Take a trip into adventurous animation in the new style Renaissance and Persepolis trend with a creepy cartoon anthology. Comic book legends Charles Burns and Blutch lend their inimitable designs to the weird bogeyman haunting the far reaches of our collective subconscious. From a besotted nerdy student whose girlfriend is rather strange in her ardent affections to a Japanese student menaced by a long-dead samurai warrior. And from spooky goings-on in a remote house of shadows to a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, famous graphic artists present their visions of terror in a creatively rich and beautiful black-and-white Pop Art portmanteau of phobias. Impressively disconcerting and showcasing a stunning range of animation styles, Fear(s) of the Dark is arty and arcane in its drive to cause sleepless nights. It’s one of Guillermo de Toro’s favourite fade to grey movies of the moment. Need we say any more?
Directors: Blutch, Marie Caillou, Jerry Kramski, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire, Romain Slocombe, Michel Pirus. Narrator: Nicole Garcia. 2008 USA, 80 min. UK distributor Metrodome Web site