predecessor. However, it can be found on the anthology DVD Experimental Films Through the Lens of a Shitty Camcorder.

6/10

Review: Video Geisteskrank - 2008

As soon as Ronny Carlsson has made a new film I know I just have to have it as soon as possible. I like the innovative ideas and the ambition this you Swedish filmmaker! So when he released Video Geisteskrank on VHS I knew that I needed it! The general interest of this release (on the ancient format) was very low but I’m very proud over my limited numbered copy “1”. The film itself is also available on the anthology-DVD Experimental Films Through the Lens of a Shitty Camcorder (which I believe has been sold out!).

But regardless of the availability of the film I’m very impressed by the director’s competence when it comes to creating spellbinding sound/image combinations. All the music and sounds in the movie are just perfect to the graphic imagery. The style of the film seems to be inspired from the silent movie era and it’s just superb. I get the feeling that Ronny’s had a lot of fun making this and I really think that rubs off on the viewer. Apart from the silent films there’s obviously also inspiration from the infamous August Underground movies and there are bits and pieces here and there that manifests this quite clearly I think.

But if I’ll be completely honest with you I think this is more interesting than it´s more known inspirational sources! There’s a lot of suspense and horror when the films main character put starts to violate an innocent woman. The story is very simple but yet kind of genius. The main character (portrayed but Ronny himself) has this list where he needs to checks out one thing at the time, sort of a bucket list. First thing out is something “innocent” like killing a hitchhiker, after that he aims to vomit on two girls, which finally leads up to where the movie takes place – violating the innocent woman…

The killers mask, because the killer is mask, is another stroke of genius! It´s a pig head which might not be the most common mask in the business. It looks very original and horrifying, even real and that’s something I for one don’t take for granted when it comes to movies like this!

8/10