Fantasia International Film Festival - Cuckoo Film Review

 

Cuckoo

Writer/Director: Tilman Singer

 

There are so many facets to the animal kingdom that are fascinating and extremely horrifying at the same time – and I love it when genre films dive into them.

CUCKOO is not the first genre film to borrow from the cuckoo bird’s unique reproduction tendencies. The 2019 film VIVARIUM instantly comes to mind.

But what VIVARIUM couldn’t achieve in terms of a well-paced story and characters you root for, CUCKOO absolutely nails.

In this Fantasia International Film Festival Montreal premiere, the last thing teenager Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) wants is to be taken from her divorced mother’s home in the states and dragged halfway around the world by her father and his new wife. Yet she winds up with Luis (Marton Csokas), Beth (Jessica Henwick) and Beth’s mute preteen daughter Alma (Mila Lieu) in the Bavarian Alps, where her dad and stepmom are redesigning a local resort.

They’re working for Herr König (Dan Stevens), an odd bird who initially comes across as friendly, and gives Gretchen a desk job at his hotel. From her first night on the job, however, unsettling things begin to happen to and around her, particularly random attacks by a freakish, screaming woman—yet Gretchen has no idea just how bizarre and dangerous things are going to get.

Within the first 10 minutes of the film, the viewer learns a lot about Gretchen. For starters, she is sitting in the front seat of the moving van with two German male movers as opposed to sitting with her family in their roomy car. Gretchen mentions the woman is Beth, and the young girl Alma, is not her sister. There is a clear divide in this family and Gretchen is the token, unwanted outsider.

Viewers get even more clarification on this abusive family dynamic as the film moves on with the most heartbreaking scene of Gretchen listening to the answering machine tapes from her deceased mother’s house – the only items her father felt were okay to keep as he sold Gretchen’s home and one place to escape to.

The family drama is palpable and is what keeps this wild ride of a genre film grounded. With all the crazy things Gretchen experiences, the audience watches, and Herr König confirms, the family aspects hit home and allow the viewer to grapple with a mix of emotions and not just dread at the “token” monster (which is actually horrifying).

The ending of this film is touching and lingers long after the credits roll.

Bizarre is great word for this film but it encompasses so much more on a deeper level. Take a chance on the various layers of this film and decide for yourself if it deserves a place in your nest of recommended films. I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Fantasia International Film Festival - The Soul Eater Film Review

 

The Soul Eater

Directors: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
Writers: Annelyse Batrel, Ludovic Lefebvre

 

The boogeyman never looked so terrifying as it does in, THE SOUL EATER, a thriller with the horrific elements directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo are known for.

A pair of quite different investigators arrive in Roquenoir, a run-down town in the French mountains, and wind up approaching the same case from two different directions.

Commander Elisabeth Guardiano (Virginie Ledoyen) has been sent to look into a married couple’s grisly murder, and Captain of the Gendarmerie Franck De Rolan (Paul Hamy), from the “department of alarming disappearances,” intends to track down a group of missing children.

Their missions turn out to be linked, and one of the elements tying them together is “The Soul Eater,” a local boogeyman legend intended to encourage kids not to wander off into the woods. This creature may not be a myth after all, and as strange details about the double killing come to light and more bizarre deaths occur, Guardiano and De Rolan are drawn toward a shocking truth.

THE SOUL EATER uses the classic pacing of giallo films, and each twist and turn only increases the viewers anxiety as Guardiano and Frank get closer to uncovering the grisly truth of what is plaguing this French town.

Both Guardiano and Frank are motivated by different personal demons that help viewers feel some empathy, so they have a well-rounded experience of emotions as the story unfolds.

Additionally, the use of some common clichés like “the rundown town that used be a main tourist attraction,” “no one is who you think they are,” and even The Soul Eater fable itself, distract the viewer until you’re hit with a well-done twist that completely shifts the film.

The last half hour is a punch to the gut as the true horror unravels, literally one horrifying room at a time. But again in true thriller fashion, a somewhat poetic ending allows viewers to walkaway with some relief.

THE SOUL EATER is a slow burn that doesn’t implode on itself and ends in a satisfactory smolder. 

I only caution parents to prepare themselves for a hard watch in the last third of the film.

Keep directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo on your radar like I have since their first film INSIDE and you won’t be disappointed. Their storytelling is chef’s kiss.

Fantasia International Film Festival - The Dead Thing Film Review

 

THE DEAD THING

Director: Elric Kane

Executive Producer: Rebekah McKendry

Producer: Matt Mercer, Monte Yazzie

Writer: Elric Kane, Webb Wilcoxen

 

Love is not an easy thing to find in modern society.

THE DEAD THING provided Fantasia International Film Festival goers a depressing, dark side of modern dating with a mix of Me Too, THE INVISIBLE MAN and technology dependence.

Alex (Blu Hunt) is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious, charming young man Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen).

Despite their passionate night, when the sun rises, Kyle is nowhere to be found. Alex then sets out to find the one person who made her feel alive. Through her investigation, she is able to reconnect with Kyle, but also digs up a ghastly supernatural secret.

The pair quickly descend into a whirlwind of obsession, dependence, lust, and infatuation that has grave consequences.

There were some very smart creative choices made with this film.

First, the decision to have Alex a night shift worker helped to lean in to her loneliness and unsatisfactory love life.

Additionally, giving Alex only one co-worker who happened to be a male that didn’t understand boundaries and a roommate that was pre-occupied with her own love crisis, the alienation is palpable. And thanks to Blu Hunt’s strong acting, you’re rooting for Alex to have a happy ending.

Ben Smith-Petersen acting chops are definitely weaker but his slight weakness made this viewer feel like something was off with his character from the beginning. Maybe too much of some true-life events stared back at me on the screen but it’s usually the small red signs you blow off in a relationship that come back to bite.

Subtlety is horrific once you piece the entire puzzle together.

Which is exactly what THE DEAD THING pulls off so well.

Stories like THE DEAD THING need to continue to be told until our society finally makes a positive change with our male culture.

Genre films are the perfect outlet.