Chicago Critics Film Festival 2014: Canfield Delivers His 10 Most Anticipated

Willow Creek Stars Alexia Gilmore and Bryce Johnson Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait

A young couple hit the Pacific Northwest in search of Bigfoot. Bobcat Goldthwait has been quietly making a name for himself that extends well beyond that afforded by his early days as a screaming standup comic or even the star of cult comedy’s like the Police Academy films and Shakes the Clown. He’s now almost better known as a director. It’s well deserved. His last two films The World’s Greatest Dad and God Bless America offered smart, sardonic social satire. Both were so dark we should have seen this coming Willow Creek is a found footage horror film that has been winning rave reviews on the fest circuit as one of the most genuinely frightening pictures of the year.

Bobcat Goldthwaite will be in attendance.

The Congress Stars Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel Danny Huston and Kodi Smit-McPhee Directed by Ari Folman

An aging actress is offered one last role but the trick is, it will be her very last. She can never act again. It’s a choice that will profoundly affect her and the rest of the human race. This absolutely stunning blend of live action and animation tackles the idea of human tech singularity and comes courtesy of Ari Folman whose Waltzing With Bashir also blended notions of the real against the limitations of human perception. It’s also based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem whose work has already been adapted into brilliant films like Stalker and two different versions of Solaris. I’ve already seen this but it was so compelling and downright beautiful I can’t wait to see it again.

Housebound Stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata and Glen-Paul Waru Directed by Gerard Johnstone

You can go home again- if the court orders you to. A judge sentences Kylie back to her small town home where she must live with her ghost obsessed mother. But a few days in she too begins to wonder if the place really is haunted. Then she begins to wonder if she’ll survive her imprisonment. By all accounts this feature debut from writer director Gerard Johnstone is a near perfectly balanced blend of horror and humor.

Animals Directed by Colin Schiffli Starring David Dastmalchian, Kim Shaw and John Heard

Jude and Bobbie have constructed a drug fueled fantasy to keep from dealing with the reality of their homelessness. But their lives of petty thievery and grifting comes to a grinding halt when one of them is hospitalized. This film was shot in my own neighborhood and at the zoo where I often take my own family. The fact that the film signals the emergence of some great talent as well is icing on the cake. So proud this little Chicago indie made the cut.

Director Colin Schiffli and Star/Writer David Dastmalchian will be in attendance.

That Guy Dick Miller/Bucket of Blood
Directed by Elijah Drenner

This is a bit of cheat since I’m referencing two films instead of one. Since 1955 Dick Miller has been quietly becoming a Hollywood legend compiling a list of credits that includes roles opposite some of the biggest stars (Nicholson, DeNiro, Schwarzenegger, The Ramones) for some of the most respected directors in the biz (Scorsese, Corman, Fuller, Dante, Cameron, Demme). The film interviews everyone it can get it’s hands on and what emerges is a larger than life character that has made both the reel and the real world better places just by having been himself. This funny, insightful and moving documentary showcases one of the great character actors of all time. Following That Guy Dick Miller a special screening of his 1955 debut Bucket of Blood, will screen from abrand new 35mm print.

Dick Miller will be appearing

Frequencies OXV The Manual Starring Daniel Fraser, Eleanor Wyld and Dylan Llewellyn Directed by Darren Paul Fischer

Indie sci-fi has produced some remarkable filmsin the last few years. Vanishing Waves, and Primer are among the best. What they have in common is their tenacious hold on the human narrative and the way they transcend their genre. Frequencies OXV: the Manual is set in an altered reality in which people are grouped by frequency- a trait whose presence (or lack thereof) spells future success or failure in life. One low frequency soul, Isaac is desperate to unite with the very high frequency Marie and what he sets in motion as a result could change everything for everybody everywhere.

Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead Starring Vegar Hoel, Martin Starr and Jocelyn DeBoer Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Dead Snow was a romping stomping chomping gore com that ate all the Nazi zombie movies that came before it. But director Wirkola shows he still has guts to grind in the literally jaw dropping trailer of this sequel. If the film is half as inventive as that suggests he may be stuck making these movies for a long time. martin enlists some new friends and picks up where the first film began when the Nazi zombie horde returns.

Martin Starr and Jocelyn DeBoer will be in attendance.

Calvary Starring Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd and Kelly Reilly Directed by John Michael McDonagh

Brendan Gleeson is always a draw for me. Here the great actor seems perfectly cast as a priest struggling with the problems caused by a mysterious parishioner. It’s all coming to a dark end despite his tireless efforts to help his own daughter and others suffering under the weight of their problems. dark humor is a favorite of mine and the trailer promises plenty. The struggle of Gleeson’s, Father James promises some geuine pathos as well.

The One I Love Starring Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss and Ted Danson Directed by Charlie McDowell

This dramedy promises a Twilight Zone styled surreality to go with it’s insights about love in the 21st century. I trust Duplass and Moss to take me there even if the basic ground seems well tread. They play a couple on the brink of divorce who isolate themselves in a lake cabin to try to rekindle the fire. One thing leads another really weird thing until... that’s about all I know. But it sounds similar in tone to Baghead though it’s directed by Charlie McDowell not by Duplass. Surely similar sensibilities played out here

I, Origins Starring Michael Pitt, Brit Marling and Astrid Berges-Frisbey Directed by Michael Cahill

Like Frequencies this is another entry in the low fi sci fi department. Unlike Frequencies it has strong ties to Another Earth, another film of this type I really enjoyed. Said links are director Mike Cahill and star Brit Marling. Marling has made a career out of offbeat subject matter and here she supports a scientist friend who may or may not have discovered something about the human eye that will change the way people look at each other forever. The great trailer gives up a little too much info for my taste but also promises a ride of real intelligence and elegant genre exploration.