2024’s Fantastic Fest has arrived, and, if you’ll forgive the pun, it was rather fantastic! Josh and Allison saw a swath of interesting films—don’t miss the full festival coverage just after the jump.
Films
APARTMENT 7A
Full review at the link.
BOOKWORM
Ant Timpson, producer of such zany genre mashups as Housebound, Turbo Kid, and The Greasy Strangler, helms his second feature after Elijah Wood-starring Come to Daddy. This time, Timpson chooses the family-friendly route. Hoping for more depth or at least a bit of fun may prove to be a letdown. 11-year-old Mildred (Evil Dead Rise’s Nell Fisher) has an obsession with the legendary Canterbury Panther. Anxious to prove the creature’s existence, Mildred’s mission becomes even more vital when her mother falls into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage. Her biological father, magician Strawn Wise (Elijah Wood), shows up to accompany Mildred through her wilderness trek. The movie drags on and on, with far too much sitting around the campfire and idle chatter for my taste. Though overly saccharine and family-oriented for my personal taste, I have a hard time imagining younger viewers being enthralled enough to make it through a slowly-paced one hour and forty-three minute runtime regardless. That begs the question of who the target audience will even be. Split up into five different chapters, this middling adventure will probably fail to make any true believers.
EBONY AND IVORY
Full review at the link.
FRANKIE FREAKO
Full review at the link.
MALDOROR
(Written by Intern, Sean Barry) Maldoror offers a captivating investigative premise, yet its potential is undermined by a lengthy runtime and inconsistent characters. Ambitious young policeman, Paul Chartier (Anthony Bajon), lives happily with his wife, Gina (Alba Gaia Bellugi). Paul is assigned to investigate the disappearance of two young girls, a case that rapidly consumes his entire life. With little cooperation from witnesses and ongoing restrictions from his superiors, Paul grows increasingly agitated with each new roadblock. His relationship with Gina begins to fracture, as he starts disregarding his personal life. With his partners regularly abandoning him and few promising leads, Paul must decide whether to reconcile with his family or continue the seemingly futile search for the victims. An intense opening displays a gripping standoff between Paul and an abusive family, immediately drawing the audience in and effectively showcasing the protagonist’s heroic attributes. His progressive arc from noble to obsessed spans most of the runtime, remaining highly believable for the first half. With third act conflicts, Paul evolves into an irritable boor, showing little affection or care for people he unabashedly loved earlier. His eventual rapid deterioration contrasts sharply with the initially subtle changes in his attitude and body language. Anthony Bajon portrays Paul as an optimistically good man swept up in a terrible crime. Inconsistent writing affects Bajon’s performance; he starts off appropriately reserved before becoming overtly performative and obvious. Unnecessary scenes detract from the central plot, such as an extended introduction to Gina and Paul’s families despite their irrelevance to the events that unfold. Although the couple’s wedding is an important benchmark for their happiness together, it grows tiresome, leading to viewer fatigue with two hours still remaining. Exploring Gina’s troubled feelings toward her husband would have made their conflict more brutal, but she is instead ignored for nearly an hour in the middle. Losing one’s identity in their work endures as a thought-provoking message, but it ultimately cannot save Maldoror’s sluggish pacing.
MR. CROCKET
Full review at the link.
SCARED SHITLESS
Apparently expecting excellence (or at least a giggle or two) from a movie titled Scared Shitless was a grave error. In this mildly amusing horror/comedy, a plumber (Steven Ogg) and his extremely germophobic son, Sonny (Daniel Doheny), find their match in a Tremors-esque giant leech-like creature, a failed lab experiment called Project X. Throughout the very brief seventy-six minute runtime, nervous farts and gory practical effects attempt to make up for a thin script with very little to chew on. Each time it seems about to take a daring risk, director Vivieno Caldinelli backpedals instead. Though the creature looks impressive, it never feels dangerous enough. There are nowhere near enough silly, over-the-top kills or funny moments. Only a brief sequence with an old woman seems to live up to the premise the title promises. The ending credits tease an obvious sequel setup that at least appears to imply bigger and better things, but it is hard to care when the first installment fails to take advantage of a game cast and single-setting vibes. “Sometimes, shit happens,” the characters repeat more than once. That is basically how the movie comes across. Shit happens without a care for depth or development, and what we are left with in the end is mostly just poo.
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN
For any millennial who frequently tuned in to the Disney Channel during their childhood, the Halloweentown franchise probably holds many fond memories. Certainly, for the folks who live in Saint Helens, Oregon, every spooky season opens the doors for more and more tourists who flock to the sleepy town to embrace their nostalgia. What I had assumed would mostly be a relatively straightforward approach about how this iconic Disney Channel Original Movie entirely changed Saint Helens is instead a disconnected slog. The event was first created to honor the filming of Halloweentown in 1998, and has grown from a small gathering to a larger community celebration. The town transforms into a Halloween-themed spectacle, complete with the famous giant pumpkin in the town square. This meandering documentary includes stories from locals, live music, a drag show, and paranormal investigations. Angry townsfolk are dissuaded by the popularity of the event, claiming that “evil” is coming. Too much emphasis on unrelated paranormal and ghost content dilutes the magic. Lacking cohesion, The Spirit of Halloweentown feels more akin to a Ghost Hunters episode than an encapsulation of Saint Helens culture. Still, it was enough to add the town as a destination I would love to visit in the near future—especially around Halloween.
V/H/S BEYOND
Full review at the link.
For more information on Fantastic Fest, head over to the official website.