October Film Events PRINCE AVALANCHE
We Are What We Are
Director: Jim Mickle Starring: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Ethan Suplee, Nick Damici Released: 25 Oct Certificate: 15
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The Broken Circle Breakdown
Director: Felix Van Groeningen Starring: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse, Geert Van Rampelberg, Nils De Caster Released: 18 Oct Certificate: 15
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Jim Mickle updates Jorge Michel Grau’s 2010 cannibal family drama in solid style, building on the promise of his low-key vampire saga Stake Land from the same year. Moving the action from a bustling Mexico City to rural USA, Mickle and co-writer Nick Damici have lost some of the original’s sharp political subtext – the impoverished being easy pickings in huge metropolises – but a shift to American Gothic and oppressive religious faith brings its own rewards. When their mother dies unexpectedly, teens Iris (Childers) and Rose (Garner) must take a more active role in the macabre household chores dictated by their zealot father Frank (Sage) – namely, preparing captured young women to be the main dish in their traditional family feast. Here character and emotional conflict provide the real dread as a doleful mood is maintained; this existential disquiet and melancholy prove welcome antidotes to the tiresome ‘Look! Surprise!’ brand of horror that’s currently in vogue. [Chris Fyvie]
Breaking up a film’s narrative chronology is always a risky endeavour. If not used judiciously and purposefully, such a tactic can appear to be nothing more than a gimmick, or a means to sweep storytelling deficiencies under the carpet. The Broken Circle Breakdown succeeds because director Felix Van Groeningen uses this approach to bring a sense of balance to the heart-wrenching story, and because his two leads, Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh, provide a tangible emotional honesty that helps to guide us through their shattered lives. As a musician couple who’ve lose their young daughter to cancer, Baetens and Heldenburgh never strike a false note, even when the latter is asked to tackle some odd political rants that feel awkwardly shoehorned into the otherwise tight script. The bold editing and imaginative cinematography impresses throughout, but it’s the soundtrack that proves to be The Broken Circle Breakdown’s biggest asset, with the bluegrass songs performed by the cast beautifully underscoring the characters’ fluctuating fortunes and augmenting the picture’s thematic weight. [Philip Concannon]
V/H/S/2
Crash Reel
Directors: Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sánchez, Simon Barrett, Gregg Hale, Gareth Huw Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Jason Eisener Starring: Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott Released: 14 Oct Certificate: 18
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V/H/S/2 sprints on to the screen at the same manic pace as its splatterific predecessor, inviting a handful of filmmakers to do their worst with a selection of horror shorts. Director Adam Wingard kicks things off by starring as a bloke who can see dead people through his newly installed robotic eye. Next up, The Blair Witch Project co-creator Eduardo Sánchez straps a Go Pro camera to the hungry head of a freshly turned zombie, allowing us a grizzly glimpse at how the other half eat. Messy stuff. The Raid’s Gareth Evans and newcomer Timo Tjahjanto tackle the feature’s main event, Safe Haven, in which a documentary team witnesses the demonic second-coming of a crazed cult. And finally, Jason Eisener’s Slumber Party Alien Abduction finishes things off with a fright when some unexpected guests crash a teen sleepover. The final product is a lo-fi, handheld hellraiser with a varying success rate but with more ballsy gusto than most mainstream horrors. [Simon Bland]
Crash Reel, Lucy Walker’s compelling new documentary, has it all: sports rivalry, You’ve Been Framed-style carnage, family drama, and, in Kevin Pearce, an inspiration. In 2010, Pearce was one of the finest snowboarders on the planet. And then, with the Winter Olympics just a few weeks away, it all ended with a brutal wipeout that put him in a coma for six days. Walker’s movie is a diptych. Part one, composed of archive footage, shows Pearce’s charmed life up until his accident, the good times with his friends on the snowboarding circuit and the thrill of the sport captured through fish-eye lenses. Part two follows Pearce’s recovery and shows his determination to get back on the slopes – and, poignantly, the terror of the people closest to him that he might not be so lucky in his next spill. If this were a Hollywood movie, Pearce would have overcome his adversities and won gold. Real life, as it proves in Walker’s film, is far messier, far more humbling and far more heroic. [Jamie Dunn]
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Review
O
oof, it’s getting chilly, isn’t it? Luckily, cinemas are nice and cosy. First up this month is Grimmfest (2-6 Oct), Grimm Up North’s annual gory get-together boasting tonnes of tantalising horror. Exclusive screenings, Q&As and the chance to get zombiefied by SFX maestro Shaune Harrison – there’s something for every fright fanatic here. However, our pick has to be Grimm’s preview night screening of The Wicker Man: The Final Cut, which is followed by a Q&A with director Robin Hardy. To create this new edit of one of Britain’s best horrors, StudioCanal conducted a worldwide search for lost footage – and found it – making this Hardy’s definitive vision. Cult classics aside, we’d also suggest catching Curse of Chucky (2 Oct), the Hellraiser trilogy with cast Q&A (4 Oct), John Dies at the End (5 Oct), and the after-party on 6 Oct.
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For Those in Peril
David Gordon Green rejects his recent form for crude stoner clowning to provide more oblique, contemplative comedy with 80s-set Prince Avalanche. Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch are excellent as Alvin and Lance, two very different but equally moronic road crew crackpots discovering themselves and a semblance of perspective while maintaining the trail in a burnt-out Texan forest. Alvin, having taken on his partner’s brother Lance as a favour, is distraught at having his solitude disrupted by the younger man. An uptight mass of pretension and disdain, Alvin prefers to spend his time in the bush with self-improving introspection and taped German lessons, while loudmouth Lance longs for a trip to town to get laid. Rudd and Hirsch have great chemistry, and Green gives them room to develop their characters with a languid pace and unobtrusive style. This is a nuanced work with some ambiguous spiritual elements complementing all the male anxiety. A couple of older characters of mysterious origin intermittently dip in to add philosophical depth to an already smart two-hander. [Chris Fyvie]
Words: Simon Bland
Director: Lucy Walker Starring: Kevin Pearce, Shaun White Released: 4 Oct Certificate: 12A
Prince Avalanche
Director: David Gordon Green Starring: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch, Lance LeGault, Joyce Payne Released: 18 Oct Certificate: 15
The autumn leaves are beginning to turn a shade of red and so too are our movie screens as Grimmfest, Cornerhouse and Blackpool’s Outdoor Cinema serve up enough horror to see you through to All Hallows’ Eve
Director: Paul Wright Starring: George MacKay, Michael Smiley, Kate Dickie Released: 4 Oct Certificate: 18 “Respect the sea, because the sea’s the master,” reflects a voice over ominous images of crashing waves. It’s surely the boss of Aaron, whose brother and crew were swallowed by it on his virgin fishing voyage. Survivor guilt manifests as he sponges up the community’s shared grief. Superstition fills the gaps in their comprehension of death; they turn to myth, a type of sacrifice to the sea – their god and monster. Director Paul Wright shows enough verve to cut through the kitchensink morbidity miring so much UK film. Documentary-style footage punctures the bubble of cinema, allowing us to imagine the true tragedy of lost young lives – only one example of Wright’s inventive techniques. When the director tips the scales a little too far stylistically, however, serious flaws emerge; poetic inner monologues scream Terrence Malick mimicry, while metaphors are muddy. The film eventually unravels with Aaron’s fragile mind. Still, this is bold and interesting filmmaking, with a reliable and familiar cast supporting the strong performance of talented newcomer George MacKay. [Alan Bett]
FILM
CURSE OF CHUCKY
Speaking of frightening fun, don’t miss Cornerhouse Manchester’s British Gothic Double Bill on 26 Oct, where you’ll find Night of the Demon and Sir Christopher Lee’s Dracula playing back-to-back. Meanwhile, anti-horror folks might prefer John Ross’s Evidently... John Cooper Clarke, a doc chronicling the turbulent life and career of the Northern punk poet, which is followed by a live Q&A with the man himself. On 5 Oct, Manchester’s Video Jam heads to Liverpool to take part in Abandon Normal Devices festival. They’ll host an evening of experimental shorts stripped of their sound and scored by a selection of innovative musicians, artists and poets. Their pièce de résistance has avant-garde ensemble Ex-Easter Island Head score Ron Fricke’s non-narrative doc Baraka, the first film to be restored at 8K resolution. The whole event takes place in Liverpool’s ornate Anglican Cathedral and celebrates the life and career of Golden Age actress, Hedy Lamarr. If you do fancy braving the harsh October weather, give Blackpool’s Outdoor Cinema a visit. This newly installed drive-in is showing a selection of beauties on their 60m open-air screen at Whyndyke Farm. Over 2000 local film fans cast their vote and personally picked a nice mix of family fun for the daytime and something a little meaner for later on. Dirty Dancing and A Nightmare on Elm Street christen the screen on 25 Oct, with The Lion King, Grease and The Shining set for 26 Oct, and Dumbo, Toy Story, Star Wars and Halloween on 27 Oct. Lovely stuff.
THE SKINNY