Sunday
Rabbit
A woman has visions of her missing twin sister being pursued by masked men through a forest before being captured at a strange diner. The visions become so powerful she collapses. Taking time out from her medical studies, she heads home to search for her sister as she's convinced that her twin is still alive.
Rabbit is a strange film. Compared by the festival to Jane Campion doing Martyrs. The journey into the outback is a strange almost Lynchian journey with strange characters that would not be out of place in something like fire walk with me. It also has shades of Ozploitation vampire picture thirst and shades of Gialli pictures. Its got a brilliant soundtrack and cinematography. Its not for all tastes but Its well worth giving it a chance.
Dave made a maze
Already seen it and reviewed it here. It stands up well to repeat viewing and its a lot of fun seeing it with an audience.
The call of Charlie
A couple set up a blind date for their friend with a work colleague who also happens to be a Lovecraftian deity. Its a nice little short that plays as a darkly funny comedy of manners.
M.F.A
Tackling the Thorny issue of campus rape. Clint Eastwoods daughter Francesca Eastwood plays an art student called Noelle who is raped at a party. The rape and her treatment after the assault triggers a deep rage in her and after accidentally killing her rapist and getting away with it she decides to go Ms.45 on Campus Rapists.
Its a somewhat flawed movie, especially the ending. However its still worth watching. Clint's daughter seems to have had a few acting tips from her dad and its almost unnerving at places. Its also an interesting look at the way colleges in America handle these sort of crimes as it feels like the film-makers have taken time to research the subject.
Nimmer
Baffling but beautiful short about a man whose wife is trapped on a lighthouse. He attaches loads of strings to birds so he can fly over to her.
Borley Rectory
A labour of love for its director. Made over 6 years with crowd funding. Its a mixture of animation, green screen and compositing that details the dark (and very real) history of one of Britain's most haunted houses and the people who passed through it. It's a genuinely unique and fascinating film that comes highly recommended.
Mohawk
Ted Geoghegan, director of a previous Grimmfest favourite we are still here delivers a brutal revenge western. The film presents a well researched and compassionate depiction of the Mohawk who are siding with the British in the war of 1812. Eamon Farron in a huge departure from his role as the evil scumbag Richard Horne in Twin peaks series 3 plays a British soldier in a mutually respectful three way relationship with a Mowhawk woman and a Brave. Apparently this was not uncommon in Mowhawk culture. After the Brave launches an attack on an American base the three are pursued by American Troops through Mohawk territory.
Along with Rabbit and 68 kill this is one of the best of the festival. Its a taut, tragic pursuit movie that refuses to default to the black hat/white hat model that a film like this might fall back on. The British are not the sneering redcoats that they are in junk like The patriot. The Mohawk are not portrayed as brutal savages and the Americans, who unusually here are the closest the film comes to villains are plausible characters with understandable motivations. Seriously, check this out.
Attack of the Adult babies.
Hugely divisive. Dominic Brunt's latest channels early Peter Jackson and Troma to deliver 90 minutes of astonishing bad taste. Two step kids and their mother/step mother have to head to a mansion to recover some files as their father / step-father is held hostage. At the mansion various rich men are roleplahying adult babies. However something seems odd, especially when they develop pig noses. The film then introduces aliens, masonic cults, lots of shit and gore as the film goes for a level of humour that might make fans of Chubby Browns UFO the movie blush. I'm not ashamed to say it made me chuckle. Then again I'm messed up. There were walk-outs however and my friend Adam who also goes to these festivals absolutely hated the film and refused to go to the afterparty because he thought he might start something with Brunt! (i'm not even kidding). I reckon some people here might get a kick out of this so long as you like deeply purile humour.
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