PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Obsession, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is a persistent, disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling. Obsessions can be dangerous. They can cause us to act impulsively or irrationally, to do things completely against our nature or character. So naturally, such fixation can make for some powerfully compelling horror. Such is the premise of the Obsessions Shorts Block for the 2019 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, an annual film festival devoted to showcasing horror cinema directed, written, or produced by women. The Obsessions Shorts Block screens the evening of Friday, February 1st at 7:30 local time. I had the esteemed pleasure of getting to review some of the films from this block ahead of the event. Are they worthy of your infatuation?
Real Artists (2017)
Synopsis:
In the near future, a young animator is offered what should be her dream job, but, when she discovers the truth of the modern ‘creative’ process, she must make a hard choice about her passion for film.
Sophia Baker (Tiffany Hines) lands a dream opportunity when she’s called to interview with the world famous Semaphore Animation Studios. But she’s about to have everything she ever believed about art in filmmaking challenged. Based on the eponymous, award-winning short story by Ken Liu, Real Artists gives us a glimpse of a cold dystopian world where artists have essentially been replaced by technology. Through human experimentation and AI, Semaphore is creating films tailor-made to be the perfect experience for their audiences. Will Sophia sacrifice her integrity to be part of the system? Can one rebel artist really make a difference, or is it already too late?
Directed by Cameo Wood, Real Artists is a visually breathtaking film posing a very unique, and genuinely unsettling, concept. In today’s technology-driven world, it shows us a frighteningly far too believable near future. A chilling concept, some gorgeous cinematography, and a stellar musical score all combine to make one truly exceptional film. I’m just hoping they made it naturally.
Just After Midnight (2017)
Synopsis:
Suzanne is a young, blind teacher. Within a small community of the visually impaired, she assiduously follows a course in art history devoted to the erotology of Satan and to witches. Transformed, Suzanne tries to steal a man’s eyes in order to get her sight back. The failure of her first attempt leads her to more easily approachable and impressionable prey, her personal reader, Pierre, who is madly in love with her.
Directed by Jean-Raymond Garcia and Anne-Marie Puga, UN PEU APRÈS MINUIT (Just After Midnight) is a stunning French short film. Heavily steeped in sensuality and witchcraft, this was a pleasantly uncomfortable watch. Once again, the visuals and musical score were exceptional. For a short film, the 22:19 run time is a bit on the bulky side, but it kept a good pace. I never found it dragging. For those that find subtitles distracting, the fact that this film is all in French may means that this probably is not the film for you. Otherwise, Just After Midnight is another outstanding short.
42 Counts (2018)
Synopsis:
Two unsuspecting victims spend their night off watching scary movies in an apartment rented from their boss until they uncover something much more sinister than what they’re watching on screen.
I’ve long been enamored with the incredible work of Jill “Sixx” Gevargizian (read our interview with her here). She’s unquestionably one of my favorite directors on the planet. Everything she has put her hands to has been absolutely must-see magnificent, and 42 Counts is no exception. Reuniting Jill with Najarra Townsend (read our interview with her here), star of Jill’s breathtaking previous short The Stylist (read our review here), this film is based on a chilling true story from Kansas City, Missouri, about a peeping tom convicted of 42 counts of invasion of privacy in 2014. This is completely stellar filmmaking, truly A+ top notch stuff, from beginning to end. Check out our full review for 42 Counts here.
Dreams From the Ocean (2017)
Synopsis:
A woman goes from room to room, performs her daily routines, but is constantly interrupted by a dark shadow. Carolina Sandvik puts a hypnotic nightmare on repeat and makes the viewer disturbingly aware of the voyeuristic pleasure of violence.
For something completely different, we have the stop-motion, animated nightmare fuel of Dreams From the Ocean, from the demented mind of Sweden’s Carolina Sandvik. While this isn’t really my kind of thing, I can certainly tip my hat to the artistry and creativity on display here. The animation is all very well done, and the music and sound effects are properly unnerving.
Final Thoughts
I can honestly say I enjoyed every film I got to see from the Obsessions Shorts Block. There were 3 other films in the block that I didn’t get to see: Vera Miao’s Singularity (2017), Brad Netherclift’s Enid (2016), and Hyun Lee’s Asian Girls (2017). But there was tremendous diversity among these selections, and all of them were exceptional. If the Obsessions Shorts Block is any indication of the quality of the rest of the fest, Berlin is in for a huge treat this weekend, with plenty of killer female-centric horror to obsess over!
