Chattanooga Film Festivat pt.2

I Who Have No One (2019) - A powerful short slasher that encapsulates the pain of being judged for your size in a world obsessed with fitness and beauty. It also shows the self empowering of one woman in the world through her acts of mayhem and violence. I thought this was saying so much and all wrapped up in a slasher. Written and Directed by Pierre Tsigaridis and Dina Silva. Silva also stars as Frances the lead who melts down from the pressure of having to look beautiful or else being dismissed. Tsigaridis also has a role as Jerome, the devil of a sort encouraging Frances down her violent road to hell.  

Best Friends Forever (BFF) (2019) -  A play on urban legends where saving yourself from the ghost may be worse than dying. This was what it was harmless but not particularity new in conception. Entertaining with pretty decent effects, but just not my cup of tea. The filming is spot on and the stereotypical characters hit their marks so if urban legend stories do it for you check this one out.

Separation (2020) -  Rebekah McKendry's short using body horror to emphasize a marriage's end in the most bloody horrifying way. Smart and too the point the short does not linger, it establishes the situation and conditions and climaxes with a wonderfully bloody scene. Dr. McKendry is a producer Director and Podcaster  as well as one of my personal favorite horror experts.

Maere (2018) -  Explores a doctors interaction with syndrome where people die in their sleep having nightmares. Lots of dream logic and creaking noises make the doctor's own life a tragic story.

Catatonic (2019) - OMG An obsessed cat owners trials and tribulations when his beloved Charles Lickens vanishes. This is both obscenely gross and hilarious in following the lead Cat Daddy (Timmy Ramone) as he pathetically obsesses about his lost cat. Written and Directed by Brian Zahm this one is a strange delight. Could not find any IMDB credit for the film or the people connected to it.

SeaSapian (2019) -  A cool noir fantasy where there is a world below the ocean (the ocean is the sky in this world) and every now and then something falls into it, fish a ship or in this case a mermaid. Cleverly made it is a hard boiled detective story creatively put together by Sasha Carr and starring Leigh Carr as our detective. I thought this was wonderful. Could not find any IMDB credit for the film.

Beauty Juice (2019) - A short and a bit on the nose critique of the beauty industry. SO what though it is well filmed and its five minutes. Written and directed by Natasha Halevi and starring Jennifer Holland it is just the right size for its message.

Live Forever (2019) - A tribute musical to the often forgotten victims of horror movies. Wonderful with gore effects it is a very clever piece. Gustav Egerstedt wrote and directed this really great number that any horror fan can love. It is very much worth checking out.

The Wave (2019) - A bad trip for Justin Long teaches him that the universe strives to right itself of bad behavior and immoral decisions and that he can participate by making the necessary sacrifices. I really dug this film and participated in the Q&A event on Sunday evening. The trippy nature of the film is so wonderfully uncomfortable and the morality tale it tells were so spot on it is definitely one you should seek out.Writer Carl W. Lucas constructs a great tale about having to make amends for our moral failings.  Director Gille Klabin puts it together with a great cast and a wonderful flair.

Metamorphosis (2015) - A Revenge story of a middle-aged woman May Wong (Cici Lau)abused and spurned by her cheating husband and the revenge she gets. Maybe the oldest film in the festival but it cracks with power. The lead actress Wong is excellent and the sad and disturbing results on her actions on her daughter show that this is not a simple revenge thriller where the victim is redeemed and the only consequences are born by the evil doers. Written by Feiyang Sun and Elaine Xia  and Directed by Xia this is a must watch in the festival