This past weekend was held in Madrid the 18th edition of the Syfy Fantastic Film Festival. A few days ago I already gave you my opinion about ‘Black Phone’, the new behind-the-scenes work of Scott Derrickson and it would be a candidate to become the best horror movie of this 2022, and now it is time to review the other titles that I liked the most.
I’ll tell you in advance that ‘Black Phone’ was my favorite movie of all the ones I could see this year at the Syfy Showcase, but there are other proposals that are also worthwhile. Specifically, I have chosen to highlight the other three tapes that I liked the mostwhere there is room for babysitters with evil intentions, zombies stuck for 32 seconds and the confrontation of some circus superheroes against a Nazi who sees the future.
‘Inexorable’
Address: Fabrice DuWeltz. Distribution: Benoît Poelvoorde, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Mélanie Doutey, Catherine Salée, Jackie Berroyer, Anaël Snoek
Kiko has already told you about the benefits of the new feature film by Fabrice Du Welz on the occasion of its passing through the Sitges Festival and I have no choice but to do the same. The reason is not so much the story it tells ‘Inexorable’where it is easy to detect what the intentions of the story are and it is not particularly original either, like how inspired the Belgian filmmaker is when it comes to putting everything in images.
From the first moment it is clear that the character played by Alba Gaia Bellugi, which some of you may remember from the television show ‘Into the Night’, is not clean wheat. That is something that the film promotes slowly but surely until reaching its peak in the final stretch. Along the way, the cast elevates the story emotionally, especially a highly inspired Benoît Poelvoordewhile Du Welz makes use of his usual companions so that image and sound ally forces and compose a canvas that unites the terrifying and the beautiful without the second feeling at any time as something forced.
‘freak out’
Address: Gabriele Mainetti. Distribution: Claudio Santamaria, Aurora Giovinazzo, Pietro Castellitto, Giancarlo Martini, Giorgio Tirabassi, Max Mazzotta, Franz Rogowski, Eric Godon, Ed Hendrik, Emilio De Marchi, Anna Tenta, Astrid Meloni, Michelangelo Dalisi
This second feature film Gabriele Mainetti proposes a very stimulating pairing of ideas in principle. After all, the idea of mixing the world of the circus with World War II and superhero movies is not that it is very common, but it is also something that is being managed here, with everything related to the use of powers with a more limited presence until his explosive last act, although in my opinion everything related to his confrontation with that clairvoyant Nazi is much more successful in the minutes before when it is time to make clear the budget they have for the deployment of visual effects.
Also, ‘freak out’ it has an impeccable technical bill – watch out for the force of the start – but what is really essential to catch the viewer is that it has a very successful emotional base. That friendship of the circus group is a flawless gateway to the story, to the point that the interest suffers a bit when their paths part. All in all, he maintains his visual personality at all times and the charm of his characters never fades, but against him it should be noted that perhaps he extends a little more than necessary.
‘Virus 32’
Address: Gustavo Hernandez. Distribution: Paula Silva, Daniel Hendler, Pilar Garcia, Sofia Gonzalez, Franco Rilla, Rasjid Cesar
This co-production between Argentina and Uruguay introduces a curious concept within the stories of zombies/infected, because after each attack they remain stuck for 32 seconds before their homicidal force reappears. It is not that it is a particularly well-introduced concept, but it is Gustavo Hernandez he knows how to use it as a basis for some specific moment that feels different and accomplished.
In addition, it is always clear that ‘Virus 32’ does not so much seek a revolution within this type of story as to offer a story full of tension in which this overcomes the credibility problems it may have at specific moments. With this I do not mean that it sacrifices the set for the punctual -at all times it is at least solvent enough so that one does not disconnect from what happens on screen-, but it is undeniably there are a handful of scenes that stand out strongly above the rest.
As a special mention, I would also like to highlight the peculiar approach to vampire cinema of ‘Let the Wrong One In’a very simple and direct comedy in its humor that loses some steam as the minutes go by but is always entertaining to say the least, and ‘The Boy Behind the Door’a thriller with some very tense and convincing scenes in its middle section but which loses steam in its last act.