Anyway, Muldoon has these two and a Santos review which will be a few stories up. Enjoy!
First of, wow, this year's Fantastic Fest kicks even more ass than last years. They seem to be getting better and better. I hardly write in with reviews, because as a filmmaker myself, I hate the idea of judging some guy's/gal's flick after they have put so much work into the thing… Sometimes I'm just not in tune with whatever the filmmaker is doing and sometimes I totally am. Yesterday, the fourth day of the fest, I saw two movies that I absolutely was in tune with: LATE BLOOMER and THE BURROWERS.
When it comes to film fests, I'm the kind of guy who doesn't really know what he will be watching that day – I typically get out of a flick and then walk into some random line, knowing nothing about the thing except the film's title… I see some read badass flicks this way, while at the same time find myself watching something I completely don't vibe with. Both LATE BLOOMER and THE BURROWERS are films I think anyone who likes movies can get into and enjoy.
LATE BLOOMER
When the guy came in to introduce the film, he set it up as a movie about a man with cerebral palsy who turns into a serial killer… My initial gut reaction was "Nice another IT'S FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE…" which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I literally fell asleep during Crispin Glover's movie about the same thing. From the first scene of the movie, the film slapped out any connection it might have had with Crispin Glover's movie and slapped me back in my seat with eyes pealed.
The story begins with Sumida-San, the main character being helped by his friends and through some program that employs younger college aged people to help out the disabled. Aside from his female helper, he has a young rocker friend employed by that program I assume. Sumida-San begins drinking his boredom away with the help of his rocker friend even after his friend leaves and specifically tells Sumida-San not to drink…
Sumida-San soon gets a new helper, a hot young college student, who he soon falls for. He makes the mistake of having this girl accompany him to one of his rocker helper's shows and she soon becomes infatuated with the young rocker. Sumida-San sits helplessly by until he snaps. This is where the film picks up and starts kicking insane ass, with tons of violent scenes. He drugs and drowns the young rocker and quickly develops a taste for blood. What follows is 83 minutes of intense film making, told in a stark black and white world where everything you have come to know is flipped upside down. The movie is powerful, fun, and showcases that regardless of your budget or how expensive a camera you are shooting on, you can tell an amazing story.
This is my second favorite film of the fest so far and I'm baffled at why this thing hasn't come out on DVD yet. I'll gladly toss the twenty bucks down to pick it up when whoever owns the US rights figures out what they're going to do.
THE BURROWERS
Wow. With LATE BLOOMERS hitting so hard, I'm glad I stumbled into this film shortly after. I'll try to keep this one short and not give much away. It was introduced as "From the guy who brought you MIMIC 3" and yeah I never really got into the MIMIC movies, so that meant absolutely nothing to me. I'm glad, because again I was able to take in a film with out any preconceived notions, though after the MIMICS thing… whatever, I was there in my seat and hoping I wouldn't be forced to sit through a cheesy B movie… Let me be clear, this movie blew me away. The story, the direction, the acting, the everything… This movie kicks immense ass.
The LIONSGATE people were outside and not letting anyone in with a camera, which typically indicates some big plans for the film, but during the Q & A, director J.T Petty hinted that the film would only be released on DVD and skip a theatrical run. If that's the case, then that's pretty damn retarded, because this film is deserving of giant white screen all across America.
The movie follows a group of men on a mission to find a missing woman believed to be stolen by a group of Indians when they come to find it might not be Indians at all, but subterranean creatures. In case I didn't mention it, this film's a period piece and whoever did the costumes did a phenomenal job. You know you're in for a good ride when the movie is supposed to be a horror and you find yourself actually giving a shit about the characters involved and hoping they all make it out OK. As obvious as that might be, so many horror flicks neglect that and just go for the kills. With this picture, the kills are absolutely there, but so is a solid story acted by solid actors with a vision derived from an intelligent guy. The concept of this movie is intriguing and could be taken in so many different directions, but clearly Petty knows his stuff and openly displays how to make a good horror movie great. His story was not only fun to watch, but scary at all the right times.
I can't recommend this movie enough and I hope everyone gets a chance to hit it up. It's by far my favorite film of the fest and I can't wait to see what else Petty's got up his sleeves.
Both these flicks play again at the fest and if you haven't seen been able to catch them, get on it, because they are well worth it.
-Muldoon
