After attracting attention goofing on 1980's style b-film with his Astron-6 cohorts young Canadian director Steven Kostanski comes into his own in a big, big way with Heart of Karl. Playing like the incestuous love child of Guy Maddin and Sam Raimi the film creates an impossibly compelling world on a shoestring budget, dressing up an age-old tale of sibling tension under layers of latex and buckets of blood.
The premise is simple. Karl is a monster. And a bit of a simpleton. Max, Karl's brother, is neither. And, chafing under the burden of caring for his brother Max puts him away in a home that 'cares' for Karl's kind so that he can go on vacation. It's a kennel of sorts. A kennel for monsters. When Max returns home to claim his brother he learns the hard way what a horrible place he has left Karl as he must battle his way through skin-optional creatures to get his brother back.
Kostanski is not quite a jack of all trades here but he is a jack of most, credited as writer, director, editor, effects man and animator as he laces some startlingly effective stop motion throughout. Sound design and washed out visuals combine to create an atmosphere that already unsettling in the extreme even before the stop motion kicks in and the hospital attendents turn up with the skin peeled from their faces. A thoroughly original creation Heart of Karl is one striking piece of work and hopefully a sign of things to come from Kostanski and company.
You can check the trailer beneath the break.