Report by Nia Edwards-Behi
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, held yearly over a two-week period, guarantees a showcase of the best up-and-coming genre offerings. Although drawing in massive crowds to an impressive venue, the sense of tradition and convention at the festival is evident – watching a film with the BIFFF regulars is a great experience in and of itself, with noisy but appreciative attention paid to each offering by a dedicated audience. Next year’s festival is the 3oth, and I’ve no doubt that it’s this sense of community that keeps the festival thriving. Here’s a really brief round-up of some of the films that were on offer that haven’t yet been reviewed.
Mirages (Talal Selhami, Morocco/France, 2010)
Excellent feature debut from Talal Selhami, which offers an original setting for what could have been a run-of-the-mill psychological thriller. Strong characterisation and performances ensure that this is a very promising debut, even if the ending is a little drawn out. Gladly, the film also refuses to fall into the trap of looking cheap, with an impressive and judicious use of visual effects never truly betraying the film’s low budget.
Midnight Son (Scott Leberecht, USA, 2011)
Superb horror-romance that’s a successor to the likes of Martin and Near Dark, Midnight Son was one of my favourite films of the festival. Telling the tale of a young man with a rare skin disease that requires he work nights to avoid sunlight, his chance meeting and romance with a woman coincides with his increasingly violent behaviour. A film that sounds run-of-the-mill to summarise, the film is tightly plotted, beautifully written and acted earnestly. I truly cared for the characters, and as such Midnight Son is a much needed breath of fresh air for the vampire film.
Kidnapped (Miguel Angel Vivas, Spain, 2010)
A superb genre offering from Spain, Miguel Angel Vivas’ Kidnapped is a visual tour-de-force, offering what could’ve been an average home invasion tale in 12 continuous shots. Utterly nasty and frighteningly realistic, the film never shies away from the brutality and helplessness that acts of violence bring. A highlight of the film is the excellent performance of Manuela Velles as the terrified but desperately defiant teenage daughter of the family under attack. It’s been a long time since a thriller had me so thrilled, Kidnapped is a film to be experienced.
Red Nights (Julien Carbon & Laurent Courtiaud, Hong Kong/France/Belgium, 2010)
This attractive erotic thriller just about manages to hold attention for its full-running time, helped by charismatic leads, even when they’re at their most histrionic. A convoluted and melodramatic plot about an ancient poison that paralyses its victim while increasing their sensitivity, the film is entirely concerned with the sensual, both in narrative and in construction. Featuring a particularly nasty torture scene and an inventive opening 15-minutes, Red Nights is enjoyable hokum.
Urban Explorer (Andy Fetscher, Germany, 2011)
The interesting setting of this otherwise generic survival horror only stays interesting for about 20 minutes. In the underground tunnels of Berlin a group of continental youths meet up with their guide, for some ‘urban exploring’. Things, naturally, soon start to go horribly wrong, but by the time we get to know the villain a little bit the novelty has worn off and the utter insipidness of the supposed ‘heroine’ the film becomes too distracting to bear. Though enjoyable enough, and fairly commendable for its ending, Urban Explorer is ultimately more memorable for its weaknesses than its strengths.
Ferozz: The Wild Red Riding Hood (Jorge Molina, Cuba/Costa Rica, 2010)
Ferozz is a surprisingly captivating film which re-tells the Red Riding Hood story as an erotic coming-of-age tale. At times reminiscent of the Javi Camino’s excellent Maldito Bastardo!, while at other times reminiscent of the worst sort of amateurism, it’s hard to tell if this surrealist film is good, bad, or just plain taking the piss. Containing scenes you won’t soon forget, Ferozz is without a doubt a film that needs to be seen to be believed.
Bestseller (Jeong-ho Lee, South Korea, 2011)
Excellent thriller which is severely let down by being about 30 minutes too long. Even so, it’s hard not to enjoy the film’s twists, and the strong central performance from Uhm Jung-Hwa as a novelist accused of plagiarism whose behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, keeps the most dragged out of plot turns just about entertaining.
Keepsake (Paul Moore, USA, 2008)
The charmless characters and the repetitive ‘plot’ of this film lead to an incredibly dull experience, complete with non-sensical twist. That it’s taken so long to see the light of day might be indicative, as it cynically attempts to be ‘torture porn’ as a means of pandering to an audience. Keepsake is only worth mentioning as a warning to avoid it.
Editor’s note: in case you missed Nia’s earlier BIFFF coverage, check out her reviews of Stake Land, Tetsuo 3: The Bullet Man, Horny House of Horrors & Helldriver.