This is such a unique short film. You’ve got a brain-melting atmosphere bolstered by a dizzying colour scheme. Excellent and smooth claymation, featuring unapologetically bizarre, expressive otherworldly characters. A creeping, crawling hellscape only comparable to the worst (or best?) fever dream imaginable, Bobby Yeah’s world is at once both claustrophobic and sprawling.
Absolutely watch this if you’re a fan of more traditional type animation (vs CGI pixar stuff) or if you’re interested in something a bit more… hallucinatory than your average cartoon.

I really enjoyed this film. It’s rare to see such naturalistic acting in American filmmaking, especially when it has the potentially-sensational plot involving a cult. This plays out very realistically as the two brothers explore their relationship with one another and their past, contemplating what each should do next. These actors work well together, and the film has an overall pleasantly-eerie vibe. There’s lots of scenes filmed in soft, relaxing lighting, the beautiful house surrounded by trees and seemingly blissful people, contrasted by a nagging and strange tension that builds quite nicely. There’s some nuanced spookiness, curious motives, and a slightly “off” friendly hippy vibe that makes a perfect setting for something a little more mystical.
Don’t take the advice of the first reviewer and “fast forward” through the entire story just to get to the end. If you don’t have the patience to get absorbed in a story like this and let it unfold, just watch something you’d prefer with a fast pace. This is an excellent film and a companion to the same director’s “Resolution” (which I didn’t care for as much but is nonetheless also a good film).

I’m surprised I’d never heard of this little gem before. Actually, I shouldn’t diminish this film by calling it “little”, as it is in fact quite large and vast in its breadth of emotion.
This is actually a trilogy of three short films, “Cutting Moments” “Home” and “Prologue”. The first is a very stark, tense, and quite honestly brutally sad scenario. We see a normal-looking but completely emotionally dysfunctional young family. A pretty wife with a detached, cold and callous husband who mistreats their son, out of his own lack of empathy or any apparent feeling. His wife deals with this in several ways, one more conventional, the other… much more abstract, and much, much harder to watch. The contrast between an unfortunately all-too-familiar scene—- the commonality of a broken marriage, a heart-bruising sadness many to which many can relate—- and the drastic physical actions she inflicts on herself bring this episode to a painful close. There’s an unbearable tension as we see a spiral of repressed feelings burst into warped physical expressions.

Then we have “Home”, which echoes a similar setup. A man raised in an abusive family has grown up grasping desperately for any kind of normalcy, seeking to forget his past. As with the previous short, there’s excellent, very natural acting, in a setting that could be just about anywhere. He narrates several painful episodes of his childhood that seem to have pre-emptively cursed his future, for they are all too similar to the current problems he’s facing. He’s disconnected from his birth family, as he is from his marital family. This one is a bit more existential than personal, less gorey than the first, but still quite a lot to think about. He we explore the desire for connection versus the desire for control, for retribution, resolution, or even destruction. When things just seem to never go as planned. It touches on not only detachment from others but the self and even god and nature, a certain emptiness that only some are unfortunate enough to really truly know.

“Prologue” is where the tone shifts a bit. A young woman is a year recovered from a traumatic event in which she lost her hands, now using a wheelchair. She is moving back in with her parents, although they aren’t quite as she remembered them. Their relationship has changed, but it has changed between the parents themselves as well. This one explores the subtleties of how an individual chooses to process their trauma, alone and with family, and how trauma is perceived by others. In particular the naturalistic acting style really shines in this one, it almost feels voyeuristic as if you just happen to have a bird’s eye view into the most intimate part of various people’s lives, right down to details that would usually go unseen. The stark coldness from the beginning of the trilogy has thawed a bit here, where the tone is reminiscent of a welcome and painful healing, like a bone knitting back together. It’s also the only story that has a sense of resolution, which is welcome after how gut-punching the first two vignettes are.

This is not a happy nor pleasant film, however, it isn’t so depressing as to be unwatchable. Instead, it’s a careful, rather tasteful exploration of true darkness that can easily weave into even the most seemingly ordinary lives, weaseling in like a parasite. While there are several quite graphic and shocking scenes (particularly in “Cutting moments”), nothing is portrayed as a cheap shock or random twist. No, this is a very deliberate, thoughtful venture into events and feelings rarely talked about, but probably more relatable than most would ever tell. Definitely interested in seeing more work from Douglas Buck.

Oh boyo I am so pleased to see this linked here! This is a gleefully ridiculous send-up of materialist, elitist culture with excellent special FX. Like an absurdist combination of elements reminiscent of “Parents” (yes, the one with Randy Quaid) and “Eyes Wide Shut”, we follow our young protagonist as he discovers what his parents are really up to. Accompanied by excellent, careful cinematography and decent acting (even in the scenes where I’m sure the performers felt kinda silly). Bristling with eccentric, “wrong” humor, there’s plenty of scenes where you’ll find yourself asking “WTF did I just watch?” or abruptly cackling uncomfortably.
Although a bit dated now, the special effects I’d previously mentioned really are quite good. Even more appreciable these days, as many films rely mostly or wholly on CGI for sets and certain costumes. That’s all well and good, but a film like this simply wouldn’t be the same without handmade effects.
Overall, the film is likeable for its uniqueness alone, but also worthwhile for its carefully mixture of offbeat humor, parody, body horror, and a creeping “wrongness”.

Definitely check it out if you’re tired of the majority “horror/comedy” films that are usually not funny nor scary. If you were taking grownup Wednesday Addams on a drive-in date, she’d wanna see this one.

I downloaded this for some reason ages ago, completely forgot about it. When I finally got around to watching, I found it to be delightfully silly and overly “quirky” (without being pretentiously so). This sort of film is an acquired taste, going in with too many expectations will ruin the fun. The story is set in a place that’s almost like here, but it crosses into the “it’s so normal, it’s TOO normal, no.. it’s wrong” territory. Bright, vaguely 1960’s-reminiscent color provides a slightly-too-cheerful aesthetic that plays well with giddy little twists and deliberate ‘holes’ that make for a playful, although bittersweet, story about a man and his lost dog. But IS this ‘just’ about his dog? What’s he really looking for? He seems like a man who wants answers, but forgot what questions he asked.

I actually had forgotten the title, and recently was asking a friend if they remembered this one. Even retelling the story, it sounds like a person trying to describe a very strange dream they had but started to forget as they woke up. That’s an odd vibe to flex on your film, but I feel that it works here.
A nice alternative to overly sharp, mean-sarcastic type comedy—- you might dig this if you liked Kids in the Hall, or other comedy that plays on the whimsy of absurdity. It’s not perfect, but it’s refreshingly different. Good when you’re in the mood for a more light-hearted surrealism and poking fun at everyday stuffiness.

Ok, I was unprepared for this one. My partner had been trying to figure out what this was called for awhile, and I was really interested once we found it.
This starts off as a fairly bland scene—- a bunch of sailors trapped in a shit situation, desperately trying to distract themselves from their bleak reality. But that distraction works, and soon you’re following along without any idea where you’re going. Hazy sequences flit between an odd, dizzy type of humor and various outbursts when reality gets a bit too thick for our unfortunate (yet resilient) stuck mariners.
There isn’t really a good way to describe this film without ruining it, but suffice to say I found it thoroughly entertaining and very… curious. That’s a good descriptor for this one. Very curious, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of it all. Everyone will interpret this film differently , but imo that’s part of its charm. I’ll be watching it again sometime, and it will certainly be a ‘new’ experience even the second time.

Wow, this was unexpectedly artistic and poetic (in a fever-dream sort of way). For those unfamiliar with the premise, it is based on a true story about one Armin Meiwes and his infamous meetup with a “willing victim” from a ~ cannibalism fetish website ~~. This is a very stylish retelling of that incident, but it’s quite different from what one might expect.
A far cry from tabloid cliches, the director chose to give this a much deeper, more emotional (and thus more twisted) treatment. The scenes are all shot with a type of intimate lighting that varies from soft to stark at all the right moments, illuminating our main character’s ever-fleeting emotions.
Frank, natural, somewhat romantic approach to scenes of gay sex might be off putting to some, but it’s no more graphic than any typical straight scene. However, these scenes are interesting because at first you might mistake them for a usual passionate weekend fling between two strangers who just seem to really “get” each other. After all, they both agreed upon the terms, they are both aroused by the premise, and both seek to fulfill an ultimate fantasy that is far stranger than anyone other than they would understand. Sex, though, is only one aspect of their interactions, and an oddly appropriate lead-in to what comes next.
While somewhat slow in pacing, the tension swells to a point where you barely felt it start to creep up before everything begins to spin. It’s a dreamy type of nightmare, with a lot of nuance given to perspectives on sex, death, fear, desire, dominance and submission, the beauty and frailty of life and what exceeds the boundaries of consent.
I also appreciated that director Dora chose to use a somewhat objective gaze for most of the film. That is, while you do get impressions from the perspective of both characters, there is no “silent narrator” from the camera. You’re not meant to sympathize with anyone specifically, yet each participant is humanized in a way that strikingly contrasts their apparent normalcy with the extremely bizarre— and meticulously planned — circumstances in which they met.
This is not your typical “crime film based on true events”, nor is it what you’d usually call a “horror movie”. Instead it’s an exploration of strangeness, comfort, dreams and sexuality, without downplaying any aspect of what such a particular event may have looked like. It’s an adventurous film, a feverish smashing together of the beautiful and the grotesque.
It’s a unique experience, bound to excite and disturb. (Well, you could say that about all Dora’s films, really)

I checked out a handful of episodes of this because a friend recommended it, on the basis that I tend to like “slice of life” stories about average people.
Firstly, I’ll say that the acting is rather good (for the most part), and there’s some little bits here and there that really are touching.
The main issue for me is that it’s so formulated—- it just feels like watching a combination of every romance/“story of a family” film. Or an extended “Hallmark Channel” movie. It all felt very predictable, but in all fairness I didn’t watch an entire season. Reminded me a lot of “7th Heaven”, so perhaps that’s why I found it less relatable than others.
Think this concept would’ve worked better with a more naturalistic style of acting, more average-looking, less “polished”-looking people. I know that’s not really a thing in American television, but I wish it were.

This type of story is hard to get into when you’re very, very aware you’re watching a tv show the entire time. Just didn’t really do it for me.

Wild to think this was made in 1975, as I feel like this was both appropriate for the era but also ahead of its time. That said, it still fits with the Current Year, maybe even on a broader scope. This could be seen as a send up of Hollywood culture, but there’s so much more. I randomly remembered this book but barely, what a nice surprise to find this movie.
Karen Black is on a roll here—- perfectly over the top, sparkly and silly amid a backdrop of palm trees and chaos. If you’ve not read the book, the plot can be a little confusing but it’s likely the excellent scenery will keep your attention as well. There really is a lot going on here ,but I’d rather not turn this into a long analysis as there are many ways you could perceive all the elements here.
What I will say is that this is an exceptionally poetic, artfully trashy and gleefully dark film that takes familiar archetypes and stereotypes, pits them against one another, relishes the tension and then just shreds the whole mess. The dreamy, shimmery film (REAL film yall!) adds a feverish, dizzy effect— and of course that Old Hollywood look—- softening the voyeuristic, sneaky angles that give us insight or emphasis on different situations, some very small.
There’s a lot to pay attention to here, and while it’s a long film it certainly isn’t boring. We’ve got a weird assortment of characters who at once are spirited but also crushed and despondent, the emotional exploration fans and swells into an unexpectedly intense ending (I’d apparently forgotten how the book ended).
Are you feeling jaded but you still want to laugh a bit? This hits that spot.

This is definitely not a movie for those who dislike gore—- however, it has a lot more going on than just your average splatterfest, at least aesthetically. This is what the original Hellraiser would’ve been like, had the tech been available at the time. I’m a massive Clive Barker nerd and I think that the style of this film would hit the spot for fans of his books/films based on his books. (We nicknamed this film “Turkish Hellraiser” for the longest time, when we couldn’t find out the real title online)

We’re given a fairly simple storyline and somewhat basic characters, but there’s a lot of subtle nods to different concepts regarding life, death, sin, ritual, “what is evil, what is the devil” with slick, visceral imagery that I found very immersive.
While it’s certainly not the most complex plot, “Baskin” is a good combination of naturalistic acting, visually arresting imagery, plenty of blood and a legit spooky sound director. It’s well-crafted horror, exploring (and exploiting) relatable things like fear, confusion, existential crisis—- but these things aren’t explained ad nauseum, it’s left to the viewer to decide if they want to read deeper into the symbolism presented, or just enjoy a nice, very creepy horror flick.
…Don’t eat while you watch this one, though. 5 of 5 stars !

This is a wonderful vintage documentary, perfect for a lazy rainy day when you want to watch something insightful and calming. Beautiful shots of the frozen North, we see Nanook and his wives demonstrating traditional skills like building a gorgeous roomy igloo and hunting with spears. While these were staged for effect (the igloo apparently had to be built only half-way due to lighting issues), they show off the resourcefulness of the native people.
The igloo scene is really especially cool, and there’s some very endearing shots of Nanook’s son playing happily in the snow.
While not entirely historically accurate (that is, for example, most native people would’ve used guns/regular fishing equipment rather than spears by this time), it still gives a wonderful snapshot of Inuit culture. There’s something very charming and bright about this film, it makes the blinding and sometimes bleak snow seem beautiful and intense. Definitely a treat for anyone who loves nature footage, especially less-visited areas.
An excellent film, far ahead of its time both for the content as well as the cinematography—- to film outside during this era, one had to be very creative working with natural lighting, especially with a mostly white colour scheme. Impressive, poetic and relaxing, there’s something in this film that always makes me smile.

This is a slow burn film, not for the impatient. It’s definitely one where you have to sit in a nice, quiet dark room and let the visual effects absorb. To me, it is one of the most beautiful and stark films dealing with aliens, and certainly one of the most unique. If you’re expecting an action or more traditional sci-fi alien film, this one may not be for you. It definitely veers closely to the “art house” genre, but not quite. There is very little dialogue, and a lot left up to your own interpretation—- something many fans of Hollywood films might not enjoy, as it doesn’t spell out every detail or explain every metaphor play-by-play as it is happening.
Every scene is very carefully crafted, a smoldering mix of soft nuance and stark bleakness. The ending hit me like a ton of bricks, even though it happens rather quickly after a long build.
One after another, we’re often presented with obvious, loud, ugly and over the top special effects in American cinema—— not so here. The FX alone deserve high praise in their artistry, a delicate balance of contrasting feelings put forth with very little dialogue and unique imagery.
It is also quite nice to see Scarlett Johansen in something decidedly different than the films she’s usually in. As I mentioned, there is very little dialogue, but she carries each scene with an intensity (that still remains carefully subtle) that reminds me of certain old silent film stars. Her face, her eyes, are deeply expressive, and convey a lot more than words could, especially for such strange subject matter like an alien trying to navigate the human world in a borrowed human body.

This is one of high strangeness, much creepier and colder than your typical space alien film, a bit more reminiscent of some of the stranger accounts of IRL alien encounters. It’s moody, dark, bitter, cold, and at times confusing, but left me with a lot to think about regarding symbolism and what a ‘human experience’ might be to another being.

This is one of my all-time favourite films, ever. Atmospheric and lyrical, we are lead down a very weird almost-fairytale story of a young gypsy boy with subtle telepathic abilities. These aren’t the main feature though, it’s understated, as there is much chaos in our young antihero’s life. From trying to help his sick sister, getting screwed over by his uncle, trying to get back home to the girl he loves, we are treated to many unusual and sometimes hilariously poetic moments. It’s a delightfully off-beat, kind of jangly, rambling story, but don’t let the length of the film put you off—- it isn’t slow and is never boring. The acting is very naturalistic and convincing, most especially from Davor Dujmovic (our main man Perhan).
It’s also, in some ways, a snapshot of Romani life on the outskirts of “somewhere in Sarajevo” in the late 80s (although of course there are many moments that are deliberately exaggerated for effect). Particularly lovely is Perhan’s charming grandmother who raised him, there’s some hilarious moments with his hopeful bride’s mother, and many times where you feel the confusion and pain that seems to strike his life hard. Perhan became such a beloved character that it became the nickname of the actor who played him.
If anyone is interested in seeing a movie that includes the Romani language, a beautiful soundtrack (which oscillates between bouncy, cheerful Balkan horns and Romani oros, and very ambient, emotional Balkan-inspired compositions) and very natural acting that never breaks even in surreal circumstances—- you will appreciate this. There certainly isn’t any other film quite like it.
Fans of Bora Todorovic will appreciate his portrayal of harsh, shady Uncle Ahmet, and people unfamiliar with this type of naturalistic acting (never seen in Hollywood films) might really get to like it.
I watch this film whenever I feel lonely, or when I miss my great-granny. It’s both realistic and surreal, in what I think is a perfect balance. One of Kusturica’s best works, and one of my favourite soundtracks from Goran Bregovic.
A 100 stars :)

It’s surely too bad there are no links (yet!) for this dizzying and hilariously gross little film. It’s not quite a ‘horror’ movie per se, but it delves in that direction, only to jerk you away into another dreamy, voyeuristic, profoundly weird situation. Repeatedly. At various points you cringe and laugh, others you’re wondering wtf just happened and if it were “real” or not. I don’t know what possessed someone to make this movie but I’m glad they did. It’s refreshingly bizarre, full of visceral imagery, and we’re treated to not one but two deeply, wonderfully disturbing performances by Vicente Cassel. A plethora of “WTF” and “no… really, what in the actual fvck, guys” moments abound, with excellent music and a unique setting in a disheveled, enormous French chateau.
Lots of bright, realistic and genuinely expressive acting going on here. Huge focus on intense facial expressions, tension and a pace that keeps you looking (even when you’re almost being pushed to look away, you’ll look through your hand).
This certainly isn’t a movie for everyone, but if you like your nightmares surreal and darkly humorous, you’ll “get it”. You’ll also never look at Cassel’s face the same way again.

Excellent interviews. I’d been wanting to see this for a while. Anything that further exposes this disgusting, weird industry and its perversion of therapy/medical treatment is worth checking out, but in particular this is a good doc. I really liked the inclusion of clips from “For the Child’s Own Good” and “Children of Darkness” cut between interview segments, as well as some other footage I’d never seen before. Pretty wild to see footage of the weird rituals and protocols as the former inmates are describing it.
For anyone curious, Elan was a very controversial “boarding school” that also proclaimed to be a residential behavioral treatment center, prep school, an alternative to psychiatric treatment, and a general warehouse for “troubled teens”. It employed methods like encounter groups, physical, psychological and emotional manipulation, spanking, humiliation (including costumes) and an environment high on stress, devoid of privacy or personal space. They claimed to treat everything from depression to autism to pedophilia, took in runaways, depressed kids, pregnant teens, actual delinquents and kids that some parents just didn’t want.
For decades this place made its owners millions while the former residents were often left no better off than before they came, completely bewildered by what they’d experienced.
This is a fascinating look into a very dark and seldom discussed dusty corner of ‘alternative therapy’ and different approaches to ‘dealing with’ the various problems teenagers might face.

I really enjoyed this off beat, odd little film. It’s not an action packed gorefest, more like a slow burn with a very dreamy quality. The contrast lighting and black camera work lend to the dreamlike effect, which is offset by an uneasy, stressed quality. There’s a lot of subtly here, punctuated with crashes of high tension and anxiety, and an overall weird, surreal vibe. Good psychological thriller. ** four of five stars

This is a very beautiful yet deeply sad film. A poignant exploration of the failings of the psychiatric system, most especially how people are led to believe medication will simply absolve mental illness or at least, render the person more tolerable without actually resolving their condition. This documentary is unique in that it’s actually based on a diary. The visual renderings representing her states of mind, thoughts, musings, and last days are truly beautiful. This appears to be a film made with great care, and respect for the subject—- something not often seen in a documentary regarding mental illness.
I wasn’t too keen on the idea that the subject simply needed to be drugged into submission or permanently leashed to a hospital. If anything, the film suggests that “there has to be a better way”. Because there is no reason that this person should have felt so alone. On the filp side, her life was in her own hands and she was drawn to free herself from it how she saw fit—as she had few (if any) other options.
It’s a melancholy, sad film without being syrupy, condescending or judgmental. I hope the subject found comfort somewhere beyond her corporeal existence, I really do.
Definitely recommend, for when you’re up for watching something poetic yet psychological.