On Thursday, February 6th, Toronto Indie Horror Fest presented horror fans with a showcase of short horror genre films made by women in honour of Women in Horror Month (which is February, for those who don't already know that). It was great fun seeing a range of films from all over the globe, including: The Doula (US) Director - Sarah Welsh Elliott A well-heeled Brooklyn couple expecting their first baby, places all of their trust in a highly recommended doula with sinister motives. MY TAKE: Pregnant? Have you hired a Doula to coach you through your birth at home? You may want to switch up your plans, and deliver in a hospital! Campy horror fun! Tea Time (Brazil) Director - Vitoria Zamfolini Garcia Angeina, age 7, is going to spend the afternoon at Lara's house, also 7 years old. It seems like an ordinary day... until Lara invites her friend to drink some tea with a creature who lives inside her closet. MY TAKE: This short makes the most of its young talent and the "less is more" principle with respect to horror movie monsters... Fresh (US) Director - Tatiana Wisniewski After accidentally doing a ritual, Emily, a Philosophy student, has to face the biggest moral dilemma of all: kill or be killed. MY TAKE: The premise - Cabin in the Woods meets Hereditary. Between (Spain) Director - Maria Castillo Carol lives in an isolated cottage immersed in her past and her inner ghosts. Her mother, fed up with being ignored by her daughter, decides to pay her a visit. MY TAKE: A woman literally trapped by the ghost that haunts her. It's like watching the psychological take physical form. Attachment (Poland) Director - Katarzyna Babicz A man leaves his wife for a beautiful, young woman. When he moves in with her, it soon appears that she is not the person he expected. Suddenly, his life breaks into a nightmare. MY TAKE: Comical how far the new boyfriend will go to ignore the horrifying direction his new relationship is taking...and the truth about his new lover. Great atmosphere! RNP (US) Director - Jesi Le Rae Friends, Jaz and Jen set out for a spiritual retreat away from the city with their dog. Jaz, a little uptight, gives in on trusting Jen's itinerary through her new discovery of an app. With plans for soul searching ahead, the women set out for a life changing venture. MY TAKE: You may have been waiting for an Air BnB thriller, and now you've got one! Starring an adorable pup named Teddy! Queen Of The Mold (US) Director - Lizzy Bryce Feminist horror/comedy QUEEN OF THE MOLD follows a woman struggling to take up space in a society demanding she be as small as possible. When Iris, a diet pill saleswoman, moves into a tiny apartment to escape a dangerous relationship, she discovers an insidious mold taking over her only safe space. She can either allow this toxic substance to claim her short-lived freedom- or use it to become more powerful than she ever imagined. MY TAKE: Love the writing and characters, as well as the quirky premise. Lots of plant-based terror fun! Odd Girl (Canada) Director - Rami Kahlon Dylan, a popular and charismatic high school student, finds his perfect existence suddenly compromised by the unwelcome attentions of lonely outcast, Belinda. Her abnormal behavior becomes intertwined with eerie supernatural forces, and Dylan is compelled to dig deeper into Belinda's true character. MY TAKE: A creepy take on cliques and oddball kids that just don't fit in. Doppelparents (UK) Director - Aimie Willemse A newly graduated girl, frustrated about moving back home, learns the consequences of wishing her parents away over the course of a family dinner. MY TAKE: Be careful what you wish for! Ticks (US) Director - Chloe Carroll When three young adults venture into the woods, a Tick bite could be more deadly than they ever imagine. MY TAKE: Ew! Ew, ew, ew! Icky fun! I interview 3 of these filmmakers over the month of February...don't miss my blogs for "Ticks", "RNP" and "The Doula"
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MY TAKE WHEN I WATCHED ONE IN TWO PEOPLE AT THE BLOOD IN THE SNOW FESTIVAL: Mental health turned on its head - another highly creative idea with potential to spawn into a feature length story. NOW I KNOW THERE ARE NO PLANS TO TURN THIS INTO A LONGER FORMAT, BUT THERE ARE PLANS FOR A PREQUEL, DELVING INTO THE MAIN CHARACTER'S BACKSTORY. I very much look forward to seeing this, which will naturally add context to One in Two People. But I still think there are future possibilities for this story and its main character. Perhaps not a feature, but perhaps a sequel short. What was particularly interesting to me about One in Two People was actually the other characters around Emily - the ones she called on for help - and their different ways of handling, coping with, or mismanaging the situation. Some lacked patience for Emily's mental illness, others clearly didn't know what to do at all. The most supportive and helpful suffered for it. As someone who has dealt with mental health issues on both sides, it was interesting to see the array of reactions from a spectrum of people with differing connections to Emily (and different levels of emotional closeness, from partner to stranger). The sometimes clumsy coping skills as characters struggled to help or solve the scenario they thought they were in rang true for me. Never mind that one woman's mental illness is not all these characters have to cope with! Like many a good horror tale...less is more and not all questions are easily answered. And now, on with my interview with Ali Mashayekhi, Director and Producer of One in Two People. (Followed by my interview with Jessica Pontes below)
Please summarize One in Two People for me: One in Two People is short film about how society sees people with mental health issues, through the lens of denial. What was it about this script that drew you? I am always attracted to scripts that have a mental health pretext, presented via different genres. Tell me a little bit about working with the cast and crew: I was personally friends will all the cast and was looking for an ensemble project to include them all. The Strain twins (Katie and Karissa) are also becoming indie horror genre royalty, so it was a special treat to direct them too. All credit goes to my talented DOP Conor Fisher, Editor James Tracey and Composer Chris Reineck, both Chris and James are fellow CFC alumni who'm I've worked on several other projects which made things easier. My EP Michelle Rashidian also give me full autonomy to execute whom I am very grateful for. Where has One in Two People been so far (I know it’s screened at BITS!) and where can we see it next? One in Two People was screened at Cinepocalypse in Chicago, Monster Fest in Australia, Frightfest in UK and most recently in Blood in The Snow in Toronto. We have two more festival selections not yet announced. By end of March we expect to include One in Two People in an Indie horror anthology feature. Do you envision a longer version of One in Two People at some point down the road? No, I think the short will be the best way to tell this story. However, we recently shot a prequel to it, where we see how Emily (the girl suffering) developed her problems when she was five years old, it's called A Monster Origins Story. Now, a couple of questions I like to trot out because it’s one of the things I focus on in my author blog — what is your favourite B-movie and why? I see "B-movies" as not mainstream films, not necessarily low budget or indie, with that being said, hands down the BEST horror film ever is It Follows. I am a huge fan of genre with subtle and not-so subtle sub-meanings and It Follows is ominously isolating in its presentation of the STD culture. Very well executed and I am sure a classic in years to come. How about your favourite horror-comedy (that rises above what you might consider a B-movie)? The Return of the Night of the Living Dead (1985 - Dan O'Bannon) It's actually not intended to be a comedy I think, but it's so campy and apocalyptic at the same time. At some point the zombies who've been dragging their feet and moving in slow motion all film decided to sprint with no reason as to why, I know that's not funny per-say, but in context, watching them for 85 minutes not running, I found it hilarious. 😉 Thank you so much for "chatting" with me! Thank you! Episode 12 of a 13 episode web series called "A Man of Great Importance Explores the Scary Changes, and Social Decline, and Secret Horrors of Our World, and He Doesn’t Like it One Bit". Based on characters from the feature film "Space Zombies: 13 Months of Brain-Spinning Mayhem!", including A Man of Great Importance, the movie's narrator. This episode stars Jason Reilly as A Man of Great Importance. Written by Allison McWood. Directed and edited by Regan Macaulay. Lights and camera work by Kevin Risk. Produced by Maureen Bell, Regan Macaulay and Kevin Risk. |
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