BOOGER
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.
Heather Matarazzo‘s initial appearance is one of the best scenes in the film. When she calls Anna 9/11, it’s one of the funniest moments. It’s shockingly hysterical and not offensive, speaking as someone in the city that day.
Videos saved on Izzy’s phone heighten our emotional investment in Anna’s loss. Even as a deceased character, Sofia Dobrushin is equally present as any other actor. Endlessly charming, you want her to be your best friend and deeply understand Anna’s loss.
Grace Glowicki gives Anna a relatability, especially for anyone who has lost someone close. Her transformation throughout the film is fantastic. It is half self-destructive and the other half monstrous mutation. Glowicki is deliciously unhinged and inarguably perfect.
It is easy to see why BOOGER has been killing it on the festival circuit. FX are spectacular. The subtle but gag-worthy progression is noteworthy. Speaking of gagging, if your reflex is at all weak, you may not make it to the end. I ingest A LOT of horror, and I almost lost it. BOOGER is a one-of-a-kind body horror comedy. This unique examination of grief is like nothing else you’ll see this year.
DATE: Saturday, August 10
TIME: Video On Demand
VENUE: Digital Screening Room
YEAR: 2023
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 78 min
DIRECTOR: Mary Dauterman
WRITER: Mary Dauterman
STARRING: Grace Glowicki, Garrick Bernard, Heather Matarazzo
DEVOTEE
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. 
Augmented color choices in STRANGE DARLING give the film a devilish and addicting quality. The score is grating and decidedly ominous- A genuine compliment. The lighting is simply delicious. The soundtrack is fire, as the kids say. 
Fitzgerald and Gallner’s chemistry is sick. There is an undeniable electricity between them, and it’s like watching a a sexy car crash happen in real time. The plot is spectacularly unpredictable. Don’t bother guessing from moment to moment, even though Mollner’s script hypes you up to do so. The sheer number of “Oh Shit” moments! Slow clap, sir.
Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy) is outstanding as a woman on the brink. Her physical performance is seeped in anguish. Walsh is such a pro in tackling characters in the emotional trenches. 13 Reasons Why introduced her to a younger, perhaps even broader audience than Grey’s, and she continues to select roles that showcase her dazzling abilities. 
In filmmaker Miguel Llansó‘s Fantasia 2024 film INFINITE SUMMER, Mia wants to enjoy the last few weeks before moving into higher education. When her close friend decides she’d rather hang out with people closer to her age, Mia dabbles a newfangled mindfulness app that goes awry. Too much of a good thing is never really true. 
The pacing is inconsistent. The wildly sophisticated sci-fi scenes do not match the dragging dialogue. While all the storylines are connected, some characters feel superfluous, thus lacking genuine emotional connection. I could not marry the ups and downs. In the end, the film is visually spectacular but narratively messy. I found myself simultaneously lacking focus but entirely entranced by the special effects. Egert Kanep deserves all the credit for intrigue. While the runtime is only an hour and thirty minutes, it feels much longer. INFINITE SUMMER might be a film best viewed a little high.
For all things Fantasia 2024, 
Young lovers Tom and Maria are interrupted by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. After Maria’s kidnapping, aided by the eternally upbeat Jaan, Tom tracks her down only to discover the dark secrets surrounding the killer’s past and present. If Monty Python and Mel Brooks decided to make a slasher film, Estonian filmmaker Sander Maran’s CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING would be their demented little offspring. It is the kind of instant cult classic ripe for Midnight screenings. 
The film perfectly captures the absurdity of most musicals – cheating toward the audience, over-the-top gestures, and breaking into song, often at inexplicable moments. These are facts about the genre. I know. I majored in it at a conservatory in Manhattan. Like Anna and The Apocalypse, Bloodthirsty, Rocky Horror, Little Shop, Sweeney Todd, Repo! The Genetic Opera, CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING enters the fray of outstanding subgenre 
The plot takes from films like Wrong Turn, Texas Chainsaw, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Hands down, one of the most catchy numbers belongs to The Killer, in which he sings about his murderous penchant. Jaan’s song made me guffaw more than once. (Think an even more insane version of “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.”) 
The longer Eric waits to tell his loved ones, the stranger his life gets. An alien threatens to take him back to outer space. He is losing time, and his body parts are falling off. This aspect is particularly upsetting because he is literally missing his mouth. This creative metaphor becomes the backbone of THE MISSING. 
I wasn’t aware that I grew up on Rotoscope films before doing a quick Google search. Some of my most beloved childhood films fall into the genre- The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Secret of NIMH (1982), and Anastasia (1997). First introduced in 1918, I had no idea the process was so old. THE MISSING stylistically mirrors The Spine of the Night rather than Alice In Wonderland. 2D animation illustrates Eric’s childhood memories in a stunning visual contrast that serves a dual purpose. The choice to childishly scribble over Uncle’s face speaks volumes. It is a visually captivating film. 
Synopsis
Montreal-based comedy duo Emelia Hellman and Nancy Webb (Hellgirl Productions) bring their paranoia-fueled short Bangs to Fantasia Festival’s Fantastiques week-ends du cinéma québécois this summer for the film’s Canadian premiere.
DETAINED
Laz Alonzo does a fine job as the hypermasculine group leader, doing his best to keep up with Cornish. Speaking of, Abbie Cornish owns this role. It’s a tour de force. From the moment we see her, it’s already over.
Mucci and Palmer give Cornish the time to work her magic. We know her gears are turning throughout. Watching the dominoes fall is delightful. While I worked out a key plot point relatively early- I watch hundreds of films each year, it never lessened the elaborate twists. I still wondered precisely how we’d get from point A to B. Audiences get a lot to chew on in just over ninety minutes. DETAINED is devilishly satisfying.
Abandonment and unresolved trauma collide with a monster movie and mad scientist in Tilman Singer‘s (
Nerea Barros captivates as the titular character. She walks a perfect line between anxiety and persistence. Barros becomes a feminist icon we so desperately need.
The script plays like one carefully curated test after another, skillfully crafted to test Rob’s and our moral compass. screenwriter Dan Kelly-MulhernIt has Nina lull Rob into a sense of safety and care, playing on his desperation and redemption arc. The double-entendre dialogue is delicious. 
Eddie Izzard owns the titular role of Nina Jekyll. Delivering two fully fleshed-out personalities, one can only imagine the personal stake in Izzard’s performance. She is utterly mesmerizing, devouring Kelly-MulhernIt’s versions of Nina and Rachel. It is one hell of a turn. 
DOCTOR JEKYLL is endlessly intriguing, playing on the raw emotions and hitting every horror note, with precision. The finale is visually spectacular. DOCTOR JEKYLL is a prime example of keen manipulation.
DIRECTOR Joe Stephenson 
Desperate to keep her promise to host the best superhero party for her 6-year-old, young mother Sid, a sex worker, takes extreme measures and books a last-minute client with a dark fetish. Dirty Bad Wrong is a drama/body horror that explores the darkest sides of capitalism, and just how far we’ll go for the ones we love.
Life changes when you become a mother. It is impossible to describe to someone who has never protected another human with every ounce of their soul. In 
Jack Greig
A commentary on environmental and economic realities, Eunkyoung Yoon‘s Fantasia 2024 feature THE TENANTS hypnotizes with Kafkaesque absurdity in stunning black and white.
THE TENANTS cleverness is through the roof, no pun intended. The fact that Shin-Dong’s landlord is a child makes all the sense in the world to anyone who has stepped into the rental arena in a major city. The near future visual indications, like projected video calls and digital advertising, are seamlessly integrated.
Kim Dae-gun is quietly magnetic as Shin-Dong. Perfectly playing off the enormous physical aura of fellow cast member Heo Dong-won. The audience feels sufficiently sad for him. Shin-Dong’s evolution is mesmerizing, causing viewers to question their morality meter and sanity. THE TENANTS says the quiet parts out loud and is a creative forced look in the mirror.
Directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo craft an intricate mystery that intertwines folklore and crime. Screenwriters Annelyse Batrel and Ludovic Lefebvre skillfully adapt the French novel by Alexis Laipsker, keeping audiences off-kilter and second-guessing. 
Performances from our two leads are stellar. Virginie Ledoyen gives Elisabeth deep personal darkness stemming from unimaginable loss. Paul Hamy makes Franck down to earth in an indescribably tangible way. Their chemistry is a fantastic mix of caution, stubbornness, and authentic partnership. They make a genuinely solid on-screen team. 
True crime and horror fans will immediately feel pulled into the narrative. The film reveals a shocking final 30 minutes, boasting one of the most unhinged fight scenes I’ve ever seen, and delivering multiple appalling twists! THE SOUL EATER reminds us that we never know what goes on behind closed doors and that fear is the scariest monster. It will devour you whole. 
Tucker Bennett
The attention to detail in world-building is delicious. The jewel-toned costumes and set dressings draw you in. Natural light, candles, and soft-bulbed corner lamps create an atmosphere that makes your heart race from the very beginning. 
Ashleigh Cummings and James Cosmo ground the narrative with emotionally wrought performances. Kit Harington proves yet again his ability to fill a frame with little more than a facial expression. Harington keeps the audience on their toes with fierce volatility. His chemistry with fellow cast members is alarming. 
Caoilinn Springall delivers an astonishing turn as young Willow. Her performance in Stop Motion turned heads. Her vulnerability and fierce curiosity keep you entranced every second. She is a star. 
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