Film Reviews |
Festival News & Reviews |
Actor & Director Interviews |
Awards & Nominations |
Links |
Site Map |
Filmmaker
Ken Burns gives
the Full Frame
Documentary Film
Festival thumbs up.
Help Wanted
Bestfilmfests.com is seeking reporters, photographers, and filmmakers who wish to report on their experiences at film festivals worldwide.
Please contact us at editor (at) bestfilmfests.com if you're interested in joining our online network.
We're also looking for reader submissions of festival anecdotes, journals, photos and reviews.
"Darkness," Quoth the Raven: Nevermore
The
Nevermore Film Festival
2005
January 21-23, 2005
Reviewed by Allan Maurer and Renee Wright
|
Leif Jonker's "Darkness," the final, ultimate, no-more-he-promises director's cut of the 13-year-old cult film he made as teenager, ate the brains at Carolina Theatre's 2005 Nevermore Filmfest. Jonker attended, regaling the audience with hilarious anecdotes about making the film. I'm not sure how funny they are if you haven't just seen the latest version of this 70s horror movie made two decades after the 70s were gone. "I don't care if you laugh," says Jonker. "I wanted to make something entertaining." He did. It's a gorefest and funny to boot. [Read more about Leif Jonker and his film...] We enjoyed the entire festival, which benefits from the good bad taste of the festival's programmer. Premiering a variety of horror, gothic and fantasy films, Nevermore never fails to impress with its wide variety of features ranging from animated to the latest computer-enhanced "live" action selected from the best available around the world. That said, you have to have a deep and seriously warped taste for the entire range of horror, sci-fi and fantasy to pick films as interesting as those shown at Carolina Theatre's "Nevermore" and "Escapism" festivals, not to mention its ongoing Retrofantasia series. This year's Nevermore films included Korean horror hit, "A Tale of Two Sisters," which reminds us of David Lynch's "Muholland Falls" in its shifting point of view, sinister nightmarish scenarios and mysteries impenetrable on a first viewing.
Well made, acted and scripted, it sent the audience out talking about it. "H'mmm, and what did you think happened there where she…" It's up for an American remake and it will be interesting to see if they straighten out the story line or keep it disturbingly disjointed. Nevermore also screened several other Asian hits including: Sky Blue, an animated feature that provides plenty of eye candy, but, lordy, isn't that sci-fi plot played out by now? Touted as "the most expensive animated movie in Korean history," it left us wishing just a little more of that money had been spent on a script worthy of the 21st century.
Nevermore lucked out with another selection. The luscious House of Flying Daggers had just begun its US run in general release and attracted lots movie-goers who walked blind into the horror fest. They seemed dazed by the ravens pecking at skulls that decorated the refreshment stand.
Flying Daggers is a truly gorgeous film notable for the rich color capture that did much to gain it a nomination for Achievement in Cinematography at the Academy Awards.® In an interesting bit of scheduling, Nevermore juxtaposed the special effects of House of Flying Daggers with Ong-Bak, a Thai film introducing Tony Jaa, the latest martial artist in the tradition of Jackie Chan to come to the screen. Jaa pulls off some spectacular stunts, all without the assistance of computer graphics. And, "No strings attached," according to the film's website. We also enjoyed The Off Season, which writer-director James Felix McKenney shot in a motel in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
[Read our review of The Off Season...] Another psychological thriller, "Corner of Your Eye," managed an iris-twisting inside your-head-outside-your-mind that made me blink wondering what the heck the thing was about. [Read our Review of Corner of Your Eye...] Screams of frustration. Dead & Breakfast pleased one of us, but not the other. Another entry in the sub-sub-genre of RV horror flix, it has a catchy theme song that will at least leave you tapping your (severed) feet. We both enjoyed the retro-cartoon heroics of Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher, available on DVD. We weren't surprised to find it among the winners at the 2004 Student Academy Awards®, taking home a gold medal in the Animated category.
"Gory, Gory Hallelujah," which attempts to be funny, did not get as many laughs as Jonker's "Darkness." For that matter, it didn't get as many laughs as Jonker's talk after "Darkness." We left after they killed off the Elvis impersonators. Too obvious for us, and there was still an hour left. Phew. You know what, though? This festival is always fun. I even like the really bad movies, whether I watch every frame of them or not. Durham's Carolina Theatre, an exotic wonder from movie-palace days gone by, is itself a joy. The staff is unrelentingly helpful. You can have a draft ale or Bass in the bottle, fine chocolate confections or good popcorn to stay you through the nearly non-stop films. And the posters, lights, and atmosphere always seem just right for a film festival, regardless of which one they're conducting. |
Who is this man & what's that dripping off him? Find out the gory details in our interview with filmmaker Leif Jonker.2005 Nevermore Selections
WINNER
|
CarolinasBest.com
BestFests.com
created by the same publishers
Click here to register your domain for less
Buy
the poster of "It's a Wonderful LIfe."
BUY
THE DVD