The biggest and oldest genre festival in Finland, Night Visions, will kick off tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15, and run through Sunday, April 19. Because I drew the lucky straw, I will be attending the fest for the first time, and sharing my impressions of the films and the scene in Helsinki.
The festival is held twice a year and focuses on horror, fantasy, science fiction, and action cinema. This year the spring edition of the program is themed as "Back to Basics," which is a call to action that I always support. I'm looking forward to seeing films we haven't covered yet, along with ones that I've missed so far, and some that I want to see again.
In addition to the screenings, the festival will also host a new program for the first time: Nordic Genre Industry Days, on April 16 and 17. That will be an event where Nordic producers of genre movies will get together, have pitch sessions of their upcoming projects at various stages of development and production, and enjoy some panel discussions on issues related to the Nordic market. Some of that will be private, of course, but I'll also be reporting on whatever news and information that I'm allowed to share.
The program and schedule can be found here. You can click on individual titles to read more about the film (scroll down each page for the English translation). Feel free to follow me on Twitter, where, the Internet willing, I will be sharing my bite-sized impressions of the festival and related events. As a preview of things to come, please click through the gallery below.
AMERICAN BURGER
Straight from the festival's description: "Welcome to the American Burger universe, where pretty American high scool kids are as ignorant as ever and mysterious Eastern European hillybillies serve each and every one of them what they ultimately deserve. This English-language splatter comedy emerging from Sweden has all the ingredients of a Troma classic from the golden 80s: humor that no-one would dare to call politically correct, intentionally cartoonish characters, absurd plot twists, old school SFX – and bare buttocks. In other words, a perfect party feature best enjoyed at Night Visions, together with a bunch of like-minded people with a cultivated taste for Quality Entertainment."
I AM THOR
”Love is something special. Love is something more powerful than just the hammer.” – Thor. The titular subject is a musician and he has been plying his rock / metal trade for about five decades, which sells me. Directed by Ryan Wise.
MARFA GIRL
Watching Larry Clark's latest, probably lascivious narrative on nubile young people should be fascinating on the big screen. Will I be the only one squirming in my seat?
SALAD DAYS
The documentary's subtitle, "A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-1990)" is enough to draw me in to the subject. It's not my favorite style of era of music, but I suspect there are many fascinating stories I'll want to hear about.
SERIAL KILLER CULTURE
John Borowski's documentary allows 13 devotees of the history and culture of serial killers to explain themselves.
THE HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME
'Things start going bump in the night' when an ex-convict is released back to the house where she committed her crimes. From Venezuela.
More Picks and Pans
Of the films that I've seen, I heartily recommend Spring -- star Lou Taylor Pucci will be present for the screening -- and New Zealand's own Housebound.
I also loved Wyrmwood, which has a cheeky, very appealing sense of humor about the end of the world, along with a good dose of gore. Tsui Hark's The Taking of Tiger Mountain is a rousing epic that is filled with great battle sequences, as well as effectively quiet scenes of grace and beauty.
As to Goodnight Mommy, I found it to be quite memorable but extremely unpleasant and unconvincing. While Tokyo Tribe has its staunch defenders, I'm afraid it put me to sleep with its exhaustively pushy attack.