Fantastic Fest Coverage: Day 7
Fantastic Fest: Day 7 – September 30, 2009
So. Tired.
Sweet Karma: This was one that immediately caught my eye when I was looking at the Fantastic Fest lineup. I’m always interested in revenge stories, but the idea of a revenge film with a female lead had me really intrigued. Sweet Karma is a compelling drama about a mute woman who fights against members of the Canadian sex trade (believe it or not, that’s real) for killing her sister. Very low budget, the film does have its problems – rough editing, for one – but the overall story is layered enough so that it kept my interest. More importantly, the lead character is outstanding and strong. I did cringe a few times at points in the script, but overall I would recommend it.
Yesterday: I could have gone my entire life without seeing this film and been just fine. A story about men and how they respond to the zombie apocalypse, essentially, this film looks and sounds like it was done by a bunch of drunk frat boys. Whatever was so alluring about it that got it into the festival – I’m assuming the comedy – completely went over my head. This is pretty much the only movie I’ve seen so far at the fest that has the dubious honor of being one I pretty much hated. It has its semi-amusing moments, but in essence the film seems like a joke that goes on way too long.
Fish Story: I almost skipped this one to go take a nap in my car, believe it or not. However, I pushed through and went to see it – I felt like it certainly deserved it after all of the great reviews I’d heard. Reviews, I might add, that were completely right. This is one of my favorites of the fest. I can’t even summarize it properly because it is so astoundingly ridiculous, but that’s part of what makes it so great. And underneath all of the silly moments, there is a great story – actually, a few great stories – that all combine to make a truly enjoyable movie.
Doghouse: I was excited about this one, mostly because I loved the idea of the zombie infection affecting only one gender. But I have to say, this one was not what I was expecting – it had a bigger budget than I thought and was basically a comedy. Another pretty ridiculous movie, but this one has a couple of likeable characters, even if they are kind of morons. What keeps this one going is that it is a simple movie that doesn’t try to do too much. I’d like to see someone take the idea of men fighting zombie women more seriously, but this one was halfway entertaining.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Fest and I will be seeing “Kaifeck Murder” (skipped earlier in the week, so I’m catching back up), “Drawn and Quartered Shorts” (animated shorts program), a secret screening (PLEASE be “The Cabin in the Woods”), and I finish with “Daybreakers” and a closing night vampire-themed ball. Cool, huh?
MOVIE OF THE DAY: “Fish Story.”
Catch our complete coverage of Fantastic Fest Below:
Day One: Macabre, Paranormal Activity
Day Two: Trick r Treat, Antichrist
Day Three: Morphine, Cirque Du Freak, Survival of the Dead
Day Four: Duress, The House of the Devil, The Children
Day Five: Mandrill, Mantopia, REC 2
Day Six: Rampage, A Serious Man, Dread
Fantastic Fest Award Winners Announced!
