Mimics
Kristoffer Polaha wears both the first-time director and leading man hats in Mimics. The film follows a down-on-his-luck impressionist with big dreams. When a mysterious agent offers immediate fame, it comes with a few caveats.
Sam must use a specific dummy and suffer the consequences of never saying no. As he skyrockets on social media, his confidence grows, but his dummy, Fergus, does not enjoy being the butt of the joke. Sam’s autonomy disappears, and violent things begin to happen.
Polana scores big with his cast. Singer Mōriah delivers a sweet and fleshed-out love interest. Thank you to screenwriter Marc Oakley for not making her a cliche. Oakley actually makes a voice cameo as the spam caller that repeatedly contacts the Reinhold household. Stephen Tobolowsky plays Sam’s adoring grandfather, Melvin. He is so darling, you want to put him in your pocket. He elevates the entire project.
Chris Parnell is Late Show host Jack Conrad. Like Tobolowsky, his easy presence makes Conrad a believable icon. Kristoffer Polaha is effortlessly charming. I genuinely enjoyed his impressions. He has an aura similar to Jim Carrey in his dramedy roles. He carries the film like a pro. 
Calling Mimics a light horror is anything but an insult. It is a genre-bender: a sweet love story, a character study in ambition, passion, and an eerie warning about the trappings of fame, all wrapped in culty folklore that wouldn’t surprise me if it were ripped straight from the bowels of Scientology. It’s a breezy genre film that twists in unexpected ways and one that puts Kristoffer Polaha’s underrated talents in the spotlight.
Mimics Trailer:
Written by: Marc Oakley
Starring: Kristoffer Polaha, Mōriah, Chris Parnell, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jesse Hutch,
Jason Marsden and Austin Basis
Produced by: Ken Carpenter, Kristoffer Polaha, Adam Karm, and Ben Wagner
MIMICS is the daringly unique directorial debut of Kristoffer Polaha — delivering fun, fright, and romance. When a struggling impressionist and a contract for fame take center stage, the battle for a good man’s soul takes the spotlight.
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Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Untitled Home Invasion Romance
Jamie Napoli and Joshua Paul Johnson cleverly wrap comedy around Suzie’s unknown childhood trauma, introducing friends from her past. They place Kevin entirely out of his depth socially. Suzie grew up in incredibly affluent circles, and clues about her life before Kevin reel the audience into the twisty narrative. You’re laughing and questioning everything you see. Each scene reveals something new. When the tension builds to a peak, here comes Biggs to make you laugh out loud.
Anna Konkle, who I miss with my whole heart on PEN15, plays Heather, Suzue’s childhood best friend and current chief of police. Konkle is down to Earth, incredibly charming, and inarguably the most competent member of her force. Her micro-expressions speak volumes. 
The location is stunning. The lake house is the stuff of dreams, with tennis courts, a multilevel dock, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Mollie Goldstein‘s editing is top-notch. Camerawork from Zach Kuperstein is a phenomenal mix of styles, keeping the audience thoroughly engaged. After years in the industry, Biggs easily slides into the director’s chair. I am excited to see what he chooses next. 
While grading papers, Susan’s quiet night gets weird when her husband shows up in a panic. He explains that through his secretive research at Double Star Accounting, he can now predict the future. Edgar shares that his co-workers are after his knowledge and that Susan and their daughter, Taylor, are in danger. This sounds preposterous to her until two aggressive individuals knock on her front door demanding to know where Edgar is. As they threaten her family, Susan must decide who to believe.
The oldest generation speaks about the legacy of Emmett Till and the importance of passing on that history from one generation to the next. Glendora created the Emmett Till museum in 2005 as a way to apologize to the Till family for their lack of engagement. They recount the abhorrent entitlement of white people and the aggression and violence they brought to the doorsteps of the African American community members.
Glendora is a snapshot of America’s authentic history of racial atrocities and economic disparity, but the strength of Black culture, excellence, empathy, and community shine brightest in Glendora. Their genuine pride is infectious. This country can learn from its relentless spirit to equally honor the past and change the future.
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Performance was my safe place from a young age. I got to disappear into someone else. I got to escape the anxiety of being myself. Hell, even speaking other people’s words made me feel more confident. I was better at being someone else. And yeah, I know now that was my way of studying to mask. I became extremely confident because I was good at everything, but what people didn’t see was the endless fear that I felt. It was all to cover my 
Seth Breedlove explores the lore behind a Michigan cryptid in Dawn of the Dogman. The film plays out in chapters. Editing from Santino Vitale and Seth Breedlove is fast-paced and endlessly intriguing. History buffs will instantly connect with the style, as eyewitnesses and journalists expound while the viewer is treated to maps, archival footage, and so much more. 
One witness suggests these creatures are government assets, detailing his unsettling encounter and the aftermath. Linda Godfrey‘s extensive career in cryptozoology speaks for itself. But her work solidified for her the moment she came face to face with a mysterious creature alongside the insight of a Native American game warden. 
The opening credits give Spielberg‘s Amazing Stories meets Ripley’s Believe It or Not! vibes (a huge compliment). Cinematographers Zac Palmisano, Courtney Breedlove, and Tyler Hall beautifully captured the variety of Michigan landscapes. Brandon Dalo provides an original score that balances mystery and lightness.
Overall, Dawn of the Dogman is a solid entry into the cryptid genre. There is most certainly a built-in audience for the film. Don’t believe me? Just look at the number of Kickstarter backers in the closing credits. Cryptid lore is big business and great entertainment for all ages. 
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100 NIGHTS OF HERO
Religious and political parallels are undeniable magic. The dialogue is a modern version of a bawdy Shakespeare comedy, cleverly tongue-in-cheek and playing right into toxic masculinity. Even our three main characters’ names are pure, double-entendre delight. 100 NIGHTS OF HERO weaves fable, witchcraft, and feminism seamlessly. 
Xenia Patricia
Maika Monroe
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The film is a collection of personalities all jockeying to outdo each other. Greg looks like Santa and is happy to dress as such for the local kids. His son, Little Greg, is poised to take over the family business as his father battles cancer. Brooklynite George (who used to work for Greg) hopes to find love this season and brings bravado to the group. Heather is nine years sober. You will find her supporting those struggling on a similar path. Ciree takes the reins from her parents after 30 years. All of them find themselves under the thumb of the mysterious Kevin Hammer. Think of him as the Christmas Tree Mafia Boss.
The film is a countdown to Christmas, tracking the complicated and expensive logistics of purchasing trees, trucking them sometimes across the country, bidding on street corner permits, setting up shop, all while navigating weather, workforce, and the economy. It’s a risky business that can be rewarding in the end. The job is physically taxing and emotionally exhausting, but its impact on building family traditions is worth its weight in gold. 
Aniskovich intersperses sit-down interviews with action on the ground. The pièce de résistance are the scenes mimicking the stop-motion animation in Christmas classics like 
THE DISINVITED
The plot is disorienting. Filled with time hops and something else supernatural, Carl finds himself both haunted by the past and stalked by some harassing force. Repeated aggressive and toxic interactions from strangers and others in Carl’s sphere throw the viewer’s understanding of the truth into utter chaos. 
Carl’s exes are beyond livid that he has inserted himself into the festivities. As the plot thickens, Lawrence and co-writer Matthew Mourgides insinuate that we are missing large pieces of the puzzle as the former fiend group offers an alternative version of what we have witnessed thus far with their dialogue. This off-kilter effect gets an assist from Lawrence’s editing. 
Sam Daly owns this film. His emotional swings are simultaneously relatable and unhinged. Daly is riveting. THE DISINVITED mashes up relationship drama and psychological horror in a mind-bending way. The final third is wild as hell. Jacob Fatoorechi and Jaco Caraco‘s classically string-heavy score is a perfect match. You must pay attention to every frame, and do yourself a favor: watch the credits. Even better, watch it again.
Alanna Ubach plays Emily’s mother, Sam. A former addict seeking redemption, Ubach is a pro, settling into a weighty role. For me, Ubach created some of the most memorable sidekick roles of the ’90s and early 2000s, carrying a Lili Taylor vibe with her comedic timing. It is a dramatic departure that is phenomenal.
Brittany O’Grady owns this role. Emily is in almost every shot, and O’Grady powers through unresolved trauma with ferocity. This fearless portrayal of a daughter dying for answers will pull you in. There is an undeniable gravity to this performance.
The mostly handheld camerawork subconsciously forces the audience to participate in the mystery and the emotional turmoil. Beyond the genre fare, IN OUR BLOOD also acts as a viewfinder for the vibrant yet desolate aspects of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Screenwriter Mallory Westfall provides clues, if you pay attention, so I suggest you do. Even with that said, the twists are absolutely clutch. Currently boasting a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, IN OUR BLOOD is a gripping mix of horror and thriller. True crime fans will eat this up for dinner. I’m demanding a franchise from Kos and Westfall, ASAP.
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Ian Kimble brings a laugh-out-loud murder mystery, DEAD GIVEAWAY, to the Philadelphia Film Festival. After waking up hungry, with a hangover and a murdered stranger in her bed, Jill’s (Ruby Modine) day spirals into chaos as she navigates a tied-up man in her closet, an unconscious roommate, and a knife to her best friend’s neck. The goal? To get to brunch by 3:00 pm.
Mikaela Hoover is Lia. Her disgust with both her current predicament and the rather gross crime scene is only outdone by her aserbic wit. She has a familiar energy, something we have seen in classic comedy duos of the most successful sitcoms. Hoover’s distinct look matches that tangibility. Ruby Modine is hilarious. Jill, like Lia, is generally messy and self-assured. Modine harnesses a manic energy that nails the genre. The two share unhinged chemistry. It is a delightful pairing. 
I ONLY REST IN THE STORM
Portugal-born, Brazil-based filmmaker Pedro Pinho tackles racism in an unfiltered, confrontational manner. The dialogue is no-holds-bar and yet entirely calm in its honesty. Alongside Sergio, the audience is thrust into a lively group of queer friends, who argue among their own ranks about blackness and identity. It feels very intimate to witness. It’s a head-on white savior complex reckoning. The longer you watch and learn, white behavior feels very self-congratulatory, regardless of true intentions. 
Performances are spectacular. The immersive cinematography is a character all its own. The film often feels like a documentary with elders casually dropping facts about colonialism in social settings. I ONLY REST IN THE STORM captures you in its boldness, if you can hold on for the three and a half hour runtime. While it would undoubtedly benefit to cut that time in half, you cannot deny the meandering plot points. Each is strong, but as a whole, the film is a five-course gluttonous meal. 
Before we were married, my husband and I abandoned our lives in New York and moved to Hyderabad, India, so that he could work for a local microfinance institution. He and I, both white, served more as a spectacle, fully owning our privilege as we navigated endlessly intrusive questions and the knowledge of our ability to leave the city on our own accord. To be the minority was an eye-opening experience. I ONLY REST IN THE STORM plays for a predominantly white NYFF audience. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall after yesterday’s premiere. One can only imagine the justifications over cocktails.
SCARED SHITLESS
Chelsea Clark (
Daniel Doheny plays Sonny with perfect manic energy. He is one panic attack away from implosion. Doheny handily glides through Sonny’s arch as the gross factor increases. He nails this genre. Steven Ogg (
Steven Kostanski serves as both Executive Producer and FX goo god. The amount of physical ick in the film should come as no surprise to fans of Kostanski’s work. 
SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS MORE
The boys flitter between trials, doing whatever drugs they can procure, speaking with utter nonchalance about their intentions. Hedgehog, clearly consumed by sadness, eagerly claws his way towards his ultimate goal. Obsession takes hold.
Cinematographer Christos Karamanis brings the viewer inside their drug trips, of which there are many, blurring the lines of reality. Fair warning: if you are sensitive to light or sound, the film can be overwhelming, but inarguably hypnotic. Performances, particularly Panos Papadopoulos, are fantastic.
Sci-fi extravagance aside, Veslemes takes audiences on a visceral and emotional ride into darkness. There is no denying SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS MORE is a WTF, jaw-dropping watch.
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