What does it mean to be strong? What does it mean to hold power? Is it the means to defeat a thousand foes and to draw fear from opposition *or* is it to be able to protect all who matter… Read More ›
Fantasia International Film Festival
Horror thriller “Godhead” blurs reality and fantasy in an exploration of religion. [Fantasia]
Filmmaker Mark H. Rapaport’s (Hippo) second feature, Godhead, proves that there is something cooking on the indie scene that needs to be experienced more and more by audiences so that more directors and screenwriters like him can find a wider… Read More ›
Techno-action thriller “God Skin” examines the choiceless choices people face. [Fantasia]
No matter how well off we think we are, each of us are one bad day away from mountains of debt. This is especially true in areas where medical bills can mount, forcing people to make choiceless choices regarding what… Read More ›
The “Crime City” series shifts to Japan with head-bashing action thriller “TOKYO BURST.” [Fantasia]
In 2017, director Kang Yun-sung’s based-on-a-true-story The Outlaws introduced audiences to Detective Ma (Don Lee), colloquially known as “Beast Cop” for the way he resolves conflicts within his district with his power-packed fists. Watching Ma tackle Chinese gangsters trying to… Read More ›
Bergholm and Rautsi’s “Nightborn” falls short in delivering something darker to sink your teeth into. [Fantasia]
I first got to discover director Hanna Bergholm with her debut film, Hatching, in 2022 as part of virtual Sundance, and instantly fell in love with her direction, writing, and prowess. So, when it was announced that Hanna and her… Read More ›
Harrison Atkins’s keeps his trippy “Sour Minnows” experience grounded enough for audiences to buy-in to the ride. [Fantasia]
Harrison Atkins’s Sour Minnows is an experimental film in an unconventional sense of the definition, with a very loose and whimsical plot. It doesn’t feel anything like a Stan Brakhage (Dog Star Man) movie (depending on how that makes you… Read More ›
Open up wide and let “Corpus” in. [Fantasia]
“And I need you now tonight And I need you more than ever And if you only hold me tight We’ll be holding on forever And we’ll only be making it right ‘Cause we’ll never be wrong Together, we can… Read More ›
The only thing stopping Springtime for Hitler is “The Last Temptation of Becky.” [Fantasia]
“You probably heard we ain’t in the prisoner-takin’ business; we in the killin’ Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin’.” – Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds (2009) There are a few things in cinema that most audiences agree on:… Read More ›
Filmmaker Kenichi Kutsuna’s animated video game adaptation “Sekiro: No Defeat” beautifully captures its jidaigeki roots through classic animation and action. [Fantasia]
What does it mean to live an honorable life? Is it honoring yourself? Honoring your community? Existing by a code? These may sound like old-fashioned queries, the sort of things that warriors or soldiers asked themselves when written by poets,… Read More ›
Nick Taylor’s doc “RUBBERHEAD: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson” successfully unveils the magic of making movies but not of the subject himself. [Fantasia]
Movies are a place for escape, but also for self-discovery. They take us to unseen lands, places of pure imagination, situations in which the amazing and the horrible occur in equal measure, containing the ability to excite us in ways… Read More ›
“Big Break” has cult comedy group Simple Town leap from the stage onto the cinema screen, creating plenty of hysterics along the way. [Fantasia]
Comedy is subjective, but when it’s done right and done in a way that hasn’t been overdrawn and overdone, then it can be a wild success. In Ian Faria’s first feature, cult comedy group Simple Town (known to their fans,… Read More ›
Director Bob Colaers’s “Attack on Paradise” attempts a fresh perspective on well-worn tropes with mixed results. [Fantasia]
When stories aren’t being told the way you want to see them, sometimes you have no choice but to make them yourself. Based on an artist’s statement, that’s the idea behind the creation of Attack on Paradise (formerly Paradise) by… Read More ›
“You Are the Film” continues the trend of fantastical whimsy as writer Makoto Ueda shifts his talents to include the director’s chair. [Fantasia]
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts – From the “All the World’s a Stage” speech within William… Read More ›
“Tight Lettuce” recounts the weight of the opioid crisis on a family level in an appropriately darkly comedic drama. [Fantasia]
Addiction is not an easy subject to tackle, and it’s even harder to tackle when it’s inspired by a true story. A lot of care was taken and understanding was used to tell this story, which a close friend of… Read More ›
38 films from the 30th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival to explode your senses.
Elements of Madness returns for the seventh time to cover Fantasia International Film Festival and it’s their 30th anniversary! Coverage is being handled by EoM Founder Douglas Davidson and EoM Contributor Justin Waldman on this special occasion and we have… Read More ›
Horror thriller “Burning” utilizes multiple perspectives to showcase how little we know about the people around us. [Fantasia]
In storytelling, the most obvious thing is that the narrative is based on perception, but it’s also the thing that we most take for granted as an audience. We presume that what we see, what we hear, is what happens;… Read More ›
You may not know you’re “Transcending Dimensions,” but you’ll certainly feel it. [Fantasia]
Photosensitivity Warning: There are three instances of powerful strobing/flashing lights that may trigger a painful response in audiences: two shortly after the title card appears and one in the climatic sequence of the film. Japanese filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda has built… Read More ›
“Mother of Flies” is a poetic and unsettling horror tale from one of indie cinema’s most distinctive filmmaking families. [Fantasia]
Mother of Flies is another remarkable entry from this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, and a testament to the uniquely haunting and heartfelt filmmaking voice of The Adams Family — the indie horror power trio made up of Zelda Adams,… Read More ›
Brock Bodell’s “Hellcat” twists and turns itself into a solid feature debut. [Fantasia]
While there is something inherently engaging about a fast-paced action piece that is enshrouded in mystery, it gets even more interesting when it’s a directors first time at the plate. Brock Bodell’s first feature Hellcat excels at not pretending the… Read More ›
“The School Duel” ditches gun laws for a popularity contest in independent Florida. [Fantasia]
Politics is never an easy conversation to have, and it’s even a more difficult topic to bring up in film as people try to attend fictionalized narrative stories to escape the reality of every day. That is not to say… Read More ›