Tag Archives: Witchcraft

‘WHITCH’ (SXSW 2025 short) Hilarious and terrifying, filmmaker Hoku Uchiyama conjures magic.

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Filmmaker Hoku Uchiyama delivers the magic with SXSW 2025 short horror comedy WHITCH. A mother named Aura reads her young daughter a bedtime story, then finally takes a breath from her long day. Suddenly, a mysterious woman appears in her house, encouraging her to make haste. With five minutes until midnight, the woman begins a ritual in the living room, challenging Aura to join in.

Whitch Production_Still_3Alicia Blasingame is a superb foil for her onscreen rival. There is a comfort level that makes you buy into Aura from the moment you see her. Rosemary Hochschild is magnificent in her final film role as Gladys. Her fearless performance sends chills down your spine, then giggling with delight. What a pleasure to witness this level of talent.

Kenneth F. Wales‘ camera work is fantastic. Immersive POV shots pull you in immediately. The original music by Anton Patzner is playfully sinister. The closing title is perfection.

WHITCH Production_Still_5WHITCH subconsciously makes fun of women who call themselves witches, but in reality, they love the ideas and decor, not the literary canon. Would I adore a feature-length version? The answer is a resounding YES. Do I also believe it is delicious in its current form? It has undoubtedly cast a spell on me.

DIRECTOR BIO:

Hoku Uchiyama headshot

Hoku is a lover of fantasy films, horror, and animation. Over the past decade he’s worked as a director (sometimes with Adam Bolt) and editor on music videos, documentaries, and advertising. Clients and collaborators include, Katy Perry, They Might Be Giants, National Geographic, and YouTube.

Director:

Hoku Uchiyama
Producer:

Kelly King
Screenwriter:

Hoku Uchiyama
Cinematographer:

Kenneth F. Wales
Editor:

Hoku Uchiyama
Production Designer:

Adam Henderson
Music:

Anton Patzner
Principal Cast:

Rosemary Hochschild, Alicia Blasingame, Nora Harriet, Carol Merrill-Mirsky, Joy Mamey, Geffen Aviva, Kindred Gottlieb
Additional Credits:

Costume Designer: Caroline Allander, Production Sound Mixer: Dan McCoy, Key Makeup and Hair: Stacey Hummell, Unit Production Manager: Courtenay Sherwood, 1st Assistant Director: Kate Lord Schnepf, Post Production Sound Mixer: Vicki Lemar, Color Grader: Marco Mauti, Costumer: Azucena Dominguez, Intimacy Coordinator: Jazlyn Lewis, Casting Associate: Jillian Seither

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‘THE SURRENDER’ (SXSW 2025) Grief, delusion, and the supernatural collide in one hell of a debut.

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SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3THE SURRENDER

The Surrender (2025) - [www.imdb.com]

Filmmaker Julia Max‘s feature debut, THE SURRENDER, comes to SXSW 2025 in all its haunted glory.

With her father bedridden and dying of cancer, Megan returns home to help her mother in his 24-hour care. Each woman has vastly differing opinions on his end-of-life plans. Barbara has fallen into the “spiritual” lifestyle as a means to cope with impending grief, while Megan desires his pain to stop. When Robert passes, and their relationship stretches to its limits, Megan reluctantly agrees to participate in a resurrection ritual.

THE SURRENDER opens with an undeniably jarring image. The audience feels an immediate sense of foreboding. Max weaves in forgotten memories from Megan’s childhood, giving us insight into the reality of their family unit. The delay of these scenes shifts the entire narrative. The choice is brilliant.
the-surrenderVaughn Armstrong delivers a nuanced turn as Robert. Max allows him the opportunity to play multiple roles within one character. Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy) and Colby Minifie (The Boys) knock it out of the park. Their loaded dialogue gets more and more biting and honest. Their scenes are a masterclass in communication. Whether driven by confession or fear, Burton and Minifie are perfect together.

Technically, the film is superb. The lighting, editing, production design, and practical FX create a sinister narrative. There is no predicting where this script goes. Max pulls the rug out from under us again and again. The final act is emotional torture. THE SURRENDER is a brutal dive into grief, unresolved trauma, and the lengths we will go for love. It’s the weirdest therapy session I’ve ever witnessed.

Remaining SXSW screenings of THE SURRENDER:

The Surrender at Alamo Lamar 8
Mar 14, 2025
 
9:30pm — 11:00pm
 
 

Credits

Director:

Julia Max
Executive Producer:

Susan Gelb, Adam Maffei, Rob Massar
Producer:

Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich
Screenwriter:

Julia Max
Cinematographer:

Cailin Yatsko
Editor:

Sushila Love
Production Designer:

Tahryn Justice Smith
Sound Designer:

AJ Pyatak, Josh Atwell
Music:

Alex Winkler
Principal Cast:

Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly
Additional Credits:

Co-Producer: Brenden Rodriguez, Co-Producer: Daniel Schwab

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‘HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS’ (2024) is a wild exploration of dark legacy

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HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS

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After inheriting an old schoolhouse, Elizabeth begins to lose time and experience visions of evil in her isolation and exploration of her familial connections.

Success lies within the use of a go-pro and the out-of-focus visuals. The set might be some artist commune or quirky AirBnB listing. It delivers jewel-toned decor choices and creepy corners, echoing loneliness. Elizabeth discovers a trunk filled with dark objects, including a book with sketches right out of Guillermo del Toro’s imagination. 

HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS Lani CallLani Call gives Elizabeth a dour and macabre personality. Bravo for her commitment to the role. The screenplay from director Richard R. Williams, Costanza Bongiorni, and Tom Jolliffe does not give her a moment of ease. HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS is a one-woman show that gets weirder and grosser by the minute. 

The film opens with a gruesome shot, transitioning to the world’s slowest upward pan. The pacing, while artistically intentional, remains an issue. Call’s narration deserved a pop shield in front of her microphone. Elizabeth makes questionable choices that defy logic as she plunges into her dark legacy. No doubt the practical FX team will make you gag as her physical appearance rapidly deteriorates. The film is out there. What’s good is great, but HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS ultimately suffers from the length. 

This otherworldly thriller arrives on VOD and DVD on May 21st

 

Directed and co-written by Williams (RUST BELT DRILLER) with a script co-authored by Costanza Bongiorni and Tom Jolliffe, HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS stars Lani Call.

Elizabeth Cadosia has lived a life of isolation under the shadow of her mentally fractured mother. On the day her mother dies, Elizabeth receives an unexpected inheritance—a timeworn schoolhouse from her grandmother—whom she has never met. Within the schoolhouse, Elizabeth finds herself entwined in a tapestry of unsettling visions and harrowing nightmares.

An incredibly surreal, ultra-low budget experiment in minimalist horror – inspired by classic horror, witchcraft legends, the Cthulhu mythos, and Tarkovsky and Antonioni’s “slow cinema” – the film was made by a very small group of close friends and is anchored by a powerful performance from actor Lani Call.

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