SHOOK
Amar Wala‘s narrative feature debut, SHOOK, has arrived to wow TIFF 2024 audiences. Things are looking pretty bleak for Ashish. His parents are newly divorced. He is struggling to sell his first novel. His estranged father’s secret is simply the cherry on top. Then he meets Claire, and he must face all his demons.
Bernard White gives Vijay the fantastic edge of a sarcastic manchild with a soft underbelly. He is wonderful. Amy Forsyth is Claire. She brings both endless humor and a soft place for Ash to land.
Saamer Usmani delivers an impressive turn. He is incredibly charming, wading through self-doubt, cynicism, and healing. Forsyth and Usmani have electric chemistry. Theirs is a classic “when you’re least expecting it” love story.
The cinematography is sharp. Peter Hadfield‘s framing is beautiful. The soundtrack is outstanding. No doubt you’ll be bopping your head throughout the film.
SHOOK is a family drama perfectly laced with laugh-out-loud dialogue. Wala and co-writer Adnan Khan draw inspiration from the director’s personal experiences with his father’s diagnosis with Parkinsons in his 20s. It is a complex story of reconciliation, generational communication differences, racism, and identity.
A relatable age and stage spiral and tale of getting your proverbial shit together, SHOOK is a gut punch that will undoubtedly stick with you long after the credits roll.
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Omari Douglas, Arthur Darvill, and Harriet Walter are perfectly cast. Each delivers a memorable performance. Colin Hanks gives Nathan an effortless sweetness so desperately needed in the circumstances. Susan Wokoma plays Gemma’s best friend, Ruth. She is a glorious balance of sense and sass. Billie Lourd is Nathan’s sister, Audrey. She’s flighty, fearless, and passionate. 
Aisling Bea is endlessly hysterical playing the straight woman to Lourd’s outlandishness. Her accessible nature makes you want to be her best friend. You are buying what she is selling. Lourd and Bea share a chemistry that is magic. I’d love to see a film of Wokoma, Lourd, and Bea doing anything together. 
Screenwriter Melissa Bubnic utilizes flashbacks to solidify the emotional stronghold between Gemma and Nathan. The editing is essential here. Reisinger gives audiences a unique examination of grief, love, and family. AND MRS is a romcom that is one-of-a-kind, built upon a surprising complexity. “Love waits for no one.” 
Ps-stick around for the credits. You won’t regret it.
RED ROOMS
Juliette Gariépy initially gives Kelly-Anne a quiet ferocity. Assume nothing about the character as she slowly reveals her sleuthing skills. Gariépy morphs into a startling presence, with each consecutive scene getting under your skin. Gariépy is disturbing. 
The juxtaposition of her photoshoot stills and those of security camera suspects is undeniably clever mirroring. Once the infamous video plays, the decision to focus on our protagonist and not the most gruesome acts almost makes the plot more invasive. The combination of the audio and your imagination causes you to turn away. Kelly-Anne’s skills keep her on a tightrope. One missed step, and the bottom drops out. 
The script is far more nuanced than at first glance. Plante delves into technology, the female fascination with true crime, and the repercussions of unresolved trauma. The more Kelly-Anne shares with Clementine, the more unsettled the audience. As a parent, RED ROOMS is a visceral viewing experience. It is simultaneously rage and despair-inducing. As a mother, putting that hat aside, as difficult as that may be, the film is indisputably brilliant storytelling. The hideous twists keep coming. RED ROOMS will hold you captive, whether you like it or not.
Kim Ho-jung is magnificent. Sara’s journey spans motherhood, friendship, sleuthing, romance, and identity. Ho-jung embodies silliness, anxiety, boldness, and worldly naivete. She masters each moment with ceaseless charm. She is a star.
In Luna Carmoon‘s debut, HOARD, it is 1984, and Cynthia and Maria live a trying existence. Mom is a hoarder with chaotic mood shifts. Maria exists in freefall, never knowing when she’ll be bullied or exposed to inappropriate scenarios. An accident leads to foster care. In 1994, teenage Maria latches onto a visitor and former foster as he attempts to tap into her unresolved grief and trauma.
Hayley Squires delivers authentic emotional distress. Hoarding is a trauma response and, often, a mental illness. Squires slides into that skin with astonishing ease. Her highs and lows are captivating.
Her and Quinn’s chemistry is glorious. Their unfiltered bond fascinates from start to finish. Together, their animalistic instincts create a healing trauma bond like no other.
Sook-Yin Lee
Joseph Kahn
THE BECOMERS
THE BECOMERS is bold, eschewing any societal norms. Have you ever seen an alien sex scene? Because you’re about to, and it is gooey. Russell Marl voices their backstory with a particular tone that perfectly encapsulates the film’s feel. Fritz Myers’ score is jarring and yet works perfectly. Myers also creates unique Alien vocalizations. The editing is delightful.
Isabel Alamin gives Francesca a tentative fear. She’s incredibly compelling. Molly Plunk and Mike Lopez‘s turns as couple Carol and Gordon. Their trust in Clark’s vision is evident. Plunk and Gordon embody the seemingly wacky premise and capture the sincerest longings within the slapstick comedy.
Noyes was not only a genius of design, but his knack for marketing was unsurpassed. His inventive thinking influenced more than you can begin to fathom. Furniture, war strategies, typewriters, gas stations, and computers all contain a part of Noyes’s brain. IBM would not be what it is today without Noyes, Paul Rand, and The Eames Brothers working in tandem and changing the technology field. The film’s design precisely mirrors the multiscreen technique they loved so much. Editor Kevin Jones delivers visual intricacy and intriguing simplicity in the narrative transitions.
After starting a family in New York City, a flat tire during a drive north led to New Canaan, Connecticut, becoming an international design community. I know this first hand, as someone raised in CT, starting a family in The Big Apple, and bidding on New Canaan houses inspired by Noyes only a year ago. Having ultimately settled in the town next door, I am lucky. I can drive 7.8 miles to visit his landmark home. As the granddaughter of a builder, niece of an architect, daughter of an artist, and fan of mid-century design, it’s all heavenly to me. 
ART OF A HIT
The location is a breathtaking French chateau. Director Gaelan Draper utilizes classic tropes, like empty door frames in the background, to build tension. We also experience scenes through Matt’s video camera lens. That slight variation does not disappoint.
The cast has electric chemistry. Allie MacDonald (Stage Fright) gives drummer Cristin seemingly effortlessly snark. David Valdes is the overzealous newbie bassist and music nerd. His energy is a fantastic counter to the OG members’ attitudes.
Ryan Donowho (
TORCHED
The doc jumps right with the Torch’s history. Within the first ten minutes, the audience understands the importance of creating a women’s ultimate league. Eschewing the claims that female sports aren’t profitable, ultimate players did it themselves because that’s how we roll. If you want something done right, ask a woman to do it. 
We meet Coach Austin, who immediately acknowledges his cis white male privilege from the get-go. Torch co-founder “Bonesaw,” a former touring rocker, is their greatest ally. From finding venues, graphic design, sponsors, you name it, he makes it happen. Director Hoag Kepner is also the film’s editor, colorist, and sound mixer. Hoag also arranged and composed much of the score, which makes sense as he is not only Bonesaw’s former bandmate but also his brother. This multi-talented family tree allows the players and TORCHED to thrive.
TORCHED–THE STORY OF THE AUSTIN TORCH trailer (YouTube): 
CLOSE TO YOU
CLOSE TO YOU
CLOSE TO YOU
I’m not just saying all these nice things because the film happens to feature two of my favorite genre people (and internet friends), Emily Bennett and Toby Poser. Wisner and Temple earn each moment.
Emily plays Ruth with a fearful innocence and tenacity. Bennett has that inarguable “it” factor in transforming for each new role. From 
In filmmaker Mary Dauterman‘s Popcorn Frights film, BOOGER, Anna spirals following the sudden death of her roommate. Holding tight to Izzy’s phone and their adopted stray cat. When Booger bites her and escapes out the window, Anna’s grief journey is derailed by unusual symptoms from her injury. 
It’s always a bold choice to bring harm to a child. It is even more audacious to have a child witness something eternally scarring. Filmmaker Richard J. Bosner does both in just over six minutes. HollyShorts 2024 film DEVOTEE takes fear back in time when the threat of cults was all the rage. Not the watered-down wackiness of politics, but honest-to-good, off-the-rails, die-for-your-cause cult.
Filmmaker Luke Genton tells the story of a wannabe influencer living in Paris looking for a hook. Short on cash, she accepts a cleaning job, not knowing the location is an infamous murder castle. Thinking this might be her internet 15 minutes, she brings her nonexistent audience on the job. CHÂTEAU gives Popcorn Frights 2024 the YouTube ghost-hunting treatment. 
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