“To have never gone to war is something to be proud of.” – Seiji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki) in Godzilla Minus One (2023) There’s this belief that the old ways are better than new. They’re tried, they’re true, and they meet… Read More ›
film festival
Director Tatsuya Oishi composites the “Monogatari” prequel trilogy into “Kizumonogatari -Koyomi Vamp-” an interesting curio of a cinematic experience. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Shtriga, vrykolakas, strigoi, vampire — they are mythical creatures of the night who feed on human blood, exist in a perpetual outward appearance of the moment of their transformation, and can live forever under specific conditions. Stories of their existence… Read More ›
“Chainsaws Were Singing” falls short on its promise but is well worth the price of admission. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
When a movie is pitched as “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) meets Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) meets Les Misérables (2012),” there is something that immediately grabs my attention because a musical that is zany and over-the-top… Read More ›
“Mash Ville” takes on many meanings in a confluence of stories around a moonshine business. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Having never seen Hwang Wook’s previous movies (Dog Eat Dog; Live Hard), I did not know what to expect when watching the latest, Mash Ville, and what was delivered was a combination of some of the zaniest wackiest things ever… Read More ›
Director Park Jin-pyo’s “Brave Citizen” delivers satisfying vigilante justice in this web comic adaptation. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
“If you do nothing, nothing will happen.” This quote is spoken by the character So Si-Min, portrayed by Shin Hye-sun (See You in My 19th Life), as part of a class on ethics. It’s one of several concepts that particular… Read More ›
“The Beast Within” leaves telltale tracks resulting in an immediate blood-letting of tension. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Whether textually or subtextually, horror films explore elements of society that upend or terrify. Sometimes the horror comes from the loss of bodily control from foreign invasion (Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)), other times it’s from the very natural… Read More ›
“Vulcanizadora” delivers on its promise to those who dare to tread past the point of no return. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
A slow burn — something that either turns out great or, on occasion, as something audiences despise and generally hate in films. There is no real winning ground when it comes to films as there are things about traditional movies… Read More ›
Filmmaker Fábio Powers’s “The Old Man and the Demon Sword” asks its audience to consider the value of a soul. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Every day, someone picks up a camera — 8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm, iPhone, iPad, Android, whatever they can find — and they tell a story with it. They combine image with sound to inspire, delight, terrify, or simply… Read More ›
32 films we’re excited to screen during Fantasia International Film Festival 2024.
For the fifth year in a row, Elements of Madness will officially be covering the Fantasia International Film Festival! In the run-up, we offer up our recommendations of what to check out during the fest or what to keep an… Read More ›
Short film “A Family Guide to Hunting” bags its prize with its talent on and off screen. [Tribeca Film Festival]
There is nothing more encouraging than someone wanting to introduce you to their family, especially when you’re dating. Now, that is not to say that is the premise to Zao Wang’s (Full Moon Club) short A Family Guide to Hunting,… Read More ›
Dramedy “All That We Love” is a tender story of self-reclamation. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Loss comes for all of us. Doesn’t matter how solitary a life we try to lead, we will lose something — an item, a memory, even ourselves. With each loss, there’s a transition period in which we come to terms… Read More ›
Romantic mystery “Darkest Miriam” may leave stones unturned but captivates with Britt Lower’s performance. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The first thing that I learned about Naomi Jaye’s (The Pin) newest feature, Darkest Miriam, was that it was executive produced by Charlie Kaufman (I’m thinking of ending things), and that automatically adds a level of intrigue and suspense to… Read More ›
Strong performances never give the game away in dramatic thriller “The Weekend.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
We’ve seen nearly every iteration of meeting one’s parents that could possibly exist from Meet the Parents (2000) to Ready or Not (2019) and Get Out (2017), so when audiences get another family-gathering thriller, they typically know what they’re getting… Read More ›
Calvin Lee Reeder’s “The A-Frame” is a twisty, goopy sci-fi ride that aims higher than it delivers. [Tribeca Film Festival]
According to a March 2024 report, the leading cause of death for Americans in 2022 (the most recent year with full data) was all types of heart disease with cancers in second place. Advancements in early detection and treatment of… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Things Will Be Different” writer/director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson. [Chattanooga Film Festival]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently sat down with writer and director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson to talk about their sci-fi drama Things Will Be Different, an official selection of the 2024 Chattanooga Film… Read More ›
“The Devil’s Bath” is drawn with great performances but too much time between horrors. [Tribeca Film Festival]
There are movies that are slow-paced terrifying watches, and then there are terrifying slow-paced watches that just miss the mark and create a world of unease that just doesn’t deliver upon the promise until its too late. Unfortunately for Severin… Read More ›
“Restless” does not let the characters or audience know a moment of peace. [Tribeca Film Festival]
If you’ve ever lived somewhere that wasn’t remote farmland in the midst of nowhere, you’ve most likely hated a neighbor. I adamantly refuse to believe at some point in one’s life there hasn’t been a neighbor that hasn’t driven you… Read More ›
For all the women who’ve never been “Satisfied,” comes a documentary that centers actor Renée Elise Goldsberry’s quest to achieve it. [Tribeca Film Festival]
“… if you know anything about me, I have spent the last 10 years of my life, what some would consider the lifeblood of a woman’s career, just trying to have children. And I get to testify in front of… Read More ›
“She Loved Blossoms More” is a welcomed head trip about grief. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Yannis Veslemes’s (The Field Guide to Evil) newest film, She Loved Blossoms More, has the aesthetic of what I assume being on acid would be like, however the come down from it is devastating and beautiful, making this psychedelic journey… Read More ›
Two juxtaposed performances deliver the terror and dread in Roxy Shih’s “Beacon.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
If anything is apparent after watching Roxy Shih’s (List of a Lifetime) newest feature, it must be that she is a fan of Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse as Beacon feels like an eerily possible sequel/prequel to said movie. There’s a… Read More ›