Fantastic Fest Coverage: Day 4
Fantastic Fest: September 27, Day 4
-Kayley Viteo
I had to think what number of day this was, and yesterday I thought it was Friday, so everything’s starting to blend together. Today flew by in kind of a haze – I took the morning off to catch up on some sleep and, as much as I hate to admit it, and had to drag myself to my last screening of the day because I was still so tired. The two cocktails at a House of the Devil reception probably didn’t help that.
Duress: A thriller about a father being forced into some less than reputable acts in order to save his daughter. I walked into this one expecting nothing much and sadly, that’s pretty much what it was, except there is a twist at the end. Some will say that twist is unique and perhaps it is, but it felt poorly handled to me. Right afterward, a friend of mine said to me, “I hate when all the exposition is at the end,” and I am in complete agreement. Duress is one of those you see but quickly forget, which is a shame because the twist at the end could really make for quite the chilling movie if handled correctly.
House of the Devil: All I had to do was see the poster of this one to know I wanted to see it. A great, simple story about a young girl who goes on a babysitting job and ends up fighting for her life. This one is fun, suspenseful and genuinely eerie. Done almost entirely in the old-school horror style, this feels like a movie that jumped out of the 1980s and landed at my feet in 2009 by accident. The title scene, especially, made me grin so hard my face hurt. The whole old-school vibe is part of what makes this film great, but the strong script and camera work are what really make it such good horror. Also, it’s nice to see that the lead actress isn’t a hopeless (inevitably topless) girl. And indie cinema queen Greta Gerwig is in it, along with some very talented older actors, such as Tom Noonan. And the music is absolutely fantastic. Basically, what I’m trying to convey is that it is an all-around great movie. See it.
The Children: Ah, messed up kids messing up their families. What happens when you go to visit relatives in the country and the children outnumber the adults and something freaky is going down that makes the kids vomit and kill cats? Nothing good. Still, as much fun as this sounds – and as much as fun as some of the kills are – the film isn’t so strong in the other areas it needs to be. There are a couple of weird subplots, and the dialogue just seems off. However, after the first 45 minutes or so, the film does become more entertaining … because that’s when the creepy kids start dying.
One thing I’ll mention just because it surprises me – Uwe Boll’s latest, Rampage, which played the festival today, is getting good feedback. I have to say, I saw him last year when he was here with Seed, and I actually have some affection for the man because he is just so damn crazy. However, after the absolute train wreck that Seed was, I couldn’t bring myself to sit in on this one. That said, I’m going to try to see it the day after tomorrow to give him one last chance. He’ll still be there for a Q&A, I believe, as he’s boxing Tim League (founder of the Drafthouse and the Fest) tomorrow evening. And I am not making that up.
Tomorrow’s menu serves up Bronson, Metropia, Stingray Sam, and REC 2. Wish there was some more horror in there, but I’m at the mercy of the schedule.
MOVIE OF THE DAY: House of the Devil
