Salem Horror Fest 2021 - The Amusement Park (1975)

 

The Amusement Park - The George Romero foundation is one of the sponsors of this year's Salem Horror Fest and with that comes a ew treats. The Amusement Park is one of those treats. A plea for help from the elderly of America through the metaphors and eyes of George Romero. Set in an amusement park it follows and elderly gentleman as deals with the hustle and bustle of the crowds in his aged condition. At one point early in the film he enters a door which leads into a white room. In this room he finds a bedraggled version of himself, and has a conversation about joining the fun in the park. His other self is a wreck and can barely speak, telling him that there is nothing for him out there. Not listening the gentleman ventures into the park. Ignored, dis respected by society, pushed bumped and manhandled the gentleman eventually enters the white room a beaten man until his newer self again appears and he tells him there is nothing out there for him. Through the amusement park metaphors we see various ways the elderly are mistreated. From being ignored by the ticket sellers, to not bein quick enough for younger people who grow frustrated. The problems caused by failing eyesight, a metaphor for how the wealthy are fawned over while the rich don't even want to look at the elderly. There is messaging that looks at incapacity vs charity and the limits when the young start to feel the burden. It really is quite a variety of woes including how criminals prey on the elderly. The film really is a giant PSA about how we treat the elderly. I say that like the film was made in the present but  only because these issue exist today as they did in 1975.

Iron City Ass Kickers (2021) Another older Romero pulled from the archive for the Horrorfest is this pilot episode hoped to become a television series. It centers around the local pro wrestling curcuit in Pittsburgh and tells the story of one of the big matches, for the Iron City title, it has the bad guy champion and the beloved challenger and many of the theatrics you would find in the WWE, I am not quite sure where they were going with this but it is a weird little entry in the Romero world. The man himself plays a bar patron in some scenes but the show seemed to be lacking any meta content leaving it an imitation of the already imitation wrestling world.

Salem Horror Fest - Hall (2020)

 

Hall (2020) - When a debilitating sickness spreads across a long hotel hallway, a few scattered victims fight for survival, and try to escape from the dark narrow stretch of isolated carnage.

  This film was a bit too close to home now a year and 8 months into our own pandemic. There is a great way that writers Derrick Adams, Francesco Giannini(story) & Adam Kolodny spend time in the script allowing the audience to know characters. There are these really smart introductions with just enough background that when the shit starts hitting the fan the audience cares about characters and fewer seem like a body count. Primarily bouncing between Naomi (Yumiko Shaku), a woman who has fled to America on the premise of work but really has fled the husband of her unborn child because as she puts it he is a "bad man". In her interactions with the other lead Val (Carolina Bartczak) a woman in an abusive relationship looking for a way out and trying to protect her daughter while she finds it. The instances and dialog of "Mommy's clumsy" etc. are cliché in establishing the abuse but the feeling director Francesco Giannini creates with framing and music really brings home the threat of the husband character Branden (Mark Gibson) and kudos to him too for his ability to scare and threaten just with his quiet moodiness.  When a viral agent is released on the floor the two women are staying, we flash between them seeing how they got to where they are but also suddenly the effects of the crisis on each and the steps they take to deal with it. The viral agent does not just sicken those exposed but also makes then violent in the last throws of the sickness. Having to navigate the hall full of infected people creates a drama that is as menacing as the personal lives these women lead. Broken up into what is happening during the outbreak and Flashbacks that add a nice character development, I came away really liking this film, even though If I don't have to see another thing about viruses for several more years, I would be glad.

Salem Horror Fest - Landlocked (No release date)

 Landlocked - Will be part of the Salem Horror Fest virtual festival starting Oct. 22nd. Summoned to his soon-to-be demolished childhood home, Mason discovers a video camera that can see into the past, driving him to record as many memories as possible before the doomed house is destroyed. Summoned to his soon-to-be demolished childhood home, Mason discovers a video camera that can see into the past, driving him to record as many memories as possible before the doomed house is destroyed.

The concept of using an old camcorder to view the past is a very cool idea, I start thinking about some of the time swirling ideas that Aaron Morehead and Justin Benson have been coming up with but here is a much less reality trippy version of that. Director Paul Owens brings us a gently paced rumination on life and the places that capture those memories in this film where he intertwines the story of the family house being torn down with his personal home movies. A shy man he did not have a ton to say at the Q&A but the film is a unique take on our need to process memories and how they connect to the places we live.

I personally am a bit jealous of the idea that someone can have a family home where they spent their entire childhood. My family moved town to town and back never really staying in one place longer than a couple years. I think we all want that stability and connection to the places we have lived and in this film Owens shares a strong connection with his childhood even if the premise is a conceit. 

Salem Horror Fest 2021 Wicked Shorts 1

 Salem Horror Fest Short program #1 - I love shorts and although all the shorts in the program are not necessarily brand new the collection is really well curated and was quite thought provoking and enjoyable.  Trying to be spoiler free ion shorts is somewhat difficult but I will give it a try. I will give the description provided by the fest and then whatever thoughts  have on the content again trying to be some what spoiler free. I missed a couple in this first screening with traffic delaying my arrival but I have another opportunity to fill in the ones I missed next week.

Marked (2021) by Matthew Avery Berg - A tattoo artist is forced to confront his past when a client knows what his tattoos really mean. This short was not my cup of tea but still so professionally put together about a tattoo artist whose ink is recognized by his client. An interesting story about the meaning of tattoos in the Russian mob it is a revenge story at its heart. Cruel and unforgiving like it’s subject it was a solid entry at the Salem Horror fest shorts program.

DYSTOPIA (2020) - Directed by Laura Ugolini Forget reality shows and Instagram beauties; a young girl's fantasy becomes the playground for a gang of women set to create the perfect man, one limb at a time.  Teaser for the short   I reserve the right to change this as the setting made it difficult to read the subtitles. A weird little play in a child’s imagination it speaks to how children are programmed to the need to be beautiful and roles in searching for the perfect man, the shocking lengths that the characters in that fantasy go to make that happen.

Don't Text back (2020) -Directors - Kaye Adelaide & Mariel Sharp  A woman seeks the help of an energy healer to rid herself of a cursed necklace that strangles her every time she doesn’t text back her bad Tinder date. Wonderfully amusing, as it pokes fun at new age healing while still addressing the very disturbing issues around tinder stalking. When a  energy healer helps a woman with a unique problem they both benefit from the outcome. Humor and a serious cursed necklace equals a fun little short without glossing over the dangers of stalking.  Teaser Here

Logan Lee & the Rise of the Purple Dawn (2019) -  Directed by Raymond C. Lai - DJ Logan will play today at the party of Beatrice Pan, a friend with whom he is in love. To reassure himself, he smokes potent marijuana. - This short was weird and wild with a original structure and cool ideas along the lines of They Live but instead of sun glasses you need to get high on Purple Dawn. Starring actor Osric Chau who I know from his role as Kevin Tran on the show Supernatural I really liked this short. His quest to save the girl he longs for from the energy sucking cyborgs was very cool.

Sundown Town (2021) - Directed by Milo Butler, Bryce & Mitchell's trip home is disrupted after making a pit stop in a mysteriously unwelcoming town. This short plays sort of like the episode of Lovecraft Country where they had to be out of the all white county before dark, but with a queer twist to add to the racist one of that show. Being a short the violence is less big budget but still personal and effective.

Bed (2020) by Emily Bennett  - Bed is going to get a higher rating from me because it is an excellent portrayal of the effect of sexual violence and the lingering trauma associated with it. It is a sad and serious watch but really well done. The short is a woman in her bedroom not being able to use it to sleep. Through her hallucinations and flashbacks we learn just what happened to her. Very well written and executed.

Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant (2020) - Directed Sarah Kennedy  Welcome to the 1984 Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant! Where the girls are a feast for the eyes and as sweet as honey. Follow these three finalists as they navigate the twists and turns of a pageant that reveals a much more sinister secret. This short was so much fun. Funny and ridiculous with the right mount of hamming, it follows the last three contestants in a pageant that has an unexpected outcome.

Verified (2020) - by Ali Chappell  A lonely but hopeful insta-influence gets bit by a zombie while live-streaming and finally gets the audience she craves... but at what cost?  So much satire and humor wrapped up into a topic, influencers wanting to be verified accounts, that this one oozes fun.  Nice effects and a really well thought out horror bit made this very enjoyable.

No Game Like Foxes (2020) - by Raphael Arkera  A man finds himself being stalked by a relentless killer, in a deadly game where humans are hunted for sport.  Now this is a short I did not really connect with trying hard to find a logic that did not really make sense to me. Maybe I was over thinking it but I struggled with the "whys" in this short. Well made but I just didn't quite grasp the meanings. The masks were cool.

Salem Horror Fest 2021 - Miracle Valley

 

Miracle Valley (2022) - Writer, Director and Actor Greg Sestero brings us a tale that he says is influenced by Race with the Devil (1975) and the story of couples on vacation, who run into a blood cult does run along the lines of the older film where two couples on vacation in a Winnebago see a satanic cult sacrifice and then have to run for their lives. Miracle Valley has a bit more to it and was quite enjoyable as a kickoff title for this year's festival. David (Sestero) and Sarah (Angela Mariano) are a couple whose relationship is in flux, Sarah having trouble dealing with her mother's terminal illness is stressed and recently had to get psychological help for the stress. David is waiting for the right time to call off the relationship but feels now is not it. A photographer trying to make a name for himself David is invited to the Arizona desert to try to get a photo of a rare silver hawk, that could make his career. Once there having met up with friends Scott and Jade and later another couple of friends find more than they bargain for after meeting a biker, preacher, couples counselor and cult leader Father Jake (Rick Edwards).  To remain spoiler free I will leave the plot of the blood cult and just talk about things that struck me during the film. Let's just say there is more too it than initially thought but unlike Race with the Devil where the threat grows and so does the characters paranoia in this film it feels the paranoia never develops and the main character never seem to really have to discuss it. Also unlike RWTD this film is not a road chase film with tons of high priced stunts. In that film we never really know the cultists they are just this dangerous threat, but in Maricle Valley we get to know them quite well. Instead it just takes some surprising and shocking, if predicted turns into crazy-ville. Compared to it's influence I like that the female characters have a hell of a lot more agency that Loretta Swift and Lara Parker in RWTD.

  The plot was fun in that it had several little turns and surprises including a cold open that came back into play in a big way later with the character Erika (Louisa Torres). The relationship troubles worked to setup a bit of tension that facilitates Sarah being taken in with Father Jake and allowing him to build trust with her. The silver hawk hunt gets them where they need to be and the added couples raise the body count. It all worked to get the film into gear. The music in the beginning and the a scene at the end really gave me a Tarantino vibe whether intentional or not.  The film sounds good throughout and the horror cues were pretty right on.  Later the crazy cult twins Ellie Smith and Amy Smith, playing Mira and Kelly did their best Manson girls imitations was kind of fun to watch. There were a couple cheap jump scares but that is perfectly alright. The film appeared to be filmed primarily in Arizona but Sestero says he was thrilled to be able to use Frank Lloyd Wrights falling waters house in Pennsylvania for a scene at the end of the film. It's harder to comment about the acting, or if some of the writing put me off but it felt a bit uneven to me. Much of the film is carried by Edwards as Father Jake, but at times I was the wished for a more likable personality that turns dark and threatening. It may be that the introduction he had was the opposite, a threatening manner that quickly turned gentle after seeing Sarah. He also have to turn on the charms later but some of the friendly stuff, even though I knew there was menace behind it didn't come through as evil as I wanted it to be. Overall I enjoyed the film so even though I did not stay around to talk to the film makers, (too tired)  and it was a great start to the Salem Horror Fest