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Fantaspoa · 2023

Fantaspoa 2023

Features

Programme

72 films · 37 reviews

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Aberrance

When city dwellers Erkhmee and Selenge arrive at an old cabin deep in the Mongolian wilds, a foreboding settles over the couple. Erkhmee's seemingly keen desire to provide a safe and nurturing space for his artistic wife is at odds with the violent actions and mannerisms their quizzical neighbour observes.

(Country: Mongolia; Year: 2022; Director: Baatar Batsukh; Writer: Baatar Batsukh, Byambasuren Ganbat; Stars: Erkhembayar Ganbat, Selenge Chadraabal, Yalalt Namsrai, Oyundary Jamsranjav, Sukhee Ariunbyamba, Bayarsanaa Batchuluun, Badamtsetseg Batmunkh)

Abruptio

Review preview for Abruptio

Abruptio...stands out because of its format but has a strong narrative and smart ideas behind it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A man who is down on his luck wakes up one day to find that an explosive device has been implanted in his neck.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Evan Marlowe; Writer: Evan Marlowe; Stars: James Marsters, Christopher McDonald, Hana Mae Lee, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, Sid Haig)

Full review See: Interview with Evan Marlowe about Abruptio

All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Review preview for All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Whilst the film may appear chaotic, there’s real artistry behind the scenes, and not just when it comes to special effects.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A wriggling, drug-induced creature feature.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Alex Phillips; Writer: Alex Phillips; Stars: Betsey Brown, Phillip Andre Botello, Noah Lepawsky, Trevor Dawkins, Mike Lopez)

Full review See: Interview with Alex Phillips and Ben Gojer about All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Amazing Elisa (Asombrosa Elisa)

Elisa, a girl of 12 who thinks she's a superhero, lives with her father after her mother's death.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Sadrac González-Perellón; Writer: Sadrac González-Perellón; Stars: Asier Etxeandia, Ivan Massagué, Silvia Abascal, Milo Taboada)

Ana's Farewell

To resolve an old family squabble, an 11-year-old girl, must reclaim her mother`s long-forgotten imaginary world, abandoned in the forest where she buried her childhood.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2021; Director: Luciana Mazeto, Vinícius Lopes)

The Antares Paradox (La Paradoja De Antares)

In a race against the clock, Alexandra will be forced to choose how to spend the next hours: facing a critical family drama or trying to bring an answer to one of humanity's most important questions.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Luis Tinoco; Writer: Luis Tinoco; Stars: Andrea Trepat, Aleida Torrent, Jaume de Sans, David Ramírez, Ferra Vilajosana)

The Artifice Girl

Review preview for The Artifice Girl

Smarter than most films of its ilk and refreshingly free of misplaced sentiment.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions about autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human.

(Year: 2022; Director: Franklin Ritch; Writer: Franklin Ritch; Stars: Tatum Mathews, Sinda Nichols, David Girard, Lance Henriksen, Franklin Ritch)

Full review See: Interview with Franklin Ritch about The Artifice Girl

Bad City

Review preview for Bad City

Plotting is kept fairly simple to leave room for the sprawling fights and some spectacular action set pieces.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A recently disgraced detective leads a special unit in an effort to stop a crime boss from becoming mayor.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Kensuke Sonomura; Writer: Kensuke Sonomura; Stars: Mitsu Dan, Hitoshi Ozawa)

Full review

Ballad Of Piargy

It's spring 1939. The bishop in Banska Bystrica finds out that in the village of Piargy, that was buried by an avalanche a few days ago, the Antichrist was born. The bishop sends a priest to investigate statements made by the only survivor of the catastrophe.

(Country: Slovakia, Macedonia, Czech Republic; Year: 2022; Director: Ivo Trajkov; Writer: Jana Skorepová, Frantisek Svantner, Ivo Trajkov; Stars: Judit Bárdos, Lucia Siposová, Jana Kvantiková)

The Basement Of Scream Street

Siblings Jonas and Rebeca, who, haunted by guilt over their parents' death, have developed an obsessive dependency on each other as they care for their grandmother and a child trapped in the basement.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2022; Director: Sabrina Greve; Writer: Michelle Ferreira, Sabrina Greve; Stars: Chris Couto, Carol Marques da Costa, Giovanni de Lorenzi)

The Beasts

Review preview for The Beasts

In long, slow takes, Sorogoyen lets the tension build, one situation after another seeming as if it might spill over into violence.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
French couple Antoine and Olga moved to a little village in the Galician countryside some time ago. There they live a quiet life, although their relations with the locals are not as idyllic as they would like them to be. A conflict with their neighbours, the Anta brothers, will see tension rise in the village to the point of no return.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2022; Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen; Writer: Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen; Stars: Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido, Marie Colomb, Luisa Merelas, José Manuel Fernández y Blanco, Federico Pérez Rey, Javier Varela, David Menéndez, Xavier Estévez, Gonzalo García, Pepo Suevos, Machi Salgado, Emile Duthu)

Full review

The Black Spider (Die Schwarze Spinne)

A courageous young midwife makes a pact with the Devil to save her village from the brutal terror of the Teutonic Knights. Punished by a spider plague, she goes from saviour to a hunted woman.

(Country: Switzerland, Hungary; Year: 2022; Director: Markus Fischer; Writer: Plinio Bachmann, Barbara Sommer; Stars: Marin Blülle, Philipp Droste, Mária Dér, Marina Gera, Nurit Hirschfeld)

Bloody Bridget

When an exploited waitress is assaulted and threatened with prison for defending herself, Baron Samedi transforms her into a burlesque dancing vampire who must feed on the still-beating hearts of evildoers.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Richard Elfman; Writer: Richard Elfman; Stars: Anastasia Elfman, Marcos Mateo Ochoa, Jean Charles, Danise Milfort, Rick Howland)

The Breach

Review preview for The Breach

What really holds it all together is Hawco’s down to earth performance as a detective striving to retain his focus on the practical side of the job.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
John Hawkins, who is set to retire as police chief is tucked away in deep wood. Following the discovery of a gruesome body with uncanny injuries, he's pulled into an investigation to solve the horrifying mystery, which evades explanation.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Rodrigo Gudiño; Writer: Ian Weir, based on the book by Nick Cutter; Stars: Natalie Brown, Allan Hawco, Emily Alatalo, Eva Weiss, Wesley French)

Full review See: Interview with Rodrigo Gudiño about The Breach

Brooklyn 45

Review preview for Brooklyn 45

Viewers can expect to find their sympathies shifting over time, and to disagree as to who deserves sympathy in any given moment.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Friday, December 27, 1945. Five military veterans gather in the ornate parlour of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they’ve reunited to support their troubled host – but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Ted Geoghegan; Writer: Ted Geoghegan; Stars: Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ezra Buzzington, Kristina Klebe)

Full review See: Interview with Ted Geoghegan about Brooklyn 45

The Bystanders

Review preview for The Bystanders

A small scale triumph.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Invisible immortals watch over their human subjects and intervene in (or interfere with) their lives.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Gabriel Foster Prior; Writer: Gabriel Foster Prior, Jack Hughes; Stars: Seann Walsh, Andi Jashy, Georgia Mabel Clarke, Scott Haran, Lucy Pinder, Frank Harper, Emily Wyatt, David Schaal)

Full review See: Interview with Gabriel Foster Prior about The Bystanders

The Coffee Table (La mesita del comedor)

Review preview for The Coffee Table

It’s cleverly written, beautifully performed and quite unforgettable, and yet I hesitate to recommend that anybody watch it.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
Black comedy about a couple facing a tricky moment in their relationship.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Caye Casas; Writer: Cristina Borobia, Caye Casas; Stars: Eduardo Antuña, Paco Benjumea, Itziar Castro, Estefanía de los Santos, Cristina Dilla, Clàudia Font, Emilio Gavira, David Pareja, Claudia Riera, Josep Riera, Josep Maria Riera)

Full review

Convenience Story

Review preview for Convenience Story

Much tighter and less purely whimsical than it looks on the surface.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
One day, when a struggling screenwriter steps out to buy dog food, he stumbles into a mysterious convenience store where he discovers he can find anything his heart desires.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Satoshi Miki; Writer: Satoshi Miki)

Full review

Cult Hero

Review preview for Cult Hero

There are a lot of cute ideas here which don’t all successfully come to fruition but which entertain nonetheless.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Manager-summoning control freak Kallie Jones attempts to rescue her husband from a 'wellness center' with the help of a washed-up expert cult buster.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Jesse Thomas Cook; Writer: Tony Burgess, Liv Collins, Jesse Thomas Cook; Stars: Liv Collins, Ry Barrett, Justin Bott, Tony Burgess, Jessica Vano)

Full review

The Elderly (Viejos)

Review preview for The Elderly

Cerezo and Gómez remind us that we are living through some of the strangest days our world has known right now.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An octogenarian, who enters into a state of dementia after the sudden suicide of his wife, sparks a series of paranormal events that will put his family's lives at risk.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Raúl Cerezo, Fernando González Gómez; Writer: Raúl Cerezo, Rubén Sánchez Trigos, Javier Trigales; Stars: Irene Anula, Zorion Eguileor, Josele Román, Gustavo Salmerón, Paula Gallego)

Full review

Enter Mycel

Following the death of her mother, 13-year-old Lena struggles to keep the family life together, between her newborn baby sister and her depressed father, who seeks relief from his loss through the manic belief of a timeless and worldwide emotion-based communication system enabled by a natural fungal parasite called the Mycel.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2022; Director: Daniel Christian Limmer)

Exhibit #8

When Bosnian-born Aisha and cameraman Elias team up to shoot a documentary on the mysterious disappearance of Aisha's brother, they cross paths with another film crew, who are creating an even more sinister narrative.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2022; Director: Ruben Broekhuis; Writer: Ruben Broekhuis, Sarah Offringa, Monique van Kessel; Stars: Nastaran Razawi Khorasani, Claudio Magaña Torres, Mike Reus, Coen van Vlijmen, Guido Gerard)

The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra

Review preview for The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra

Where it could easily have been gimmicky or relied on comedy, instead it achieves something magical and illuminating.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After a couple splits up, mould left behind on a mattress slowly grows into a creature that steals the vertebrae of humans who inhabit the bed.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Park Syeyoung; Writer: Park Sye-young)

Full review

Fist Of The Condor (El Puño Del Cóndor)

A group of martial artists from around the world search for a book that contains the ancient secrets of how to overcome the limits of the human body.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2023; Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza; Writer: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza; Stars: Marko Zaror, Eyal Meyer, Gina Aguad, Fernanda Urrejola, Man Soo Yoon)

Fixation

Review preview for Fixation

A lot hinges on Hasson’s performance, and she carries the film’s tonal shifts well.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A young woman undergoes a psychiatric evaluation before her sentencing in an unusual murder trial. But as the tests become more personal and frightening, she begins to question the true motives of her doctors.

(Country: Germany, Canada, US; Year: 2022; Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan; Writer: William Day Frank, Katrina Kudlick, Mercedes Bryce Morgan; Stars: Genesis Rodriguez, Maddie Hasson, Jordan Hayes, Atticus Mitchell)

Full review

Forbidden World (Mundo Proibido)

The animated story of two space adventurers traversing the galaxy in search of a legendary treasure.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2021; Director: Alê Camargo, Camila Carrossine)

Give Me An A

Review preview for Give Me An A

Give Me An A is a vital piece of filmmaking.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
16 women filmmakers make their voices heard with this anthology of genre-themed short films, all made in direct response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Natasha Halevi, Meg Swertlow, Bonnie Discepolo, Danin Jacquay, Erica Mary Wright, Monica Moore-Suriyage, Sarah Kopkin, Caitlin Hargraves, Megan Rosati, Hannah Alline, Avital Ash, Mary C. Russell, Valerie Finkel, Kelly Nygaard, Loren Escandón, Francesca Maldonado; Writer: Each segment is written by the corresponding director; Stars: Alyssa Milano, Virginia Madsen, Gina Torres, Milana Vayntrub, Jennifer Holland, Sean Gunn, Molly C. Quinn, Jason George, Jackie Tohn)

Full review

Good Boy (Me, You & Frank)

Review preview for Good Boy

Good Boy addresses a commonplace kind of horror which we too often fail to spot even when there is every opportunity to see it coming.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young woman meets a handsome young millionaire and romance blossoms between them - but he lives with a man who pretends to be a dog.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2022; Director: Viljar Bøe; Writer: Viljar Bøe; Stars: Gard Løkke, Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen, Amalie Willoch Njaastad, Nicolai Narvesen Lied)

Full review See: Interview with Viljar Bøe about Good Boy

Halfway Home

When a young woman is killed in a bus crash, the morgue night watchman who has loved her from afar for years will do anything to bring her back to life.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2022; Director: Isti Madarász; Stars: Péter Bárnai, Vivien Rujder, János Kulka)

Hideout

Drug dealer Guo-hao hopes to make big money by an unknown cocaine deal so that he and his girlfriend can leave their life of crime behind, but nothing is that simple.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2022; Director: Chen Yen Kuang; Writer: Chen Yen Kuang; Stars: Chen Eddie, Chiu Alex, Ho Jean)

Home Owners (Para Entrar A Vivir)

A couple in their thirties who have just found the house of their dreams. Everything is perfect until they realise that it is even better: the house gives them everything they ask for. But what will happen if their loyalty falters?

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Pablo Aragüés, Marta Cabrera; Writer: Pablo Aragüés; Stars: Bárbara Goenaga, Gorka Otxoa, Luisa Gavasa, Irene Ferrándiz)

Hundreds Of Beavers

Review preview for Hundreds Of Beavers

What’s remarkable is that director Mike Cheslik manages to sustain this for so long.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mike Cheslik; Writer: Mike Cheslik, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews; Stars: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Doug Mancheski, Luis Rico, Jay Brown, Stephen Cervantes)

Full review See: Interview with Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews about Hundreds Of Beavers

Immersion

Mysterious deaths befall on employees of a VR-tech company. There's an unprecedented fear waiting between reality and the virtual world.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Takashi Shimizu)

Irati

Review preview for Irati

A tale that has a textured solidity, a mythological weight.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Christian nobleman Eneko must fulfil the promise he made to his late father, to protect and lead his people into the new era. To do so, he must recover his father’s body, buried next to Charlemagne's treasure. However, despite his faith, he needs the help of his childhood friend, the pagan Irati.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Paul Urkijo Alijo; Writer: Paul Urkijo Alijo, Jon Muñoz Otaegui, Juan Luis Landa; Stars: Edurne Azkarate, Eneko Sagardoy, Itziar Ituño)

Full review See: Q&A with Paul Urkijo Alijo about Irati

It Came From The Water (Apokawixa)

A group of Warsaw high school graduates, sick and tired of lockdowns and online schooling, decide to head to the seaside for a party to remember.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2022; Director: Xawery Żuławski; Writer: Krzysztof Bernas, Maciej Kazula, Xawery Zulawski; Stars: Mikolaj Kubacki, Waleria Gorobets, Monika Mikolajczak, Mariusz Urbaniec)

Ivan

In Brazil in 1976, a Latin American immigrant and his partner live a relationship on the verge of chaos. She plunges into a spiral of insanity, eager to understand the pregnancy processes of her son Ivan. He tries to survive the dysfunctional fractures that surround him.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2022; Director: Dani Manzini; Stars: Carlos Ramírez, Gilda Nomacce, Giovanni de Lorenzi)

Kick Me

A nightmare comedy about a school counsellor whose compassion, generosity and dedication destroy the lives of everyone around him.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Gary Huggins; Writer: Betsy Gran, Gary Huggins; Stars: Santiago Vasquez, Ramone Armstrong, Matthew Stathas, Eric Logan, Patti Myers, Elisa James)

The Killer Lasagna (A Lasanha Assassina)

A lasagna is left in a defective fridge, and the toxic gases together with the low temperature causes a mutation, turning it into a furious monster, whose only objective is to kill the people who had made it.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2002; Director: Ale McHaddo; Writer: Ale McHaddo; Stars: Arianne Brogini, Sofia Kreutz, José Mojica Marins, Franco Rattichiere)

A Life On The Farm

Review preview for A Life On The Farm

The film is often more interesting as a study of privileged people’s beliefs than as a portrait of Charles himself.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Oscar Harding; Stars: Derrick Beckles, Lehr Beidelschies, Charles Carson, Oscar Herding, Karen Kilgariff)

Full review

Linoleum

Review preview for Linoleum

By the time that West is ready to show his hand directly, most viewers will be so wrapped up in Linoleum that that details will scarcely matter.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When a satellite falls from orbit and crashes into the suburban home of a dysfunctional family in Ohio, the father seizes the opportunity to fulfil his dream of becoming an astronaut by re-building it into his own rocket ship. While his wife and daughter believe he's experiencing a midlife crisis, surreal events begin to unfold around him.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Colin West; Writer: Colin West; Stars: Jim Gaffigan, Rhea Seehorn, Katelyn Nacon, Gabriel Rush, Amy Hargreaves, West Duchovny, Michael Ian Black, Tony Shalhoub, Elisabeth Henry, Roger Hendricks Simon)

Full review See: Interview with Colin West about Linoleum

Logger

When a logger discovers a brutally mutilated body in the forest, he goes into a catatonic state and gets the unexpected help of Death herself.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Steffen Geypens; Writer: Steffen Geypens; Stars: Jurgen Delnaet, Pieter Piron, Mona Lahousse, Maya Sannen, Mil Sinaeve)

Mad Cats

Review preview for Mad Cats

As engaging as it is ridiculous.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Taka, a shiftless young man, sets off on a quest to find his brother Mune. Teaming up with a quirky new friend and an edgy, mysterious young girl along the way, Taka finds himself taking on a pack of vicious monster cats determined to execute unscrupulous pet shop owners.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Reiki Tsuno; Writer: Reiki Tsuno; Stars: Hikari Aiko, Asachill, Amanda B, Maari Iwata, Chiyuki Kanazawa)

Full review

Megalomaniac

Review preview for Megalomaniac

It’s a film shot mostly in shadow, in the long-neglected house or in the narrow confines of locker rooms and toilet blocks at the factory.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A film about the weight of patriarchy and the illusion of Manichaeism.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Karim Ouelhaj; Writer: Karim Ouelhaj; Stars: Eline Schumacher, Wim Willaert, Benjamin Ramon, Pierre Nisse, Raphaëlle Lubansu, Olivier Picard)

Full review

Meltdown: A Nuclear Family's Ascension Into Madness

A picture-perfect 1950s family throw an important dinner party only for an LSD spiking to upend their plans and expose their festering secrets.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Colton Van Til; Writer: Colton Van Til, Ashley Tropea, Sophia Hoefle; Stars: Hannah Beck, Finn Roberts, William Elsman, Maleah Goldberg, Ernest Emmanuel Peeples, Eric Hanson)

Minore

Review preview for Minore

Warm-hearted, atmospheric and joyously, ridiculously gory when occasion calls for it.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When mysterious creatures invade a Greek seaside port, a misfit band of musicians, tourists, bodybuilders and grandmothers unite to save the city.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2023; Director: Konstantinos Koutsoliotas; Writer: Konstantinos Koutsoliotas, Elizabeth E Schuch; Stars: Davide Tucci, Daphne Alexander, Apollon Bollas, Eleftheria Komi)

Full review See: Interview with Konstantinos Koutsoliotas and Elizabeth E Schuch about Minore

Molli And Max In The Future

Review preview for Molli And Max In The Future

It’s a slight thing but nicely delivered.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
The story of a man and woman whose orbits repeatedly collide over the course of 12 years, four planets, three dimensions and one space cult.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Michael Lukk Litwak; Writer: Michael Lukk Litwak; Stars: Zosia Mamet, Aristotle Athari, Danny Burstein, Arturo Castro, Okieriete Onaodowan, Erin Darke, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Michael Chernus, Aparna Nancherla, Matteo Lane)

Full review

Moon Garden

Review preview for Moon Garden

Ryan Stevens Harris’ Moon Garden invites viewers to explore not only another world but a very different perspective.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A comatose five-year-old girl journeys through a dark industrial dreamscape, following her mother’s voice on a transistor radio to find her way back to consciousness.

(Year: 2022; Director: Ryan Stevens Harris; Writer: Ryan Stevens Harris)

Full review

Mother Superior

Review preview for Mother Superior

Mother Superior often puts style over substance, but that style is a real treat for fans of the Gothic.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
1975, Rosenkreuz Manor. Sigrun Fink, desperate for information about her biological family, starts a new position as nurse to the aging, ill and eccentric Baroness Heidenreich. For a shared longing binds them together: the old lady’s memory contains the secret to Sigrun's true identity; the nurse’s lifeforce holds the key to the future for the Baroness.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2022; Director: Marie Alice Wolfszahn; Writer: Marie Alice Wolfszahn; Stars: Isabella Händler, Inge Maux, Jochen Nickel)

Full review See: Interview with Marie Alice Wolfszahn about Mother Superior

My Grandfather's Demons

Rosa is a successful designer living in a generic big city. After the unexpected death of her grandfather, she realises she's not been in a place where she felt connected or loved since she left her homeland.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2022; Director: Nuno Beato; Stars: Victoria Guerra, Nuno Lopes, Ana Sofia Martins, Celso Bugallo)

New Religion

Review preview for New Religion

What begins as a collection of seemingly disconnected events gradually coheres with something of the chilling quality of an early Kiyoshi Kurosawa film.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Miyabi lost her only daughter in an accident. After her daughter's death, she got a divorce. She now works as a call girl and is living with her new boyfriend. One day, she meets a weird customer who asks her to let him take a picture of her spine.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Keishi Kondo; Writer: Keishi Kondo; Stars: Daiki Nunami, Satoshi Oka, Saionji Ryuseigun, Kaho Seto)

Full review See: Interview with Keishi Kondo about New Religion

Next Exit

Review preview for Next Exit

Next Exit shines because of its finely crafted script and the performances of its two leads, who work wonderfully together.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In a world where ghosts are real and front-page news, a controversial new medical procedure allows people to peacefully kill themselves. In the midst of this breakthrough, two strangers travel cross country together to end their lives, only to unexpectedly find what they’ve been missing along the way.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mali Elfman; Writer: Mali Elfman; Stars: Gavin Powers, Joe Powers, Katie Parker, Karen Gillan, Ty Molbak, Michael May, Rahul Kohli, Tessa Hersh, Jim Ortlieb, Angel Murphy, Eric Hoff, Nerea Duhart, Sally Levi, Drew Brandon Jones, Tongayi Chirisa)

Full review See: Interview with Rahul Kohli about Next Exit

Once Upon A Time In The Future: 2121 (Bir Zamanlar Gelecek: 2121)

In the future, the earth becomes uninhabitable due to climate crisis and famine. The few survivors from colonies and start to live in underground blocks. According to the Scarcity Laws of the Young Administration which controls the system, old generations must be destroyed in exchange for new lives.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2020; Director: Serpil Altın; Writer: Korhan Ugur, Srpil Altin; Stars: Selen Ozturk, Çagdas Onur Ozturk, Aysenil Samlioglu)

The Ones You Didn't Burn

Review preview for The Ones You Didn't Burn

With a huge, raggedy string score by Daniel Reguera, the film is big on atmosphere and never gives one the sense that its protagonists wield much control over their destinies.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Nathan and Mirra are in no way close siblings, but their father’s passing means they must return to their old family farm to sell off the land. There, Nathan starts having vivid nightmares of a woman rising from the sea, feeling the same dread his father felt before his death.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Elise Finnerty; Writer: Elise Finnerty; Stars: Elise Finnerty, Samuel Dunning, Estelle Girard Parks, Jenna Rose Sander)

Full review See: Interview with Elise Finnerty about The Ones You Didn’t Burn

One Percenter

When an action film star finds his craft replaced by wires, CGI and quick edits, he and his trusty apprentice decide to make their dream film by themselves - incorporating the Yakuza gangsters who invade their set.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Yûdai Yamaguchi; Stars: Tak Sakaguchi)

The Open Body (O Corpo Aberto)

Miguel, a teacher assigned to a creepy village, feels a fascination for Dorinda, whose lover was recently found dead, hanging from a cherry tree. Miguel begins to suspect that the dead man's soul is still roaming the village.

(Country: Spain, Portugal; Year: 2022; Director: Angeles Huerto; Writer: Daniel D García, Angeles Huerta, Xosé Luis Méndez Ferrín; Stars: Tamar Novas, Victoria Guerra, María Vázquez, Nicolás Otero, Elena Seijo)

Orphea In Love

Nele is a talented young opera singer from Estonia, who works at a call centre. When she meets Kolya, a young, Deaf criminal from the streets, the two instantly fall in love. But when tragic strikes, she has to face the demons from her past to balance her life.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Axel Ranisch; Writer: Axel Ranisch; Stars: Guido Badalamenti, Christina Große, Ursina Lardi, Mirjam Mesak, Ursula Werner)

Razzennest

A South African enfant terrible filmmaker and artiste-cineaste meets a film critic in an Echo Park sound studio. With key members of the former's crew joining them, they record an audio commentary track for his new elegiac feature documentary Razzennest, but the session goes down a different path.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2022; Director: Johannes Grenzfurthner; Writer: Johannes Grenzfurthner; Stars: Sophie Kathleen Kozeluh, Michael Smulik, Anne Weiner)

Rotten Flowers (Ukrudt)

When Nora decides to send her sister, Rose, a suicide video, her sister quickly invites her on a healing trip to a remote forest. But what Rose doesn't know is that Nora has another, far more disturbing, agenda with the trip.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2022; Director: Kasper Juhl; Writer: Mie Gren, Kasper Juhl; Stars: Mie Gren, Josefine Lindegaard, Paw Terndrup, Rudi Køhnke, Kalle Perlmutter)

Safe Space

Three couples and a lonely friend converge on a weekend retreat in the desert, unaware that their evening is about to devolve into a hallucinatory nightmare involving drugs, aliens, and an armed Ukrainian performance artist.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Stefan Kubicki; Writer: Stefan Kubicki; Stars: Annie Monroe, Annie Hamilton, Konstantin Lavysh, Nardeep Khurmi, David Henry Gerson, François Guétary, Phillip Clark Davis, Félixe De Becker)

Satanic Hispanics

Review preview for Satanic Hispanics

Although multiple directors were involved, it maintains impressive consistency in both style and tone, each of them adding their own quirks and flourishes without anything jarring.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An anthology of short horror films.

(Country: USA, Mexico, Argentina; Year: 2022; Director: Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Eduardo Sanchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Alejandro Brugues; Writer: Pete Barnstrom, Alejandro Mendez, Lino K. Villa; Stars: Efren Ramirez, Jonah Ray, Hemky Madera, Patricia Velasquez, Greg Grunberg)

Full review

Siren

A new employee at a noise pollution treatment centre comes to suspect that his predecessor may have been murdered.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2022; Director: Ahn Jun-yong; Stars: Choi Jin-hyuk, Park Sung-yeon, Jo Dal-hwan, Koo Ja-sung, Song Yeong-jae)

Soft & Quiet

Review preview for Soft & Quiet

The easy flow of de Araújo’s film and the intensity of its characters makes it easy to miss just what an impressive achievement it is at a technical level.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
An afternoon in the life of Emily, a female white supremacist and elementary school teacher.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Beth de Araújo; Writer: Beth de Araújo; Stars: Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo, Jon Beavers, Cissy Ly)

Full review

Stone Turtle

Review preview for Stone Turtle

Power slips from one character to another with disconcerting ease, and as the story progresses, what might seem confounding, a product of myth or dream or hallucination, takes on an abject clarity.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A time-traveling tale of a woman living in the Peninsular Malaysian east coast who gets entangled with a man in a dangerous dance of duplicity and deception.

(Country: Malaysia, Indonesia; Year: 2022; Director: Ming Jin Woo; Writer: Neesa Jamal, Ming Jin Woo; Stars: Asmara Abigail, Bront Palarae, Amerul Affendi)

Full review

Stéphane

Review preview for Stéphane

One of the year’s most delightful hidden gems.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Timothée meets an almost unbelievable character while shooting a short film. As time goes on their jovial and eccentric talks become something far more sinister.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Timothée Hochet, Lucas Pastor; Writer: Timothée Hochet, Lucas Pastor; Stars: Lucas Pastor, Bastien Garcia, Eva Gregorieff)

Full review See: Interview with Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor about Stéphane

Tobacco Barns (Secaderos, Tobacco Farms)

A tiny rural village is a paradise for a city girl and a prison for a local teenager. Two parallel stories take place among tobacco drying rooms of a single summer.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Rocio Mesa; Writer: Rocio Mesa; Stars: Rocio Mesa)

The Uncle (Stric)

Yugoslavia, late 1980s. Parents and son are hastily making the final preparations for Christmas Eve dinner. Their beloved uncle will be turning up from Germany any minute now. But, hang on, are things really as they seem?

(Country: Croatia, Serbia; Year: 2022; Director: David Kapac, Andrija Mardešić)

Vesper

Review preview for Vesper

A story which is, ultimately, about learning to think differently, to change the way that we direct our attention and resources in order to open up the possibility of renewal.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
At some point in the future the Earth’s ecosystem collapses. A tough 13-year-old called Vesper, whose father is paralysed, tries to get food for them wherever she can. When she finds a mysterious woman in the forest one day she starts to hope that things will change.

(Country: Lithuania, France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper; Writer: Kristina Buozyte, Brian Clark, Bruno Samper; Stars: Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan, Rosy McEwen, Richard Brake, Melanie Gaydos, Edmund Dehn, Titas Rukas, Markas Eimontas, Markas Sagaitis, Marijus Demiskis, Matvej Buravkov)

Full review See: Interview with Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper about Vesper

Virus-32

Review preview for Virus-32

Silva brings an unusual level of sensitivity to an action role.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
A troubled young woman strives to protect her daughter during a zombie apocalypse with one strange detail: after each attack, the infected pause for 32 seconds before becoming active again.

(Country: Argentina, Uruguay; Year: 2022; Director: Gustavo Hernández; Writer: Juma Fodde, Gustavo Hernández; Stars: Paula Silva, Rasjid César, Sofía González, Daniel Hendler)

Full review

We Are Still Here

Review preview for We Are Still Here

A platform for some considerable talent both behind and in front of the camera, which will leave you wanting more.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Eight stories by and about First Nations people.

(Country: Australia, New Zealand; Year: 2022; Director: Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne; Writer: Dena Curtis, Richard Curtis, Mario Gaoa; Stars: Elijah-Jade Bowen, Deborah Brown, Evander Brown, Lisa Flanagan, Natassia Gorey Furber, Oriini Kaipara)

Full review

Witch Game (Juego De Brujas)

On her birthday, a teenager receives a virtual game which leads her into a dangerous, magical world.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2023; Director: Fabián Forte; Writer: Fabián Forte; Stars: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Lourdes Mansilla, Virginia Lombardo, Denise Bárbara, Natalia Grinberg)

World War III

A labourer who finds himself a job on a movie set. The film being shot is meant to be in condemnation of dictatorships, but the filmmakers themselves turn into dictators.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2022; Director: Houman Seyyedi; Writer: Houman Seyyedi, Arian Vazirdaftari, Azad Jafarian; Stars: Mohsen Tanabandeh, Neda Jebraeili, Mahsa Hejazi, Navid Nosrati)