By: Jolie Featherstone Ariane Louis-Seize’s feature film directorial debut, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, is an intriguing horror-dramedy that has the makings of a cult classic. Think gothic Wes Anderson, or Richard Ayoade’s Submarine (2010) meets Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In (2008).
Just like staring at an inkblot, “random” and “strange” are the first words that spring to mind if I had to describe Frank D’Angelo’s Sicilian Vampire to movie goers. However, the oddities give D’Angelo’s film a fever dream allure – it’s entertaining one way or another.
By: Addison Wylie Vampires and the mockumentary genre have both been exhausted thanks to current fads, and spoofing these horrific bloodsuckers has also been done before. Yet, What We Do in the Shadow is one of the funniest films of the year. How so? Filmmaker Taika Waititi and comedic actor Jemaine Clement use inventive intelligence to ingeniously breathe life into these seemingly overplayed areas. There are various forms of comedy, but it’s always helpful when…
By: Addison Wylie Spike Lee took to Kickstarter to fund his latest joint Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. It was a bold move that opened up the floodgates for skeptics to start criticizing the filmmaker. Zach Braff endured the same with his campaign to make Wish I Was Here. Lee brings more of an argumentative crowd compared to Braff’s followers and naysayers. Some see Spike Lee as a self-serving loudmouth, but loyal fans believe he has…
Domestic Blood (DIR. Alexis Korotash) By: Addison Wylie A young woman awakens her passive boyfriend by reminding him of her blood-sucking roots in Domestic Blood, a clever take on relationships and moody vampires. Korotash wrote the funny screenplay, and has directed herself and Warren Short in this story about a late night confession. Short finds Korotash on the floor next to the toilet and covered in blood. This leads to a heart-to-heart which then forms into…
Uncommon Enemies (DIR. Alex Hatz) By: Addison Wylie A late-night rendezvous between a Nazi (played by James Gangl) and a seductive mademoiselle (played by Melanie Scrofano) is interrupted by a couple of American soldiers. When discovered, the Sergeant (played by Flashpoint’s Michael Cram) and the Nazi hold each other at gunpoint, while the French miss tends to the wounded Private (played by AJ Vaage). Uncommon Enemies is a comedic period piece that tries too hard…
By: Addison Wylie Movie goers will always remember the big boom of modern vampires and their iffy lore. Some appreciated what Twilight executed with their movement, while others wished the movement had been executed altogether. That said, I believe we can all agree that fantasies about brooding creatures of the night have had their time in the spotlight and are now starting to peter away slowly. It was like witnessing an out-of-control party scamper off…
By: Addison Wylie It’s unfortunate to report that Hotel Transylvania is a disappointment. Even young children will pick up on how often this neat set-up is treated as a one-note joke. Hotel Transylvania has everything a kid could want from a timely Halloween release including oodles of monsters. Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James), the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade), a talking werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi), and a mummy (voiced by CeeLo Green) all…