Final Girls Berlin (2022) review: ‘KNOCKING’ vibrates with tension.

KNOCKING

A woman (Molly) who has just experienced a traumatic incident is unnerved by a haunting knocking sound from upstairs in her new apartment building. As the noises become more desperate and increasingly sound like cries for help, she confronts her neighbours but it seems no one else can hear them. In an unsettling quest for truth, Molly soon realises that no one believes her and begins to question if she even believes herself – a realisation that is perhaps even more chilling.


Is this some extensive gaslighting or is Molly still experiencing PTSD from her previous loss? The marrying of these two concepts is here perfection. For Molly, the idea of sitting idly by will drive her mad. A slow-burn mystery with striking cinematography, Knocking will make your head spin. The use of a go-pro-style camera during a climactic confrontation puts you in the manic state of Molly’s brain. It’s a wildly effective choice. Cecilia Milocci‘s performance is truly compelling. You are right there with her on this tumultuous emotional journey. It’s absolutely award-worthy.

I first saw Knocking at Sundance 2021. The film still haunts me, as I continue to second guess the ending. To me, that ultimately makes it a success. It is genuinely unforgettable. Final Girl Berlin 2022 audiences are sure to eat up the tension that director Frida Kempff has curated in her feature-length debut. This can only mean the beginning of a long and successful genre career.



https://www.finalgirlsberlin.com/


Final Girls Berlin (2022) review: ‘You Are Not My Mother’ brings atmospheric chills and folklore fears.

YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER

“In a North Dublin housing estate, Char’s mother goes missing. When she returns Char is determined to uncover the truth of her disappearance and unearth the dark secrets of her family.”


I was immediately consumed by anxiety from the opening shot. As a mother, the terror I felt was uncontrollable. And that was just in the opening scene. You Are Not My Mother is a unique coming-of-age tale through the lens of folklore and fear. It’s the perfect film for Final Girls Bering 2022 audiences.

With generational tensions you can cut with a knife, the power struggle screams off the screen. The script is carefully curated, with Irish pagan history weaved into the narrative. The tug of war between protection and control makes for a thoroughly engrossing watch. Do not get comfortable with this script. You are in for some gruesome twists. The sound editing creates another layer of fright. Brimming with scary good performances, it is the turn from Carolyn Bracken that will chill you to your core.

You Are Not My Mother, will entertain the hell out of you and make your skin crawl. It’s a must-see. Kate Dolan‘s voice as a filmmaker is nothing less than intriguing. You Are Not My Mother will have audiences wanting more. The best part is there’s enough intrigue to build an entire franchise. I’m all for it.


To learn more about Final Girls Berlin 2022, click here!

Final Girls Berlin (2022) review: ‘HERE BEFORE’ is a masterpiece in manipulating maternal instincts.

HERE BEFORE

Haunted by the death of her young daughter, a distraught woman develops an all-consuming obsession with a girl she believes is her reincarnated child.


Writer-Director Stacey Gregg‘s debut feature film is haunting and thoroughly unexpected. Entrenched in grief, Laura feels a kindred connection with the new neighbors’ daughter. When young Megan begins to say things reminiscent of the little girl Laura lost, the grey areas between life and death become more complicated. 

Niamh Dornan as Megan is stunning. What a captivating young lady. Her ability to play each beat is beyond her years. Andrea Riseborough‘s performance as Laura is extraordinary. A woman on the edge of grief and sanity, she brings every ounce of her soul to this role. The chemistry between Dornan and Riseborough is electric. There’s an ease and complexity that keeps your pulse quickened. 

Trauma and deceit are two dominant themes that run through the script. I could not have been more intrigued. Here Before is overflowing with gaslighting and cleverly written twists and turns. Utilizing memory and maternal manipulation, there is no way you’ll be able to guess how this story ends. Gregg had me second-guessing until the final frame. What an intoxicating gem for Final Girls Berlin 2022 audiences.


While features will only be screened in person, the majority of shorts will be available to watch virtually internationally — with tickets available HERE


https://www.finalgirlsberlin.com/


Review: Jill Sixx Gevargizian’s ‘THE STYLIST’ has a look to die for.

THE STYLIST

Everyone dreams of being someone else, but for Claire, that dream goes from an obsession to a living nightmare. Her job as a hairstylist allows her to move in and out of other people’s worlds and is about to seamlessly pursue her disturbing predilection. Her lonely life, gruesome hobby, and shocking secrets are suddenly thrown into turmoil when her regular client, Olivia, asks her to style her hair for her wedding. Could she have made a true friend?

Back in 2016, I saw a disturbing and memorable short called The Stylist. Some of those images are still burnt into my brain. It’s not often I say that about a short. Now, writer/director/ producer Jill Sixx Gevargizian has developed that very short into a feature. That’s the funny thing about hairstylists. We totally end up telling them all about ourselves. It’s this unspoken, universal rule. We trust them with our hair and our secrets. Returning in the titular role is Najarra Townsend. She has this timeless look, with her gorgeous red hair and her vintage wardrobe. Signature colors people. Bravo to the costume department here. She has incredibly low self-esteem and social anxiety. Also, she’s a serial killer. This woman hates herself and craves connection. Gevargizian’s expertise as a real-life hairstylist shines through the opening scenes. She clearly guided Townsend’s hands to perfect the realism.

Brea Grant, who can do no wrong in my book, shines as Olivia, magazine exec, bride-to-be, and the unique object of Claire’s affection. She’s a firecracker. Her energy is the perfect foil for Najarra’s (mostly) quiet demeanor. Townsend has an amazing presence. Even when the focus is supposed to be on Olivia, her silhouette looms like a ghost in the background. She lives in the complexity of Gevargizian ‘s screenplay. She is both unsettling and mesmerizing.

We have to talk about the audio. The sound editing will make you cringe. The original score will throw your brain off-kilter and feels like an ode to 70’s horror classics. The editing is smart with side by side frames showing us Claire and Olivia as they navigate what seems mundane. The more we see them together, the more we realize how different these two women are. This script is built on the need for acceptance. There was a bit of a Single White Female (1992) meets May (2002) thing happening and I was all in. The Stylist is visually striking. You are enveloped in the lighting and overall color choices. The cinematic elements combined with stellar performances and an intense script creates a wildly successful atmospheric film dripping in nuance. Your heart is in your throat, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s a very uncomfortable and bone-chilling watch. That. Final. Shot. And Cut.

See THE STYLIST first, on March 1st 2021, exclusively on ARROW.

Distributor: Arrow Video
Release date: 1st March, 2020
Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Final Girls Berlin 2021 review: ‘Time Of Moulting’ (Fellwechselzeit) will take patience.

TIME OF MOULTING

In a small town in 1970s West Germany, Stephanie is an intelligent and lively child living an insular life with her parents. She senses that something is wrong in her family, something that cannot be put into words, and she pushes against it where she can. Unspoken maladies lurk beneath the surface of everyday life and insidiously seeps into who she is. Neither she nor her parents have contact with others, and she falls into a symbiotic relationship with her mentally unstable mother Sybille. Sybille has never really left her own childhood behind and lives a life amidst objects and shadows of the past. Stephanie’s father offers neither support, love, nor normalcy. Stephanie withdraws more and more into herself and the passing years bring only ageing, but no future with them. Stephanie flees early from her life’s narrowness and hopelessness into an inner world of dark fantasies, which are nourished by traces of the past. Fellwechselzeit is a heavily atmospheric and harrowing portrait of the ways in which oppressive and repressed family dynamics can influence and infect the lives of younger generations– not tangible, not namable, but inexorable. Inner abysses form the only escape route for an undernourished soul.

You have to stick with filmmaker Sabrina Mertens‘ style choice here. TIME OF MOULTING is one of the most intentional slow-burn films establishing the cyclical nature of mental illness I’ve ever seen outside of a documentary. As the camera sits and watches these drawn-out, often silent scenes, we get a small peek inside the world of a family that has chosen isolation. The film does a 10-year time jump only to find our young protagonist worse off than before. She has been simmering in the childhood of her mother and is acting out with self-harm and increasingly violent drawings and fantasies. This film is not for everyone. You have to have the patience to make it to the end. The visual impact of Time of Moulting is massive. We hear over and over that the family cat has urinated on the furniture. We see each room accumulate more garbage/objects. Stephanie’s fascination with her grandfather’s slaughterhouse tools will make you so uncomfortable you will feel it on your bones. Performances are outstanding. This film challenges the audience to its breaking point.

DIRECTED BY SABRINA MERTENS, GERMANY, 2020

Starring Zelda Espenschied and Miriam Schiweck

Final Girls Berlin 2021 review: ‘DARKNESS’ will make your skin crawl.

DARKNESS

Stella, 17-year-old, and her younger sisters, Luce and Aria, are locked inside their house with bars on the windows. Outside is the Apocalypse: two-thirds of humanity is dead since sunlight has become too strong and only men can go outside. Their claustrophobic life is brightened up by some special games, such as the air party. But their father gets angry: he would like them to completely erase the past. The girls stay locked in their house, alone, with no food until things begin to break down and puncture the delicate shell of their cloistered existence.

Eerily the perfect film at this moment in our history, three girls wait in locked down isolation as their father scavenges for food in an uninhabitable world outside. The sisters pass the time with make-believe skits, attending to a strict schedule that revolves around their hyper-aggressive dad and reminiscing about their dead mother. But something else is very wrong here. Very, very wrong. Due to the current global pandemic, a phrase I am still not used to writing 11 months in, Darkness will resonate on a personal level, especially for parents. The film also has a similar circumstantial setup as ONLY one of my favorite films from Tribeca Film Festival 2019. But perhaps ends up more reminiscent of a certain M. Night Shyamalan film. All three young actresses giving stunning performances and they have a great screenplay to work with. If I’m being nitpicky, the runtime could be cut by 10-15 minutes as Stella pushes past her physical boundaries. The camera work puts you in the shoes of the sisters. Sometimes claustrophobic, other times disorienting. The full picture slowly reveals itself to be far more disturbing than you might think. There are clues sprinkled throughout but at the heart of it, Darkness is about emotional manipulation and physical abuse. It’s absolutely chilling. This film would easily garner a larger audience on any of the genre centric platforms. I’m excited to see where it ends up landing.

DIRECTED BY EMANUELA ROSI, ITALY, 2019

Starring Denise Tantucci, Valerio Binasco, Gaia Bocci, Olimpia Tosatto
German Premiere