The fourth day was full of surprises. It started with the mexican Somos Lo Que Hay (We Are What We Are), a dramatic and poignant family portrait with reminiscences of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Let the Right One In, where the protagonists have the urgent need of…eating people. There is no escape from the harsh reality and the only way to survive is trying to live.
An unknown australian movie followed, and this time Damned by Dawn was the worst of the entire festival. Flying skeletons, primordial screams, fake smoke everywhere and cheesy dialogues made this 81 minute long film seem like forever.
The real surprise came with the third movie of the day. Substituting A Serbian Film for censorship reasons, Buried, by Spanish Rodrigo Cortés, was as brilliant as it was unexpected. Extraordinary. Beautifully crafted. A real masterpiece of its genre. From the beginning to the very end the whole film is shot inside a coffin, where the protagonist is trapped with a cell phone and a lighter. Despite this it turned out to be the most dynamic, over the edge, exciting and – of course – claustrophobic work of the entire festival. Fast paced dialogues and a frantic editing of many details alternate themselves with silence and moments of black screen, and everything is based on the protagonist emotions and reactions. A true masterpiece. Do not miss it.
The night ended with another australian movie, The Loved Ones. It was first thought to be just another teen-horror, but it immediately revealed that it was not the case at all. When the handsome Brent refuses to go the school dance with the socially inept Lola, she does not accept it and makes her father kidnap him and bring him to her house where they will celebrate her way. Sick and nasty, Lola is beautifully interpreted by young Robin McLeavy and not only the movie revolves around her psychotic behavior, but there will also be unexpected twists to make the film even more intense.
The last day of the festival saw the European premiere of Simon Rumley’s Red White & Blue. An indie horror drama that after a slow and seemingly non-important beginning, it takes off getting directly to the heart and stomach of the audience. Thanks to charismatic and essential performances by versatile Noah Taylor and young Amanda Fuller, RW&B will surely have the success it deserves.
The closing feature of the festival was The Last Exorcism by Daniel Stamm, but produced and promoted by big time horror icon Eli Roth (see post at:
http://new.videoplugger.info/2010/09/02/the-last-exorcism-by-daniel-stamm-european-premiere/).
