Thessaloniki 2026 Review: CANDIDATES OF DEATH, Homemade Horror from Poland
A long-term experiment in filmmaking, Candidates of Death started almost 20 years ago when documentarian Maciej Cuske took his son Stasiu and his friends Rafal and Adrian on a vacation. Friends since kindergarten, the three youths were fans of horror movies.
During the vacation, Cuske encourages them to make their own horror film, starting a tradition they will continue over the years in a dozen iterations of Candidates of Death.
A quick montage covers the friends' efforts. An evil grandmother. Zombies. A monster in a blue mask. Clearly amateur work, but made with enthusiasm. Outtakes and behind the scenes material show how much fun everyone is having.
In the present, Stasiu and Rafal relax on bunk beds in a camper, waiting for Adrian and Cuske to arrive. Their conversation is as much about whether Adrian will continue in their group as about ideas for their new project: three friends hiking in the mountains.
On location the next day, Cuske films the boys hiking through a rocky hollow. Stasiu complains later that the footage is out of focus, which the others confirm (and viewers can see for themselves).
Candidates of Death then switches back to the past, a tactic Cuske and his editor Katarzyna Orzechowska will rely on throughout the documentary. Intercutting past and present is a way to see how the filmmakers progress; on the other hand, it covers up footage Cuske (and later his cinematographer) didn't get.
Many of the background scenes take place by campfires, with Cuske reclining next to a bottle of liquor while the boys discuss relationships, divorces, future plans. Rafal, whose father is a binge drinker, worries that he's not talented enough to have a career in film. Stasiu is both optimistic and pessimistic. Adrian talks about his real job and career.
Without a strict narrative, the film becomes a collection of moments. Cuske builds a wooden raft on a hot afternoon, Stasiu helping only grudgingly. Later the raft, part of the latest movie, will crash into downed trees along the riverbank.
The final collaboration is a sci-fi story that unfolds partly on eerie mud flats. Although we only see glimpses, the footage looks very much like a real film. Closing credits add that Rafal has graduated from film school, Stasiu is a professional cinematographer, and Adrian manages international projects.
Cuske, who has extensive credits in Poland, says he is starting a new chapter in his life by making a movie in Cuba. Although the boys are the ostensible stars, he is the dominant presence in the film. Candidates of Death is as much a referendum on his skills as it is about the three friends.
Screened in the International Competition of this year's Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
