16th October 2009.

Just got back from the Sitges Fantasy Festival and I must say this 42nd edition was probably the best in its long history. The reasons? The 250 plus title line-up contained every current and hot horror fantasy you could wish to see. The guests were stellar and plentiful, from Clive Barker, Vincenzo Natali and Gaspar Noe to Viggo Mortensen, Duncan Jones and John Saxon. The sun never stopped blazing for ten days solid, meaning everyone could check each other out swimming on the nude beach by the Gran Melia Hotel base of operations. And the audiences turned out in droves meaning directors Angel Sala and Mike Hostench could heave a sigh of relief regarding ticket sale attendance in the light of Spain’s economy being one of the most depressed in Europe.  The festival wasn’t without its high dramas though. [REC] 2’s opening night was interrupted by demonstrators against the rumoured bankruptcy of its producer Filmax, and the closing night ceremony had a Viggo stalker emergency. But for those of us obliviously on the early morning press show circuit the only problem faced was how to get a NEW MOON T-Shirt before the rabid TWILIGHT mob snapped them all up! 

Obviously there was a bit of FrightFest crossover mainly because I recommend titles to Angel and Mike and so HEARTLESS, THE CHILDREN, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, DREAD, BEST WORST MOVIE, COLIN, GRACE, PONTYPOOL and many others made their debut in the picturesque off-Barcelona resort’s three main cinemas.  Other attractions like DORIAN GRAY, PANDORUM, MOON and ORPHAN were old news by Brit release standards. But here’s a quick rundown of what I saw and thought. THE COUNTESS is very much a labour of love on lead actress/director Julie Delpy’s part. And while it’s an interesting take on the whole Elizabeth Bathory legend – were her blood-bathing antics fuelled by fear of aging or was she just mad - the terrible acting and stilted dialogue kills it stone dead. Sadly, the lovely art-deco blood-drawing machine is the movie’s most animated aspect. Sean Byrne’s THE LOVED ONES is undoubtedly one of the year’s best discoveries. Paul and Ian loved this in Toronto too because it works every high school prom night concept into something hilariously gut-wrenchingly original. You’ll be reading a lot more about this Australian BREAKFAST CLUB blood-fest in the near future. Likewise Kelly Prior’s superb satire THE REVENANT where two zombie friends become DEATH WISH vigilantes. Constantly amusing, incredibly gory and amiably zany, this is the film ZOMBIELAND only wished it could be. The less said about Werner Herzog’s ludicrous BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS the better. Over-acted to an embarrassing degree by Nicolas Cage, it’s an epic train wreck of a movie disaster.  Wait till you see the iguanas singing ‘Release Me’ and the break dancing spirits of slaughtered gunmen! I would have walked out but I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I wish I had walked out of Gaspar Noe’s ponderously banal and juvenile neon-drippy ENTER THE VOID. No one else’s drug trip is interesting to another person and here’s the boring proof. I enjoyed Joe Dante’s THE HOLE 3D because of its old-fashioned ‘Twilight Zone’ feel and fun frights. Especially the distorted and surreal ending in a monster closet where Chris Massoglia (also star of CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT) faces the fear of his abusive father. And that’s one of the main reasons why this fine fantasy is having problems being sold anywhere. Jaco Van Dormael’s MR NOBODY was a terrific surprise, a marvellously deluxe rumination on the role of chance in life and its infinite possibilities.  The intergalactic travel scenes and the Mars landscapes are extraordinarily good.  It was my second viewing of SPLICE, Vincenzo Natali’s genetic Frankenstein, which is jam-packed with such startling and original visuals I can’t wait to see it again. As for Nicolas Winding-Refn’s VALHALLA RISING, well, has this uncompromisingly unique director ever made a more challenging or provocative art film? At dinner after the bemused Sitges screening Nicolas told me, “But you have to understand Alan, Mad Mikkelson’s One Eye character is the monolith from 2001”! CARGO was about as good a space epic as you’d expect one to be from Switzerland. TETSUO: THE BULLET MAN couldn’t have been worse; Shinya Tsukamoto’s body horror catastrophe really showing its old school experimental age. Shane Acker’s strangely similar meta-flesh 9 is a wonderfully designed, beautifully crafted morality tale though. SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD may be splitting audiences, but I found it great fun, the Western and War allegories expanding George A Romero’s zombie universe with an iconic sense of humour and keen eye for the fault-lines in contemporary culture. WITCHFINDER GENERAL becomes fantasy action adventure in the okay SOLOMON KANE. Looking cheap around the edges, and saddled with a pointless monster climax, James Purefoy puts in a good reading as Robert E. Howard’s puritan crusader indulging in stolen Biblical visuals. Readers of THE ROAD will find director John Hillcoat’s sterling adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel exactly right in terms of ashen bleakness and gloomy tone. The Surprise Movie at Sitges was a welcome one indeed – MILLENNIUM 2: THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE. While not as intense as the original shown at FrightFest, and with more of a TV movie feel this time, it nevertheless delivers the Lisbeth Salander goods along with a few keen jolts.

And what was my favourite Sitges movie? Easy. Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s AMER, which is an immaculate and flawless tribute to the 70s giallo movie. Essentially what the two Belgian-based filmmakers do is recreate every giallo motif, cliché and visual code from the vintage Italian back catalogue and string them together to form a new narrative explaining why a young girl, frightened by her grandfather’s death, becomes a cock-teasing Lolita in her teenage years and then a black-gloved assassin as an adult. The Three Faces of Fear in fact. With a grab from DEEP RED here, a lift from LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN there, all wrapped around sleek and chic iconic nods to Mario Bava, and the work of Edwige Fenech, Sergio Martino and Massimo Dallamano, AMER (BITTER) is a stunningly beautiful jet-set thriller montage. Continual shrieks of enraptured glee exploded during the three screenings I attended whenever any recognisable image or pose shimmered on screen. Yes, it’s an arty exercise in the fabulously OTT eccentric giallo style, all scored to recycled soundtracks from Ennio Morricone and Stelvio Cipriani.  How Cattet and Forzani use Cipriani’s WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS main theme tune to underscore an erotic trip through a thorn-filled rose garden is filmmaking of the highest order. And yes, many will find the breathless suspense built up by this virtual giallo clip reel exhausting to watch. Obviously the police procedural bits allowed relaxation in the movies referenced. But if you’re a giallo/Argento/Fulci fan you will not want to miss this absolutely fantastic treat. It’s every bit as good as what Todd Haynes did with Douglas Sirk’s celluloid language in FAR FROM HEAVEN. And just wait until you witness the SUSPIRIA three colour-filtered sex scene! I always used to say that you could freeze-frame any of Argento’s early movies and you’d have a masterpiece suitable for framing in any art gallery. Vindication is finally mine with this unique work of visionary brilliance.   

Until next time.

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