Josephine Decker’s beautiful Madeline’s Madeline shows at Fantasia 2018 this week, and once again I am at a loss of how to describe it with justice. Told primarily from the close perspective of its main character, it’s both narrative and experimental, a dive into the complicated psyche of […]
One of the opening scenes of Issa Lopez’s magical realist fabula Tigers Are Not Afraid depicts a group of Mexican schoolchildren discussing with their teacher the elements of a fairy tale. After they go through the litany – princesses and princes, castles, magic, tigers, three wishes – the […]
We toss the phrase “Hitchcockian thriller” around an awful lot. It’s become standard term for any thriller that uses clever plot devices, claustrophobic locations, or techniques that vaguely resemble something Hitchcock tried. But for once, there is a film that actually deserves the comparison. Nosipho Dumisa’s Number 37 […]
With the rise of so-called “prestige horror” and the mainstream establishment beginning (yet again) to take the genre seriously, contemporary horror films have the unenviable task of measuring up to a multitude of competitors for audience attention. But the increased emphasis on horror as a viable mainstream genre […]
I have been sitting here for the past five minutes, trying to decide how the hell to go about reviewing Rokuroku: The Promise of the Witch, now showing at Fantasia 2018. And I still don’t know how I feel. Did I like it? Hate it? Was I impressed […]
The Vanished is a twisty South Korean psychological thriller, a clever amalgam of classical cinematic influences – especially Diabolique—filtered through a powerful narrative about the nature of perception and guilt. The film takes place over the course of a single night, as a police team arrive at the city […]
Defenses of the First Amendment have been tossed around quite a lot recently. Roseanne Barr’s supporters attempted to claim that critics violated First Amendment rights after ABC decided to cancel her show over her racist comments. White men start shouting about First Amendment rights whenever someone disagrees with […]
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