Cosmic Horror served two ways in the same book. John Langan's Bram Stoker Award winning novel The Fisherman serves a unique nested story structure to deliver the tale of how two widowed men deal with grief and loss by fishing, but are being drawn into literally hellish decisions.
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Horror maestro André Øvredal has turned the story of Dracula into a 19th Century period piece version of Alien. A doomed ship of sailors are unknowingly transporting Dracula in his coffin to England, and a merchantman sailing vessel is a perfect hiding place for the devil that is Dracula. The much anticipated movie is dreadful, as in FULL OF DREAD. About as scary as you're going to be able to get with Dracula.
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The slow-burn folkloric feature The Seeding follows an oblivious photographer who gets trapped in the bottom of a desert crater, whose only inhabitant is a lovely young woman, and a pack of nasty feral boys preventing his escape. What do they want? What does SHE want? This was one of BiFan's Bucheon Choice film selections.
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A Korean couple fail to heed the warnings of a serial killer on the loose when embarking on a romantic chabak (car camping) excursion. A standout performance by Kim Minchae and a strong story foundation probably pushes one too many melodramatic twists at the end. Still an entertaining slasher film worth watching.
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Hold your breath! Black Mold is gonna get you! When two photographers try and capture the beauty of decaying structures, they get more than they bargained for in an abandoned industrial facility. Strong character studies and lovely cinematography bolster this film, which could have been more decisive about its third act structure.
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The horror-romance-comedy of Love Will Tear Us Apart builds like a wave and crashes down with a gonzo fun final act. Endearing performances from child actors, and strong character arcs anchor this best of the fest film from the Portland Horror Film Festival.
