
7 KEYS

A chance meeting plunges Lena and Daniel into a whirlwind tour of his previous dwellings since he still has their keys. Writer-director Joy Wilkinson brings SXSW 2024 audiences on a journey through London and the haunting past of two souls seeking connection. Getting caught is the least of their problems.
Lena is sexually bold and fearless. After a housing-insecure childhood, her fascination with Daniel’s homes sparks a game of fantasy and danger. Emma McDonald does a brilliant job of pushing boundaries and listening to her instincts.
Daniel comes off as gentlemanly, if not a touch awkward. On edge during their clandestine tour, the audience knows more than Lena. Billy Postlethwaite gives Daniel a shocking arc. You will be fascinated and appalled in decyphering his true persona. It’s one hell of a turn.
Wilkinson keeps us on our toes as we feel more nervous about the pair getting caught at any moment. Clues dropped along the way make you question the truth. Lena and Daniel both have deep abandonment issues and unresolved trauma that skew our opinions with each story they choose to reveal.
Halfway through, we get a better sense. The plot goes from uncomfortable to unsettling in a flash. The big twist will chill you to the bone and lead to an unexpected final act. 7 KEYS is about power and obsession. It’s tense, creative, and completely unhinged. 7 KEYS is SXSW 2024 gold.
Film Screenings
Director: | 
 Joy Wilkinson  | 
|---|---|
Producer: | 
 Cassandra Sigsgaard, Dylan Rees  | 
Screenwriter: | 
 Joy Wilkinson  | 
Cinematographer: | 
 Mary Farbrother  | 
Editor: | 
 Roberta Bononi  | 
Production Designer: | 
 Natasha Jenkins  | 
Sound Designer: | 
 Emma Butt  | 
Music: | 
 Max Perryment  | 
Principal Cast: | 
 Emma McDonald, Billy Postlethwaite, Kaylen Luke, Joey Akubeze, Amit Shah, Jane Goddard  | 

		
SXSW 2024 audiences are in for a real WTF documentary in Jonathan Ignatius Green‘s DICKWEED. In 2012, a wild kidnapping in the middle of the night led to torture, mystery, and one man’s loss of his, let’s say, manhood. The ensuing wild goose chase and brazen criminal actions challenge all involved. Police had no idea what kind of mastermind they were dealing with.



Thomas Walton‘s CAMP PLEASANT LAKE centers around a horror camp created based on a 20-year-old legend of a missing child and the brutal murder of her family on their way to the very same camp.
Christopher Sky is the former vile camper turned Camp of Terror counselor, Mike. He is a sufficient asshole and you will revel in his inevitable demise. Jonathan Lipnicki is hands down the best part of CAMP PLEASANT LAKE. His unfettered commitment to the role is genuinely awesome.
It is evident the film is made by genre fans. Practical fx are bloody good, even if the pace and dialogue drag. The kills get better as the plot rolls along. I did wish the variety of attendees had been more eclectic. At $10k each, I was looking for fewer numbers and more development of these characters because the possibilities were endless.
Nancy Travis is a lovely addition as Ed’s mother. Her down-to-earth attitude solidifies generational Kentuckian views. Travis has fantastic chemistry with each cast member. You might think she was their real-life relative. Skywalker Hughes and Emily Mitchell, as the Schmitt siblings, are darling. Each provides precisely what the other needs in each scene, giving the audience (especially parents) a genuine emotional stronghold. Alan Ritchson gives Ed a prideful authenticity. Ed is kind and quiet but mired in grief. Ritchson creates a safe space to express the nuances of loss and masculinity.
Hilary Swank gives Sharon a spitfire vibe. She’s smart, organized, and motivated to make a positive mark on one family’s life. Initially going through the motions as a high-functioning alcoholic, this hairstylist-turned-advocate does her best to save the life of a little girl and her family drowning in debt and personal loss. Swank delivers on Sharon’s renewed sense of purpose. A backstory brimming with unresolved trauma speaks volumes. Swank navigates the underlying complexity like the pro. Franky, she is a tornado of energy that makes ORDINARY ANGELS a sweet and inspiring watch. 
ORDINARY ANGELS have genuine
The documentary is by turns uplifting and shattering. Most powerfully, it is a stark reminder of the human costs of ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Unbelievably, this week will mark 2 years since Russia’s invasion and escalation of the conflict. While the war may not be at the forefront of the public conscious in 2024 to the same degree as it once was, it remains a constant for the staff and families at Veselka. This is not an overseas battle for them – these are their loved ones and families fighting and dying while the world moves on to the next crisis.

On-the-ground video from January 6th, up close and personal from cell phones, retraumatizes the viewer. The new footage is mind-boggling and will undoubtedly fill you with rage and disgust. The film features sociologists, authors, historians, lawyers, and pastors. We examine the Constitution and the precise articles requiring separation of church and state. We look at evolving statistics on social issues through the years. The interconnectedness of women’s rights, race, and power is undeniable. 
Violence as a means of “spiritual defense” comes directly from the pulpit over and over. The film effectively builds towards January 6th by wading through the madness swirling in the years prior. It is utterly bewildering and 100 percent terrifying. This coordinated effort to keep people in a cult is deliberate and well-funded. History repeats itself. Wait until you find out the architect of Evangelical sermons. 
GOD & COUNTRY keenly explores the long history and bastardization of Christianity through White Nationalism. It is a political movement about power. America is a ticking time bomb encouraged by social media, media, and billions of dollars. Stay vigilant and show up at the polls because democracy depends on it.

Cleverly choreographed camera work by Aurel Ganz makes us think the film is one long take. Just as impressive is the actual shot list. 28, to be exact. It is one hell of a visual feat. The flip side of these takes is the narrative feels draggy even at 110 minutes. The sci-fi element does not seem necessary to the plot. Ultimately, it goes nowhere. 
Performance is solid from our four main leads, each one bombarded by misogyny, judgment, and outright hateful behavior. LAST PARTY might be more successful as a series. There is much needed in character development, although the breadcrumbs are there. It feels more like a treatment for a larger project than a stand-alone piece.

Authentically hilarious, audiences get to know Nellie through a series of sexual romps, engagement parties, weddings, baby showers, and pregnancy panic stories. The inundation of opinions and horror stories sounds familiar to me. I got pregnant at 35 and 36, so, naturally, I was deemed a “geriatric.” The combination of rage and fear was no joke. Leah McKendrick nails the ups and downs of that stage of life. It’s an existential crisis that you only truly understand if you’ve experienced it firsthand.


Mort and Michelle’s dynamic feels incredibly forced. The dialogue is a bizarre mix of awkward bad jokes and deeply personal romantic words. It is a baffling mix. The story is a mess, and there are innumerable superfluous scenes. The pace is glacial. At an hour and fifty-six minutes, this could have been eighty minutes at the most. 
The most successful aspect of the film is Eric Roberts‘ soothing narration, but there are too many inconsistencies for the final twist to go down smoothly. This is one of those times where a flashback montage of all the clues would greatly benefit the film.

Kate Lyn Sheil (
My love for Scott Haze knows no bounds. From his breakout performance in 
The ominous score by Tristan Bechet sometimes grates in a way that makes you subconsciously cringe. The continuous low din instills pure fear. Stay through the entire end credits for more eerie ear candy. THE SEEDING has echoes of The Hills Have Eyes horror and Midsommer folklore. All said it is an upsetting watch, and that’s what genre fans show up for.

George Basil plays Dave, the construction foreman, with a life-affirming kindness. One of his lines perfectly sums up the film’s heart, hitting you square in the chest, “We’re just friends walking each other home.” Hollowell is outstanding as Gloria. Her comic timing is the stuff of the gods, but she also delivers authentic depth. She is a star.
Kate Jean Hollowell is a multi-hyphenate director, comedian and musician, who honed her humor, storytelling and visual style by making her own music videos, showcased at SXSW in 2022 and 2023, as well as her short film Are They Smiling?, which premiered at the 2020 Portland Film Festival and won several awards. Taking on narrative, Kate has managed to find a unique voice that balances humor and heart through all her work. Finding ways to insert unexpected musical numbers in everything she does is a trademark all her own.



Filmmaker Scott Cummings brings Sundance 2024 audiences into the everyday lives of Satanists. The Church of Satan boasts innumerable followers around the world.

We witness the tragic evolution of Curtis’ extended family through intimate sit-downs with family members, sharing their darkest secrets without a moment of hesitation. Their goal is equal parts redemption and cathartic confession. Some family members try harder than others, though the dark thoughts never leave. Religion lands somewhere between true belief and crutch. Mostly, the latter. 
Thoughtful closeups and the hauntingly beautiful score create heartwrenching transitions. Moyer and Toensing try to offer moments of childhood levity featuring Curtis and his siblings playing with poppers, water guns, and video games, but lurking in the background is the reality of parents severely impaired by drugs. Inheritance breaks your heart. A six-year journey down a rabbit hole of repeated histories. Is Curtis the best bet to break the cycle? One can only hope.








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