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Abertoir · 2024

Abertoir 2024

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Programme

17 films · 4 reviews

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Children Of The Wicker Man

Review preview for Children Of The Wicker Man

The popular concept of genius is thoroughly subverted here.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about The Wicker Man and its legacy.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy, Chris Nunn)

Full review

Dead Talents Society (Gui Cai Zhi Dao)

Ghosts who want to become the spookiest of urban legends and most successful and famous stars in the underworld compete through their scare tactics and performances amongst the living.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2024; Director: John Hsu; Writer: John Hsu, Kun-Lin Tsai; Stars: Chen Bo-lin, Sandrine Pinna, Wang Gingle, Pai Ching-i, Tseng Soso)

Decibel

When a struggling singer-songwriter gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work with a tech-obsessed music producer, her art and life are put in peril as she is forced to help create the perfect AI music algorithm.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Zac Locke; Writer: Stephen Christensen, Matt Wise; Stars: Aleyse Shannon, Stefanie Estes, Colby Groves, Chester See, Emma González. Hayley Orozco, Eden Perry, Matt Wise)

Exorcismo

Following Franco’s death and the consolidation of democracy, ‘Clasificada S’ films – restricted to those over 18 years old – embodied a period in Spanish history when sex went from being a sin to becoming a cinematic expression of political freedom. This documentary explores that phenomenon.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Alberto Sedano)

Frankie Freako!

Review preview for Frankie Freako!

Packs in plenty of mischief and mayhem.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
In an attempt to impress his wife and boss, a nerdy man is lured by a 1-900 TV ad to party with a strange little creature called Frankie Freako. All hell breaks loose when Frankie and his two friends wreak interdimensional havoc in his life.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Steven Kostanski; Writer: Steven Kostanski; Stars: Adam Brooks, Conor Sweeney, Kristy Wordsworth)

Full review See: Interview with Steven Kostanski about Frankie Freako

Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (Goijira Tai Hedorah)

A toxic, ever-evolving alien life-form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula arrives to consume rampant pollution on Earth, threatening to destroy all life in its wake unless Godzilla is able to stop it.

(Country: Japan; Year: 1971; Director: Yoshimitsu Banno, Ishirô Honda; Writer: Yoshimitsu Banno, Takeshi Kimura; Stars: Yamanouchi Akira, KimuraToshie, KawaseHiroyuki, Shiba Toshio, Mari Keiko, Yoshida Yoshio)

Grafted

A bright but socially awkward exchange student takes her craving for popularity to horrifying extremes.

(Country: New Zealand/Aotearoa; Year: 2024; Director: Sasha Rainbow; Writer: Lee Murray, Sasha Rainbow, Mia Maramara; Stars: Jess Hong, Jared Turner, Mark Mitchinson, Eden Hart, Benjamin Hudson, Gideon Smith, Alison Quigan)

Grizzly

An eighteen-foot-tall grizzly bear terrorizes a state park, leaving Ranger Mike Kelly, photographer Allison Corwin, naturist Arthur Scott, and chopper pilot Don Stober to track down the beast. Meanwhile, the body count rises.

(Country: US; Year: 1976; Director: William Girdler; Writer: Harvey Flaxman, David Sheldon, Andrew Prine; Stars: Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel, Joan McCall, Joe Dorsey, Charles Kissinger, Kermit Echols)

Indera

Set against the backdrop of the violent Memali Incident of 1985, this psychological thriller is about a visiting handyman and his young daughter who experience mysterious visions in a remote village amid the fatal police raid against fundamentalists.

(Country: Malaysia; Year: 2024; Director: Ming Jin Woo; Writer: Deo Mahameru, Muzzamer Rahman, Ming Jin Woo; Stars: Shaheizy Sam, Azira Shafinaz, Samara Kenzo, Ruminah Sidek, Adlin Aman Ramlie)

The Island Between Tides

Review preview for The Island Between Tides

Supporting its central idea with additional themes around identity, perception and mental illness, The Island Between Tides weaves a beguiling tale.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman follows a mysterious melody onto a remote tidal island. When she crosses back over at the next low tide, she emerges into a world where 25 years have passed.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Austin Andrews, Andrew Holmes; Writer: Austin Andrews, JM Barrie, Andrew Holmes; Stars: Paloma Kwiatkowski, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Camille Sullivan, Adam Beach, Matthew MacCaull, Megan Charpentier)

Full review See: Interview with Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes about The Island Between Tides, part two , Interview with Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes about The Island Between Tides

Phase IV

Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the desert inhabitants.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 1974; Director: Saul Bass; Writer: Mayo Simon; Stars: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton, David Healy)

Return Of The Fly

Philippe Delambre, the now-adult son of 'The Fly', does some transportation experimentation of his own.

(Country: US; Year: 1959; Director: Edward Bernds; Writer: Edward Bernds, George Langelaan; Stars: Vincent Price, Brett Halsey, David Frankham, John Sutton, Dan Seymour, Danielle De Metz)

Seeds

A woman finds herself caught between her new job with a seed company and the traditions on Kanienʼkehá:ka food sovereignty, in a situation which becomes increasingly dangerous.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Kaniehtiio Horn; Writer: Kaniehtiio Horn; Stars: Kaniehtiio Horn, Dallas Goldtooth, Meegwun Fairbrother, Dylan Cook, Graham Greene)

Slugs (Slugs, Muerte Viscosa)

Killer gastropods go on the rampage in a remote rural community.

(Country: Spain; Year: 1988; Director: Juan Piquer Simón; Writer: Ron Gantman, Shaun Hutson, José Antonio Escrivá; Stars: Michael Garfield Levine, Kim Terry, Philip MacHale, Alicia Moro, Santiago Álvarez, Concha Cuetos)

Suzzanna

She starred in 42 classic movies, was hailed as ‘The Queen of Indonesian Horror’ and crowned ‘Asia’s Most Popular Actress’. But who was Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, long-beloved by the Asian world as Suzzanna yet virtually unknown outside it?

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: David Gregory; Stars: Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch)

The Wailing (El Llanto)

Something’s stalking Andrea, but nobody, not even herself, can actually see it. 20 years ago, 10,000 kilometres away, the same presence terrorised Marie. Camila was the only person capable of understanding what was happening to her, but nobody believed them. On taking a stand against that oppressive threat, all three women hear the same horrific sound. Wailing.

(Country: Spain, France, Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Pedro Martín-Calero; Writer: Pedro Martín-Calero, Isabel Peña; Stars: Ester Expósito, Mathilde Ollivier, Àlex Monner, Tomás del Estal, Sonia Almarcha, José Luis Ferrer, Malena Villa, Claudia Roset, Lautaro Bettoni, Pierre Marquille, Miguel Belaustegui, Lía Lois)

Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombiee 2, Zombi 2)

Review preview for Zombie Flesh Eaters

Although the editing sometimes jars, Fulci juggles smooth, elegant camera moves with nimble handheld work to get the balance of dramatic build-up and visceral action just right.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
A woman searching for her father stumbles on an island of the undead.

(Country: Italy; Year: 1979; Director: Lucio Fulci; Writer: Elisa Briganti, Dardano Sacchetti; Stars: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver, Auretta Gay, Stefania D'Amario, Olga Karlatos, Nick Alexander, Ugo Bologna, Ramón Bravo, Omero Capanna, Dakar, Giannetto De Rossi, Alberto Dell'Acqua, Arnaldo Dell'Acqua)

Full review