Fantasia Fest runs from July 11th to August 1st, 2019. For more information, click here.
After hearing the buzz about Porno when it screened at The Overlook Film Fest, I was front and center when it screened at Fantasia. The film about a cursed reel of 35mm is the feature length directorial debut of Keola Racela, and it feels like that, but in a good way. The film is unpretentious and a bit unwieldy at times, but is a fun goretastic romp that felt like a mash-up of Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore and Demons if it was directed by a young Lloyd Kaufman. The film doesn’t do anything new, but it’s got a rare energy and sense of humor that I think really transcends its limitations.
Porno is an ‘80s period piece about five teenagers who we think are super wholesome and who work in the movie theater equivalent to Chick-Fil-A; they have prayer circles before shifts, and their current double bill is Encino Man and A League of Their Own. One Friday night after cleanup they stumble upon a hidden room with a strange reel of 35mm. When they screen it they unleash a sex demon, and thanks to this fantastical beast they spend the night running for their lives and confronting their realities. While the faith aspect here is mostly played for laughs, it feels genuinely sincere in its execution and helps the film legitimately dig in a few times and get oddly serious and introspective about these character archetypes. My favorite of which has to be the crazy straight edge projectionist who spends most of the film correcting everyone who call his music heavy metal, when it’s actually hardcore.
Heaping portions of female AND MALE nudity, garish dick trauma, and juvenile humor coalesce to create a horror comedy that actually has something to say in its moments of clarity. But having said that, my sole issue with Porno is how it doesn’t quite stick its landing and begins to overstay its welcome a bit in the third act; the film would be near perfect if it was about 10–15 minutes shorter. I also have to give credit to the cast that manages to hit the comedy beats here while still being able to play certain moments convincingly straight. It’s a really tough thing that these films struggle with that Porno pulls off when it needs to. Porno isn’t for everyone, but I think the name alone will scare the normies off. I personally thought it was a lot of fun and could be the beginning of a great career for Keola Racela if he keeps this momentum up.