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SAW X Brings Back Everyone’s Favorite Puzzle King To Nightmare Inducing Results
Undoubtedly dead before the end credits rolled on Saw III almost two decades ago, John “Jigsaw” Kramer (Tobin Bell), has categorically refused to remain dead, reemerging across and between subsequent sequels via flashbacks and a near-infinite supply of puzzle traps and micro-cassettes prepared for his apprentices before his demise. Given his centrality to the once-maligned horror series, Kramer should have remained in a perpetual state of dying from an inoperable brain tumor, his death postponed by each subsequent entry until the series either exhausted itself (i.e., a fanbase approaching zero) or the eventual heat death of the universe (whichever comes first).
Luckily for Saw’s fanbase, the producers behind the series learned that particular lesson long ago, finding creative ways to keep Kramer around, initially via apprentices or acolytes who continued his mission to fix the world one torture trap at a time and when that inevitably failed, finally resurrecting him back from the dead for Saw X, a sequel in number only that chronologically unfolds in the malleable period between the original Saw (2004) and the first sequel, Saw II (2005).
The Jigsaw-centered Saw X opens with Kramer once again receiving the no-good, horrible, terrible news about his inoperable brain tumor. Refusing to simply accept his inevitable fate, a desperate Kramer learns about an experimental cancer treatment involving a radical combination of surgery and an untested drug cocktail in Mexico, clears out his bank account, and heads South of the North American Border. It’s the kind of decision anyone in similar circumstances might make, but maybe not a practiced serial killer with a deep-seated cynicism about the human race.
By this point, the audience on the other side of the screen certainly knows better, but it takes a newly vulnerable Kramer the better part of an hour to discover he’s been conned by Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund), an amoral sociopath with a medical degree, a Nordic accent, and a full-scale front operation even the twice-impeached former occupant of the White House would admire for Pederson dedication to separating terminal cancer patients from their bank accounts and life savings. Everyone from the taxi cab driver to the housekeeper, nurses, and other “doctors” on staff seem to be part of the grift, all but foretelling their doom once Kramer uncovers the fraudulent nature of Pederson’s treatments.
That particular development, in turn, brings back franchise favorites like Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), Billy the Puppet (scary once, non-scary now, but welcome either way), and a familiar pig mask into the fold. Amanda functions as a stand-in for Kramer, doing what he can’t do physically, finding and kidnapping the fraudsters behind the faux-clinic, and delivering them to a conveniently central location where Kramer, still dying from the aforementioned inoperable brain tumor, newly re-energized by his recent negative experiences, can test his latest traps and puzzles on a series of unwitting subjects with important life-or-death lessons to learn. Surviving means life, but usually life minus one or more important appendages or organs.
Those lessons, delivered with the usual fetishistic attention to realistic, gruesome detail, are, at least to a core group of Saw fans, the central reason for the series’s continuing existence. As a franchise, the Saw series has repeatedly challenged what can and shouldn’t be shown under the R-rating and Saw X is no different. Unquestionably filled with technical skill and nerve-shredding, stomach-turning, and bowel-loosening suspense, the set pieces in Saw X, individually and collectively, remain without equal among studio-made, English-language horror. Beginning with a typically cringe-inducing scenario involving suction tubes connected to a subject’s eyes and ending with a scenario involving a bizarrely accurate turn of phrase (i.e., “blood-boarding”), the set pieces qualify as a month’s worth of nightmare fuel.
Ultimately, reopening the series to in-universe stories featuring a not-quite-dead Jigsaw and Amanda, his favorite apprentice, counts as a brilliant, if obvious, move by the franchise’s producers. Theoretically, the series can continue to fill in the gaps between Saw and Saw II for the next 5-10 years or another 3-5 films in the series. Box-office returns, of course, will determine the future of the Saw series and whether Jigsaw and his obsession with Rube Goldberg-inspired death traps will return.
Saw X opens theatrically in North America on Friday, September 29th, via Lionsgate.
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Fantastic Fest 2023: Night Terrors Lead to a Domestic Disintegration in SLEEP
Jason Yu’s debut feature explores a terror and torment that comes during our most vulnerable time
Our time for rest is also the time at which we are at our most vulnerable. A sound slumber masking a possible approach of a threat. Sleep, the debut feature from writer/director Jason Yu, explores this concept with the added conceit that this threat that emerges at night, might come in an unexpected form. What if a partner lying next to you at night, suddenly became untrustworthy, and worse, a potential a danger to you.
The nightmare begins when the pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) is awoken in the middle of the night. Sitting at the end of the bed is her husband Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun, Parasite). Unresponsive to her, she hears him muttering “Something’s inside,” before falling backwards into a blissful slumber. A bang follows, and unable to rouse her husband, Soo-jin goes to investigate their apartment and finds an open window blowing in the wind, as well as their startled Pomeranian Pepper. She also spies debris on the floor from what she comes to find was a sleepwalking adventure to the fridge by her husband, in search of a snack. The next night, Hyun-su unknowingly scratches his cheek until he draws blood, not a good look for an aspiring actor. The nights continue, with Soo-jin becoming increasingly unsettled at her husband’s actions, which come to a head when Hyun-su nearly sleepwalks out of the window of their fourth floor apartment. Admitting they need help, they consult a doctor and Hyun-su is diagnosed with an REM sleep disorder. Prescribed a medication, and a series of lifestyle changes, he tries to treat the condition, but to no avail, the situation doesn’t just persist, but gets worse. After the baby arrives, Soo-jin’s fears grow, and they are compounded by a horrifying incident one night. Desperate for a solution, she even begins to entertain the meddling of her mother and her mystic beliefs. They allow her to bring a shaman into her home to perform a cleansing ritual, during which they pinpoint the problem. An apparition, obsessed with Soo-jin has attached itself to Hyun-su and an exorcism is needed, one that requires identification of who this spirit is. Hyun-su remains skeptical, but Soo-jin begins to wonder, what if someone really is inside?
It’s a great premise, expertly leveraged for building unease within the home of this cute couple. Clearly in love, they they adorn their wall with a handmade sign of their motto “Together we can overcome anything”. Saccharine in sentiment, but endearingly executed. There is a playfulness between the pair that reinforces authenticity as much as the superb performances both leads turn in. Even the “baby-proofing” of the apartment is played for delightful comedy, giving the film the veneer of a playful sit-com at times. Their humor, and affection, is a ballast within the film to temper the growing tension of the situation. Even as things get more intense, it still peeks through in moments as they try to rally, and support each other in trying times.
While Hyun-su is the one with the condition, it becomes quickly apparent that it is Hyun-su that is suffering. A growing psychosis that results from her disturbed (and disturbing) sleep that fuels an obsessive, paranoid quality, as well as this domestic disintegration. After practical solutions fail, the shaman’s advice is to identify the spirit by name to allow it to be vanquished, which adds something of an investigative element to the film. What works in Sleep‘s favor is that it doesn’t show it’s hand until late on. Is this really a haunting, or does it stem from deeper anxiety. “Something’s inside” might certainly be referring to the baby, or internalized fears over becoming a father. That’s enough to disturb anyone’s regular sleep patterns. The domino effect of depriving a partner of sleep only exacerbates the situation. All is revealed in the final act, which is where the film does some focus. A leap in narrative, egregiously skipping an event that feels pretty integral to the arcs of these characters, is an odd choice. Similarly is a turn where previously unknown rules are introduced that setup the film’s resolution. The resolution isn’t necessarily at odds with what the film is originally setting out to do, but the execution certainly muddles things.
The film is superbly constructed, with visuals and sound design helping craft the perfect little pressure cooker of escalating dread within this apartment. The drama is superbly built, and through each night ramps things up with new, perturbing elements, while deftly balancing the tonal shifts and ongoing family drama. Despite the third act stumble, Sleep is an engaging and effective debut feature from Yu, showcasing skilled and playful film-making. The story engenders empathy and engagement for this couple on the cusp of parenthood, as they try to stay true to each other in the face of these night terrors. This complements a really great hook that is leveraged to maximum effect, by turning the safety and comfort of our own bedroom, and those we share it with, into something to be feared.
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Fantastic Fest 2023: YOUR LUCKY DAY Places Us in the Thick of a Harrowing Crime Thriller
Daniel Brown’s socially conscious single-location film is full of suspense and charm
From The Killing to A Simple Plan, some of the most memorable crime thrillers that dare you to put yourself in the shoes of the “bad guys” often cast a pall of delicious irony over their proceedings. In Daniel Brown’s Your Lucky Day, adapted from his 2010 short, convenience store owner Amir is persuaded to go along with a bloody and potentially lucrative caper based on the idea that fate “is written.” But while the four strangers mixed up in this plot may initially think fate is on their side–Brown’s breathlessly plotted thriller is more than eager to question just how much luck we have in store.
All of Miami awaits the results of the Megaball lottery drawing in the days before Christmas–but only Amir (Mousa Kraish), drug dealer Sterling (Angus Cloud), expecting couple Abraham (Elliot Knight) and Ana (Jessica Garza), and beat cop Cody (Sterling Beaumon) are around when a brash rich man discovers he’s won the $156 million jackpot in Amir’s tiny bodega. Before anyone can blink, Sterling takes matters into his own hands and begins a bloody standoff that leaves the lottery winner and Cody in a bloody heap–and the rest of the store patrons as Sterling’s hostages. However, Sterling is plain-spoken and pragmatic–offering the hostages their freedom and a cut of the lottery winnings if they can help him get away with the crime.
The conspiracy appears simple enough–with signposts existing all over the convenience store that not only are Sterling and company fated to get away scot-free, but that they’re meant to. Amidst the grimy, lived-in production design are ads and neon signs with telling messages–“Do it, big boy,” “You deserve it,” etc. that give illumination to the forces working for and against the characters that are impossible to see for themselves. The screenplay’s timing of certain events–notably the arrival of another group with their eyes set on claiming the winning ticket–harkens back to the crime capers mentioned above, as characters’ seemingly random, desperate actions feel like they were fated to happen just as they were meant to. The combination of design and writing evokes effective humor and drama in equal measure throughout Your Lucky Day–giving it a solid platform for the film’s remarkable ensemble.
Angus Cloud’s performance, tragically one of his final films before his death in July 2023, is a naturalistic and unassuming turn that quickly becomes one of Your Lucky Day’s best strengths. His violence is brutal yet wholly understandable; he’s able to win over his hostages to become his accomplices through empathy as much as pragmatism; and he’s endearingly clueless in how to actually dispose of his own carnage. Cloud is a natural everyman, and with each scene he’s in the weight of his loss looms all the greater.
Fellow performers Kraish and Knight also turn in confident, assured performances for as terrified as their characters may be, and a cadre of crooked cops led by Jason O’Mara are sufficiently terrifying while lending bitter credence to the film’s themes about current states of power and the inability to change things for the better. However, Jessica Garza wholly runs away with the film with a spellbinding performance that had Fantastic Fest audiences cheering as, like Sterling, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands if it means getting out of her situation alive.
Your Lucky Day has a fifth performance, however, that made the film quite memorable compared to others in its genre. In a key moment, Brown focuses on the pile of bodies the characters have accumulated–when a fly lands on the camera lens and walks across it, making the audience uncomfortably aware of their own presence and complicity in the film. Throughout, Brown and cinematographer Justin Denning are acutely aware of the audience’s role as a spectator in the film, heightening the feeling of being paralyzed by the whims of fate amidst the myriad tragically funny events of the film. It’s a decision that elevates and hits home the social issues raised in the film, including income inequality, qualified immunity for police, and financial and sexual predation of those who don’t happen to be born white, rich, and powerful, among many others. Brown, Henning, and his cast make us acutely aware of how much the characters can or can’t do with the hand they’re dealt, and includes us among those who are unable to do anything to help the characters. As the credits roll, Your Lucky Day energizes us to shake off what shackles we have and, like the ill-fated group of strangers trapped in this bodega, encourages us to change what we can for the better.
Your Lucky Day had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2023. It is slated for release on November 10, 2023 from Well Go USA.
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FANTASTIC FEST 2023: CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT – A RED Carpet Q&A with Malcolm McDowell and Producer Thomas Negovan
When it comes to most quote, unquote “bad” films, performances or the film itself are sometimes reappraised over time. Malcolm McDowell is experiencing what no actor before him has however in this scenario. Not only is a film he’s spent his whole career stating was terrible, Caligula, getting a vast re-edit utilizing only alternate takes, but McDowell’s rumored “lost” performance as the mad Roman emperor, which was left on the cutting room floor four decades ago is being reinstated. Notoriously the original director Tinto Brass was locked out of the edit after production and plot was discarded altogether for new hardcore footage that was shot to insert into the film to appease its producer Bob Guccione, owner of Penthouse. It speaks volumes that the icon is not only speaking out on behalf of the edit, (he was able to, because the film was an indie film completed 40 some years before the strike date) but also attempting to set some of the controversies around the film straight himself.
The new cut, dubbed Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, is the film filmgoers were promised and McDowell’s performance is indeed one of his best. (Read my Review here) I caught the film at its US Premiere in Austin, Texas at Fantastic Fest and I was lucky enough to not only chat with the star on the red carpet beforehand, but sat a row away from McDowell after the fact who sat through the entire film getting to see it again on the big screen for the first time. What was simply supposed to be a red carpet interview had Malcolm McDowell taking a much deserved victory lap with journalists and holding nothing back. There was an air of vindication from McDowell who was in top form, which probably has to do with in his own words when someone asked him later what he thought of the film – with a wry smile he said, “Well, Caligula is a proper film now.”
You stand on the verge of all of this, how does it feel to, to actually get to see what should have been a much better movie than it originally was?
Malcolm McDowell: It’s a little overwhelming. I really hated being connected with this film for so long, nearly half a century. And then random guy off the street, takes 90 hours of unlooked at negative, spends three years of his life putting it together, brilliantly, I might add; except for one or two spots. (Laughs)
I know the performance I gave, it was never seen. I know the performance Helen gave and it was never seen. I think she’s now in 45 minutes of the movie instead of 12 or whatever it was, because, you know, Guccione only put in all this porn. So of course most of the end scenes (from the film), I’d say the last 45 minutes or something like that, was never seen by me or the public. I’d even forgotten that I’d shot them, actually. When I first saw it, I went, “oh yeah, I wonder what happened to that”? So, I have a great debt to pay to this man (points at Thomas Negovan) who, I don’t think they paid him enough, to be honest.
The film is saved, I mean, how many actors can refind a performance after 47 years? That is the first time I would bet in movie history that’s ever happened.
So you’re a fan of this new cut?
Malcolm McDowell: Well, I watched it because I was called by someone I trust who said, “you better watch this!” I went “I really don’t want to”. He goes, “no, no, no, no, no, no! You don’t understand, this showed at Cannes and it was written about in the Guardian newspaper, very favorably, where they compare it to one of your best performances”. I went, that’s such nonsense, there they go again, idiot critics, you know, they don’t know.
They wouldn’t know an actor if they fell over him, but, that’s what actors think. Anyway.
So, I watched it on my iPad and I thought, oh God, here we go again. You know? And the first half is roughly the same. I mean, it’s basically the same story. And, then I really started to see that they changed the music. I think the music is so much better. It’s fantastic. And also the look, even on an iPad! I thought it was very dark when I first saw it. But, they lightened it up, it really looked sparkling, and you really saw Danilo Donati’s sets, you know, which are quite extraordinary.
Was there a particular moment rewatching the film when you realized this is a completely different film?
Malcolm McDowell: I think when I said (gets in character of Caligula, pose and all), “take my horse to his own room!” I mean, who would say a line like that? (laughs) Being in bed with your horse! There were a few things that made me laugh out loud.
But, I can’t explain, what a sort of burden this thing was. I remember at the time, I managed to see the movie, and all the porn that was put in it at the expense of course, of other scenes. So it made no sense at all. But Guccione could care less about that, you know, it was a real terrible betrayal of certainly the actors. I’m sure that Gore Vidal felt the same way, but he kind of deserves what he got because, you know, he wouldn’t do any rewrites. He was calling me drunk three, four in the morning, you know, and I’m like, “hey, I’ve gotta be up in two hours to do this crap that you wrote!”
He just was lazy about doing any rewrites. And so, of course, in the end, we had to survive. But, you know, it was impossible to survive the owner of the stuff inserting hardcore pornography and that you couldn’t get around, you know?
Thomas Negovan: I don’t wanna interrupt, but something that I think a lot of people don’t know is we had a year’s worth of scripts (for his project). There’s the Gore Vidal script, and then there’s the script when Tinto and Malcolm got involved, that you start to see a lot of things flipping and changing.
Malcolm McDowell: One of the insults Tinto threw at Gore was if he doesn’t shut up, I’ll publish your script!
Thomas Negovan: Something that a lot of people don’t know is that Malcolm and a writer named Ted Whitehead contributed immensely to the narrative.
Malcolm McDowell: He was a friend of mine who was a playwright in London, and I talked him into getting on a plane. Wasn’t that hard to come to Rome for a month, you know, stay at my villa, you know, and they’re gonna pay you. So it was great because he’d done this amazing play called Alpha, Beta with with Albert Finney and Rachel Roberts.
The other interesting thing is, and I’ll say this with Tom here because it’s forgotten, is that Tinto Brass, who sadly is not well, he’s 90 years old. It’s a testament also to him because he was under so much pressure from Guccione and the money people, and he refused to cave in. He did the film that we always thought we were making, and he wouldn’t take Guccione’s suggestions, which were terrible anyway. And he was, by the way, I’ve never known a man so loathed as Guccione, even by his own children. And of course, he died in a trailer park, right? (Looks to Tom)
Thomas Negovan: Yes.
Malcolm McDowell: It’s called Karma. Karma. It’s a bitch. Right?
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Fantastic Fest 2023: Gareth Edwards’ Vision For THE CREATOR is Stunning
(L-R): John David Washington as Joshua and Madeleine Yuna Voyles as Alphie in 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. The Creator is exactly the kind of sci-fi epic I needed right now.
Written and directed by Gareth Edwards, who made a great little indie film called Monsters (2010) and then was seemingly plucked from the herd of insanely talented indie filmmakers to mega stardom as he directed both Godzilla and Rogue One, The Creator is nonetheless a bit of a redemption arc tale for Edwards. While I personally love Rogue One and consider it one of my favorite Star Wars projects of the Disney era, it’s fairly well documented that the film was taken away from Edwards at a certain point and largely completed by Tony Gilroy, who went on to make the excellent Andor. Edwards has been relatively quiet since Rogue One in 2016. And if The Creator is the result of Edwards’ challenging personal and creative journey over the last several years, then I’m grateful to him for assembling this gorgeous and heartfelt sci-fi epic that feels like it’s uniquely Edwards’ own vision.
We talk a lot about the dearth of original vision these days, about how studios are only interested in IP, and how studios themselves are only divisions of larger mega-corporations without a core vision for filmmaking. And yet, along comes The Creator. Edwards was seemingly able to convince studios he could pull out his old tricks from his Monsters days and craft a stunning visual feast of a film for a fraction of what other productions of this scale would cost. I look forward to digging deep into “making of” and behind the scenes realities on The Creator someday, but for now it’s safe to say that Edwards did indeed craft a visually stunning, massively scaled film that he himself wrote and directed from no existing intellectual property. I hope this is something all cinephiles can root for and find excitement in, even if their reactions to the film itself may vary.
I’m not going to tell you The Creator is a perfect film. But I flat out loved this story of a totally unique family of the future who are swept up in a global war to stamp out artificial intelligence. Just because it isn’t based off an IP doesn’t mean that The Creator wasn’t influenced by dozens of earlier sci-fi visions. The film definitely gives off shades of Children Of Men as a lone hero (John David Washington’s Joshua) must traverse a cataclysmic future warzone with a young woman (Madeline Yuna Voyles’ Alphie) who may contain the key to our salvation. Edwards also harkens to the visuals of someone like Neill Blomkamp with gorgeously realized robots and ships and weaponry and vehicles that feel wholly photorealistic and tactile. Joshua is truly catapulted through this new world the audience is being introduced to, and if there’s any complaint with the script it’s that it does take a while for us to understand who Joshua is, what he’s mixed up in, and what is going on in this future war. It turns out Joshua begins the tale as an embedded undercover agent on the hunt to find and eradicate The Creator, the leader of the AI resistance. We learn that in this future reality mankind invented AI but AI detonated a nuclear weapon in Los Angeles decades earlier and in the film’s present day America is hunting down the last remnants of Artificial Intelligence, even if it means fighting that war on foreign soil in New Asia.
A scene still from 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. Joshua’s journey is a complex one, himself a firsthand survivor of the LA nuclear blast that killed his family and took two of his own limbs, he’s nevertheless madly in love with Maya (Gemma Chan) when we first meet him, and expecting a child… even though he’s deep undercover. I won’t spoil a ton of the plot here, but Joshua’s motivations and convictions become challenged as he dives ever deeper into America’s war on AI and comes to know and understand Alphie (an AI child) on a personal level. What resonated with me quite powerfully in The Creator is that our characters are all swept up in a massive war that is bigger than any of them, but Edwards finds the space for each of them to build and develop personal relationships. And it’s within the human (and not-so-human) connections that our characters make that they find their convictions and paths forward. The Creator does what all great sci-fi does and convicts our assumptions about the world we live in. Filmed in Thailand (gorgeously so), the future-Asia setting evokes the repeated mistakes of Vietnam fairly obviously. But it also calls into question America’s deep resolve to retaliate against those who attack us at the expense of all else. The Creator doesn’t have an enormous amount to say about Artificial Intelligence and post-apocalypse that hasn’t already been explored before, but it does meet us at a new time when AI is having a deeper impact on our current society than ever before, and suggests we simply have to carve out a path forward that includes the integration, rather than destruction, of the technology.
Madeline Voyles as Alphie in 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. Because this is a massive sci-fi film, there needs to be spectacle. And I believe that the greatest strengths of The Creator lie in its ability to deliver relentlessly gorgeous and captivating imagery and scale all while further drawing us into an investment in the characters. I care pretty deeply about Joshua, Alphie, and Maya by the climactic final set piece. And as the music swells and the drama climaxes, I was brought to tears by Edwards’ screenplay that took its time but ultimately got me to believe in our characters. That said… damn is the spectacle incredible. Humankind has developed a massive weapon against the AI, a Death Star-like roaming destructor called NOMAD. NOMAD offers some incredible sci-fi visuals as it shoots blue scanning beams down over entire villages and rains nukes from the sky on hives of surviving AI. Edwards’ ability to shoot massive swaths of the film on location and then build a future sci-fi world AROUND the natural beauty of our world results in breathtaking visuals. But also the sheer design on display is monumental. The design of the AI people is stunning and always fully convincing. The tech, weapons, ships, and tools of war all sing and sell this unique world at a level of detail that would make James Cameron proud. (I’m particularly charmed by a robotic bomb design featured prominently in one set piece that reminded me of the berserker Orc who blows up the wall in LOTR’s Battle Of Helm’s Deep). It’s this visual depth that does make me want to argue for Edwards as a great visionary filmmaker, even if many will find fault in the execution of the story.
The Creator brings us filmmaker-driven original sci-fi on a grand scale. It calls into question our penchant for war and revenge, and posits some new ways forward as we integrate AI into our lives. It features an emotional core set against a grand visual splendor. It’s a personal vision greenlit by a major studio, and it’s exactly the breath of fresh air we need right now as cinema itself faces an uncertain future.
And I’m Out.
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Fantastic Fest 2023: RIVER is a Hilarious and Heartfelt Trip Through a Time-Loop
The team behind BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES deliver a followup with even more creativity, charm, and heart
Back in 2021, Junta Yamaguchi’s Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes delighted festival crowds. Simple in premise, it featured a medley of people within a tea shop, who found that their TV was showing images two minutes into their future. Well, Yamagucuchi and most of the team from Beyond are back with another temporal treat that leverages a (slightly) bigger budget into a film with more creativity, more scope, and if you can believe it, even more heart.
Set at an Inn in the remote village of Kibune, this is an idyllic setting, surrounded by tree-covered hills, with a river running through it. We meet Mikoto (a truly delightful turn from Riko Fujitani), who after receiving her work tasks for the morning, she steps outside, takes in the clear water flowing by, then heads back inside to begin. She wanders upstairs, makes small-talk with her boss as they clean up a room together, and suddenly, she’s back stood by the river. An initial sense of déjà vu is soon replaced by a communal acknowledgement that that are in a time loop, one that resets every two minutes, no matter what they do, planting each of them back in the same spot when it began. The staff start to get organized, working together to unravel the mystery behind this unusual event, picking up new information and setting in motion plans with each cycle. After they make sure all the guests are taken care of of course.
The film exudes warmth and wit, much of it coming from the the quirks of the characters, and the slow erosion of politeness as it all gets too much even for the staff of the inn. A melt-down over an ability to get a bottle of sake above a lukewarm temperature perfectly encapsulating this. Some guests are surprised, some in disbelief, some revel in the freedom these temporal shenanigans afford them. These time-loop trials take on the feeling of separate vignettes, some seem like side quests, fun tangents, all before the central mystery is solved. Others offer quieter moments to take a mental break from the situation or process emotion, while some take on more urgency as they get closer to figuring things out. Energy and pace comes with these loops opening up new areas of the village, or dropping in new characters to further help, or complicate the situation. Its just delightfully structured and beautifully wrought film-making.
As Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes was very much about learning to live in the moment, River takes on an almost fabelistic tone in it’s messaging, one of acceptance and looking to the future. Time is like a river, flowing forward, and so must we. All of these people are at this place with their own emotional weight and worries. From old friends reunited, to a a writer being pressured by his agent to meet a deadline, and even the emergence of longstanding conflict between the kitchen staff. But the focus is on Mikoto, who mourns the impending departure of Taku (Yuki Torigoe) as he is looking to leave behind Kibune and move to France to train as a chef. As the loops progress, together they come to deal with them, as both the cast and Yamaguchi unfurl their stories with authenticity, and an over-the-top energy that fittingly tilts toward the farcical. From one art form to another, one comparison to River would be The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask. Not just in terms of the temporal loop structure, or the innate charms of the people and place depicted. But, in terms of an adventure where a window of time is used to learn, reflect, and inform choices to direct future events to unfold for the better.
Makoto Ueda’s script is deep, considered, and flows beautifully. Each loop is packed with originality, charm, and hilarity. As tightly scripted as it is, the production itself is meticulously planned, but unfolds in a admirably fluid manner. Camerawork is immersive, following these people through the nooks and crannies of this little inn and surrounding village, revealing shortcuts and spots for new (mis)adventures. Every space is used to enrich the story and the adventure, all beautifully lit by cinematographer Kazunari Kawagoe. Loops are long takes, one rolling right into the next, but the edits that tie them together are pitch perfect, leveraged for maximum dramatic and comedic effect. Koji Takimoto’s playful score reinforces moments of frenetic behavior and eases us into the more contemplative lulls. River is the sum of many miraculous parts, and they all coalesce into something truly special.
River is more than just a measure of craft, it is affirming fare that reminds us how we may need to make peace with our present, but we can still take charge of our future. It enthralls and beguiles in equal measure, and it might be low budget but it’s undeniably high concept. A small movie with big ideas, and an exceptionally huge amount of heart. River is a film that you’d happily let run on forever.
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TENEBRAE Screen Comparisons – Checking Synapse’s 4K Restoration against their earlier 2016 Blu-ray
This week Synapse Films brings us the standard 4K UHD Release of Dario Argento’s Tenebrae (Tenebre), which debuted last year in the form of limited editions but now arrives in a wider release.
Synapse was also behind the film’s prior Blu-ray release in 2016, but this new edition employs a gorgeous new restoration that’s much improved over that earlier release.
The new 2-disc edition includes both a 4K UHD disc and standard 1080p Blu-ray, both featuring the restored film and its extras.
We’ve produced a gallery below of many screen captures from both discs for comparison.
Note the screenshots used in these comparison are captured from the 1080p Blu-ray disc included with this release, not the 4K disc. These comparisons are effective in highlighting the differences in the transfers, but aren’t reflective of the full 4K resolution or HDR of the 4K disc.
I like this shot of John Saxon because it clearly demonstrates a lot of the new restoration’s differences in a single comparison. You can see that he’s now slightly smaller on the image, which has been expanded to include a a bit more of the film frame without changing the shape of the aspect ratio. His skin and clothing look far more detailed, adding new realism. Even the “empty” sky offers insights: besides showcasing a much finer grain structure, its also slightly warmer, whereas the older transfer has a higher blue saturation throughout.
Our “slider” images allow for a direct comparison of the stills from both discs by color, cleanliness, and framing, but are downscaled and not representative of the full 1080p resolution. These are only illustrative of differences, and not definitive, especially in terms of resolution and clarity.
For a truer direct comparison, it’s recommended to download the images and view them at full size on a large monitor with 1080p or higher resolution. You can download all images at full resolution in a single zipfile below.
Color / Tone
A lot of work was done to capture improved color balance. Colors gravitate a bit warmer than before, with an overall richer and more natural appearance. A more refined spectrum of color is visible where previously details were lost in very dark or bright ranges.
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration In the image above, note how the skyline backdrop – previously completely washed out – is now clearly rendered.
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration Note the now visible highlights on the glove in the comparison above, previously lost in a sea of black.
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration The image above has a lot of negative space which is good for showing the change in grain structure, previously noisy and now much more refined.
Clarity and Detail
The 4K restoration’s improved clarity is evident throughout, and most easily seen in facial textures and especially clothing, giving a more tactile appearance to skin and fabrics.
As is common with new restorations of Italian films of this era, grain is greatly improved, and previously chunky or artificially noisy grain is now much more detailed and fine.
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration Framing
The new transfer managed to capture a slightly larger area of the frame, meaning there’s a bit more visible image cropped at the edges (which also has the effect of making the overall image appear slightly smaller). The aspect ratio of the frame has not been altered. The difference is slight, but I generally consider this a good thing.
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
Left: Synapse 2016 Blu-ray // Right: Synapse 4K Restoration 
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon: Tenebrae – Synapse Films 4K Blu-ray (2-Disc Edition)
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All 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the Blu-ray discs (not 4K disc) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to web display. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
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FANTASTIC FEST 2023: DOOR is a Gory Lost J-Horror Hidden Gem Well Worth Discovering
Door is one of those weird repertoire screenings you only find at Fantastic Fest, presented here in a new digital restoration. The grisly 1988 potboiler, which spawned a franchise in Japan is the story of a beautiful young housewife always clad in the most impressive of shoulder pads Yasuko (Keiko Takahashi), whose serene life of cleaning her high rise apartment and taking care of her young son is besieged by telemarketers and salesmen. There’s a real paranoia at the heart of Door as characters prominently state several times how creepy it is the amount of information these organizations have their intended customers. The film then takes that fact and asks the terrifying question of its audience, what if one of those telemarketers or salesmen who had access to that information became a stalker. What could have been at most an exploitative little thriller thanks to its director Banmei Takahashi, who had churned out more than a few roman porno and pink films, instead elevates the story with some rather bold stylistic choices that dig into the psyche of Yasuko.
The film begins acclimating the audience to Yasuko’s blissful homemaker existence doing laundry, cleaning and preparing meals for her successful, yet absent husband who works late frequently. When we begin the film she is very vigilant about locking her doors with both the normal lock and door chain, obviously she’s seen a film or two herself. One particularly stressful day when she’s gotten more than a few interruptions thanks to marketers and she forgets to lock the door properly, and a young salesman comes to the door selling english lessons hilarious enough. He’s very instant and wants to leave a packet for Yasuko and when he opens the door casually to pass a packet through, uninvited, because only the chain was she slams the door shut on the man’s hand injuring him. What follows is an extremely awkward dance as the two people both rather freaked out and traumatized, try to handle this situation in the most polite way possible.
Yasuko never really says sorry proper, and the salesman begins stalking her anonymously, thanks to his salesman intel, he’s making obscene phone calls and leaving tissues full of bodily fluids in her mailbox. I should probably mention here that Keiko Takahashi and director Banmei Takahashi are husband and wife, because while this is a very common setup, it doesn’t quite go as expected and I think that might have been the reason. After a very tense hour of cat and mouse where we see poor Yasuko begin to unravel, as none of the men around her take her seriously. When the salesman finally breaks into her home and they of course make it to the bedroom, Yasuko is saved at the last minute when her son comes home from a play date. The tension is ruther ratcheted up when the salesman pretends to be a guest for dinner, so as to not upset her rambunctious son and still hopefully get some time alone with his target.
The last 20 minutes is when Door truly shines and has Yasuko finally reaching her breaking point. She fights back with every fiber of her being and it’s completely glorious to behold as she not only takes out her attacker, but in the process destroys her gilded cage of a high rise apartment, covering it with blood and debris. Keiko Takahashi is a ticking timebomb and instead of being regulated to being raped, as some kind of weird moral lesson about not saying sorry, the film chooses empowerment for its female protagonist as she uses chainsaws and baseball bats to paint her apartment with the blood of her attacker. The other thing this film does that really sets it apart is how it plays with sound in ways that took me a moment to really appreciate. The most interesting use is, when Yasuko is being stalked when she speaks with men their voices sound the same as if they were coming through the intercom on her door. Another creepy touch is whenever the salesman is around, his footsteps always echo the sounds of walking down her corridor, to further drill that paranoia from Yasuko’s character into the audience.
Door is a tense little potboiler whose batshit last 20 minutes is well worth the wait. Keiko Takahashi really digs into the role in a way that really draws you into her madness, as Banmei Takahashi amplifies that with the clever sound design and some very interesting camera placements. To be honest I’ve seen more than my fair share of 80s Japanese horror and Door is the rare example of a film that doesn’t lean into the mean-spirited nihilism that you tend to get with the films of this era and instead leaves room for hope. I mean this was at the same time the Guinea Pig series was currently being produced and gobbled up by the Japanese video market. So that being the current norm, Door stands alone as one of the more forward thinking entries I’ve seen in 80’s J-Horror.
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Spinema Issue 71: SF Incorporated Penetrates the Film and TV World
There’s a new name on the shock rock scene… and that name may make some of you blush and others of you a bit angry
Lend an ear to SPINEMA: a column exploring all movie music, music related to movies, and movies related to music. Be they film scores on vinyl, documentaries on legendary musicians, or albums of original songs by horror directors, all shall be reviewed here. Batten down your headphones, because shit’s about to sound cinematic.
What does the SF in SF Incorporated stand for? Well… it ain’t “San Francisco”, as this rock outift hails from the land of the cheeseheads. It’s a far more nefarious – and, possibly, parental rage inducing – meaning that’s shared with the topic matter of extreme and brutal horror films such as the stellar Found, the less stellar spinoff Headless, and the absurd low budget horror comedy Header.
So, before you read further, do be sure that the phrase “skull fucker” doesn’t offend you. For, if it does, this is not the band for you!
However, if you wanna check out an industrial and metal influenced shock rock outfit from the Midwest whose first music video includes cameos from Tom Arnold, members of Gwar, Brian Posehn, and various other members of the rock and film community, read on! If you wanna hear a little tease about their upcoming TV series, read on! And, if you wanna be entertained with some devilish fun, read on!
Let’s start with the basics… who is SFI?
S. F. Incorporated is an extreme industrial metal band based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We started in 1998 and played/gigged regularly for about ten years throughout the Midwest. We took a brief hiatus and are now back on the map with a new record.
If you were trying to describe the sound and vibe of the band to someone, what would be your 1-2 sentence “elevator pitch”?
Late 90s horror and shock rock with a modern twist. We’re the bastard love child of Ministry and Rob Zombie.
Before even reading your full bio or checking out your website, I got the vibe that you guys were into horror and genre film. In efforts to see exactly where my instincts were right or wrong, what are some of your favorite movies and shows?
I love any movie that has robotic space ninja zombie pirates with explosions and lightsabers. My all time favorite horror film is Evil Dead 2. My top favorite sci-fi franchise is The Transformers (G1 specifically). Star Wars gets a participation trophy.
You guys are working on a television series of your own, can you tell me more about that?
Unfortunately, I can’t at the moment. As of about a week ago, I have a meeting scheduled in the near future with a top Hollywood producer. The series is one of the pitches to be discussed. What I can say is it’s our origin story. Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n Roll, and the Skull Fuckers. Once I get things a bit more solidified, I’ll be happy to tell you all about it.
Your music video for “Nightmare” feels like a good start in that process. You have several big name cameos and the video is a blast. What was it like making that?
It was a lot of fun to do. In a sense, the shoot was very nostalgic, as I haven’t performed that song in several years outside of the studio. I’m really looking forward to future videos that will be a bit more refined.
In addition to “Nightmare”, your entire new album First Penetration, is fantastic. How have people been responding to it?
Thank you! The response has been excellent. We’re still getting some regular radio play throughout the nation. Overall this album is averaging an 8/10 on most reviews. For our freshman album, I’ll take that.
I had the chance to check it out for The Farsighted and love it. I particularly love the White Zombie cover. Do you consider Rob Zombie a big influence?
Absolutely. White Zombie specifically. Rob’s solo stuff is great and all, but his stuff when he was in White Zombie is some of the best industrial shock rock ever. Astro Creep 2000 was a huge influence to this band, as is Marilyn Manson, NIN, and Ministry.
Zombie’s career also blends media of music and film, as you guys work towards doing the same with your upcoming show. Out of curiosity, do you have a favorite Rob Zombie film?
Yes, and I may get a bit of hate for this, but that’s ok. I’m a Skull Fucker, I can take it. His first Halloween remake is my favorite of his films. I dig his Firefly Family trilogy and everything, but I think he really nailed that first Halloween remake out of the ballpark.
Thanks again for the chance to talk a bit. Before we go, where can people check out your music and follow the process on your series?
Absolutely! Any time you want to chat I’m open. The best place to check us out is on the Satyrn Studios website – www.satyrnstudios.com All of our links are there along with merch and upcoming events and dates. We’re on YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp, Reverbnation, iTunes, and every other platform that matters. Just look up S. F. Incorporated, or our full name – Skull Fuckers Incorporated.
Thanks again, any final words?
You bet! We’re releasing First Penetration on CD in October, and if you kids play really nicely, we just might do a show or two next month as well. Keep checking the Satyrn Studios website for more info!
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Fantastic Fest 2023: RAGE Evolves our Expectations of Werewolf Films
Jorge Michel Grau transforms the trappings of werewolf movies into something more poetic and provocative
Jorge Michel Grau’s cannibal family drama We Are What We Are brewed a quiet storm as it entered the 2010 festival circuit, with its low-key debut rippling into greater recognition as its reputation built (including an equally impressive remake in 2013 from Jim Mickle). Like that previous provocative slow-burn, Grau’s latest film Rage is a languidly paced yet deeply unsettling horror flick where the most horrifying creatures exist in the corners of the audience’s imagination.
After the death of his wife, drifter Alberto relocates himself and his thirteen-year-old son Alan to his deceased brother’s home in a distant Mexican gated community. The two barely have anything to their name but the brother’s meager possessions, mainly a ton of musical instruments, a wall covered in aluminum foil, and the mysterious contents of a locked armoire missing its key. Their poverty doesn’t stop the rest of the community from immediately hounding Alberto for three years of his brother’s unpaid debts. While Alberto disappears for days on end, locking Alan within their new home, Alan sneaks out to explore the desolate neighborhood, with vast rows of identical connected houses and wandering dogs. As Alan’s interactions with the neighbors reveal more about his father and uncle’s mysterious pasts, the violent deaths of neighborhood dogs foment an angry mob determined to drive Alberto and Alan out by any means necessary.
Playing into the opaque and suggestive drama of We Are What We Are, much of Rage is depicted in fleeting sequences where thematic depth is accumulated at a slow pace rather than laid bare for the audience. Alan’s young age doesn’t shield him from the brutality of others around him, but one senses an awkward attempt to do so from the adults in his life. Alberto is a harsh father, but one who immediately regrets his harsh discipline and the amount of secrecy that surrounds their current situation. Even the other neighbors interact with their family with a strained formality that belies their immediately hostile intentions; it’s a world where the line between man and beast is a fragile one that might as well not even exist.
This literal boundary pushes Rage from realist social drama into horror, as Alberto’s family is revealed to be seemingly cursed to be werewolves. The film’s creature elements are as understated as everything else in the film, if not more so–finding a cousin not just in Grau’s previous feature, but among films like Let the Right One In, Cat People, or Larry Fessenden films like Wendigo or Habit. Even though there’s plenty of blood to be spilled in Rage, Grau wisely never shows any creatures or transformations–restricting werewolf attacks to dramatic pulls of victims into the darkness, accompanied by some grisly sound design. The blend of these noises with the howls of stray dogs in the neighborhood also lends a crucial element of doubt and realism to these supernatural goings-on–are the members of Alberto’s family really werewolves, or is this some form of hereditary illness or compulsion?
Other elements of creature features find interesting modern pivots in Rage, most importantly the mob mentality that possesses the townspeople to rise up against the monster. The gated community transforms from a wasteland to a secretive in-group, determined to reject any outsiders or actual law and order in favor of superstition and vengeance, suggesting that such belief in otherworldly influence isn’t just limited to those who are suspected of transforming into beasts. It’s compelling commentary from Grau, and a welcome further exploration of genre elements that first began in We Are What We Are.
With a deliberate, dreamlike pace that allows for a realistic, modern exploration of its genre, Rage transforms our expectations of the werewolf film into something more mysterious and provocative.
Rage had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2023. It is currently seeking U.S. Distribution.
