Wakey Wakey – 2012 – Don’t blink, you might miss something!

Director: Adrian Goodman

Art-house

First off, I think this is the first time I got a screener sent to me from Australia. Not that it really matters where the movie is from for still, its half way around the world and that is kind of cool. That’s a reminder to never ever say that the internet hasn’t got a worldwide impact – because it has! My friends over at filmbizzaro.com have a quote on the front of the cover which says that Wakey Wakey is one of the best films of the year. I’m intrigued!

It’s basically not a very easy film to follow. It’s a bit art-house and it’s certainly not a film for everyone to enjoy. It’s shot in beautiful black and white and the main characters are odd to say the least. At first I couldn’t figure out if they were sister or lovers (or both). One of them wears a helmet at all times, well almost all times. It gives a bizarre impression but also creates an interest. Why? Does this have something significant to do with the plot or is it just to make things strange? After a while it’s clear that there’s a logical explanation for it as the woman suffers from narcolepsy. It still looks very strange when she walks around with it on but it makes sense, really!

So, one of them suffers from narcolepsy, what about the other one? She is far more difficult to figure out. But it seems like she gets off on seeing her sister(?) passing out so that she can create photo shots out of the events. It’s a very odd fetish to be sure. The imagery is designed to make us more interested as the movie goes along. I for one feel an urge to figure out what the heck is going on. It’s not obvious I can tell you. The thing is that you need to pay attention to what’s happening at all times. If you blink you might miss something; some important part of the puzzle.

So we can establish that it’s a very odd movie shot in beautiful black and white. The women, the two main characters which are almost the only thing in front of the camera for the whole movie, are wearing heavy makeup and looks a bit Goth to me. I don’t know if this is a metaphor for something erotic but I guess it could be. The whole atmosphere of it is kind of arousing I think. But speaking of metaphors, these may very well be elements that aren’t really there. Some things that’s just present in the minds of the women or in one of their minds. I’m not even sure both of them exist. However, both Laura Wheelwright and Fabiana Weiner are excellent in their parts!

But that’s the fun part. I really like it when you can’t be absolutely sure on what you see; when the movie ends and you’re not certain what you saw. There are a lot of interpretation possibilities here and once the film is over you aren’t much closer to the answers than you were in the beginning.

8/10

Midsummer Nightmares – 2011 – a realistic slasher

Director: Ryan Stacy

Horror

I did things a bit backwards when it came to this. I watched the sequel first and then this one (don’t ask). It may not have been my smartest move ever but there was a reason for it. And trust me; you don’t have to have seen the sequel to appreciate this! It doesn’t have the best actors and actresses in the world. Actually there is a majority of the latter. On the other hand it’s not unusual in a slasher. It’s often the women that get killed first and a woman who survives the trauma too! It doesn’t have the densest plot either but there’s something to it that gets to me. It seems honest and it doesn’t promise you anything that it can’t deliver.

It’s a bit slow-paced and too talky for my tastes. But at the end of the day it still delivers some great scenes. It may not be a traditional slasher with a killer on rampage going on in most of the movie but it has a killer in a cool mask and there’s some torture in the end too! I wouldn’t say that the killer’s motives are shallow but in the end it seems to be pretty farfetched. It works I guess.

The movie is about 75 minutes. That’s long enough to tell the story and long enough to get bored with the low pace. When we put on a slasher to watch we want some blood and we want it now. Come to think of it, there’s a lack of blood in this. There’s enough terror to be sure but not very much of that red. Maybe it should be considered more of a thriller since all “action” is concentrated to the end sequence. This is often true for the slasher too of course. Just look at the most famous ones, Friday the 13^th and Halloween. There’s suspense right ‘til the very end when all hell breaks loose.

I realize that comparing this amateurish movie to Halloween or even Friday the 13^th is to put it in little too big shoes. But the main principle is the same. In the end everything falls to place even if it is, as I said before, a little farfetched. On the other hand, the famous movies in the genre aren’t exactly realistic either. You could say that this actually wins that completion easy as it’s far more realistic than the famous slasher. Maybe that’s what I like about it? It’s not gory and it’s not scary, but I’ll be damned – it’s realistic!

6/10

You can get it here:

Concept Media Films

It's time to crowdfund the final short from Fatal Pictures - HEIR

FATAL PICTURES in association with RED SNEAKERS MEDIA presents “HEIR” The final short film from FATAL PICTURES From Richard Powell and Zach Green’s Fatal Pictures, the company that brought you the critically acclaimed, award winning horror shorts WORM and FAMILIAR, comes their new and final short film “HEIR”, a touching tale of father and son. Starring the Emmy award winning Bill Oberst Jr. (ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES, TAKE THIS LOLLIPOP, CHILDREN OF SORROW) and Robert Nolan (SICK, WORM, FAMILIAR).

Synopsis

After connecting with a stranger of similar interests online, family man Gordon and his son Paul, embark on an ill-fated road trip in which Gordon aims to indulge in a secret passion. Before the day ends a horrible truth will be uncovered and a harsh lesson will be learned. 

Combining the best and brightest of our previous film, FAMLIAIR, with new and accomplished  collaborators (BILL OBERST JR, MARC ROUSSEL and RON BASCH from Red Sneakers Media), HEIR is set to be a disturbing, practical FX driven horror short which examines one of societies darkest taboos in a way only Fatal Pictures can. HEIR stands to be our darkest, sharpest and most successful film to date!

Click HERE to go to the Kickstarter Campain!