Plantiana
Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
Nessieldwi
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Bessie Smyth
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Theo Robertson
This short film by Alison Maclean reminded me of another Kiwi short horror movie I saw several years ago called THE FRENCH DOORS . Both are set against humdrum ordinary life when the protagonists chance upon something out of the extraordinary . There is a problem with both films in that when this extraordinary event happens neither of them contacts anyone they know or the police but this is the cinematic convention of horror - if anyone does anything sensible then the story ends there and then . There's also the slight problem in both films that the enigmatic events remain unexplained but I guess the journey is more important than the destination Maclean shoots the film in monochrome which adds to the atmosphere . She also makes use of the genre language by using sound to cause the viewer to jump . It's a cliché but a very effective one Perhaps the stand out aspect is the soundtrack by The Headless Chickens , a band I've never heard of but whose electro pop track reminded me very much of Matt Johnson' ( Aka The The ) best work of the 1980s and I'll certainly be tracking down their music on Youtube
Meg
I saw this film today as part of my enrichment at college and I have to say, I'm impressed. I get so tired of the stereotypical Gothics which always give a helpless woman the role of the victim. There should be more films like this; where the woman is in control of her fantasy/situation and the threat is a supposedly sexy, gorilla-like man (who needs a good shaving)! I think that it should, perhaps, have been made longer (only lasts around 15 minutes)... I'm THAT curious as to what happens AFTER the end. The fact that the film is shot in black and white just adds to its mystery. It's rather surprising that this film was made the year I was born!
Afracious
This film caught my eye because it reminded me of Eraserhead, being in Black & White and having eerie sound. A woman pulls a hair out of a sink plughole. It continues to grow longer and wider, until a strange foetus emerges, and is flung out. The woman puts the object in the bath. She returns to it later to find it is now a large, excessively hairy man. She shaves the man completely, but he seems dead. She puts him into a plastic bag. He awakes, and she kisses him. Then she makes a fateful error. Worth a look.
Benzo
Here's an odd-bod of Australian suburban horror. As a woman yanks on a vine-looking umbilicous, she reveals a monkey-addled child which quickly (upon H20 - Gremlins ripoff) turns into a full-size mancub, complete with hair from top to toe. She begins a lenghty shaving session with his entire body. Disturbed by his lack of movement (particularly in her bed, which she jumps conclusions and drops him into) she encloses him in a man-size ziplock and walks away. He paws and she cuts him loose, revealing the romantic within. As creepy and looming music plays, they kiss and an ending of unbelievable gore and savagery rolls. Not simply a hoot of a horror short, but a terrific atmosphere as well. The Director is currently shooting "Jesus's Son" with Billy Crudup and her assistant, Kimi Takesue, teaching my filmmaking class at Temple showed "Kitchen Sink" to us. Saturated darkness on top of a brooding situation (on of implausability but not lacking in its own cramped fear) make for a quick fix of camera trance and zone-pleasure. Worth your time.
