It's always a sad moment when it hits you: You've been at MOTELx - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival for five days and everything that's good, has to come to an end. Like every year, this week worth of movies comes and goes in a blink of an eye, leaving me in a state of anticipation for next year's 11th Edition. Heck, I could do one of these every six months, just to get my fix!
I started my day with Personal Shopper, the new film directed by French indie hero Olivier Assayas, featuring Kristen Stewart as Maureen, a personal shopper for a super-model in Paris. She's also mourning the death of her brother, whom she's still waiting for a sign from the after-world, to bring her closure.
In a festival like MOTELx, one known for it's edgy feel, watching something this indie felt a little out of place, but this movie approaches the supernatural theme in a way that otherwise would be exaggerated and blown-up, as here, Assayas keeps things grounded and tells a story more plausible than probable. Additionally, Kristen Stewart does once more, her best to shake off the bad reputation of a fantasy film that shall not be named. I don't think I've liked her acting so much since 2012s On The Road.
Moving on to Dutch slasher film SneekWeek, a feature-length directorial debut by Martijn Heijne.
Grabbing all the elements from our favorite horror flicks from the '90s like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, giving it a Dutch twist, at Sneek Week, a crazy event where kids go to the town of Sneek to celebrate their freedom, with booze, sex and madness.
Things go wrong when a group of friends are haunted by the accidental murder of one of their pledges, that decides to ruin their vacation.
It's not only of horror that SneekWeek lives from, as other influences arise, such as Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers has it's moments, in it's own European way, featuring some of the best Dutch EDM artists at the moment, along with a fair amount of female appreciation.
Filled with good times, this might not present anything that we haven't seen before, but definitely pays homage to everything we love about slasher films so well and that nobody can take away from this awesome flick.
I'm a huge fan of Mike Flanagan's Oculus, so it's with anticipation that I saw Before I Wake. I'm am glad to say, I'm not disappointed!
Cody, a small boy, is adopted by Jessie and Mark, a couple who's still grieving over their lost child, but decided to open their hearts to a new one. Except Cody is a very special boy: Everything he dreams is able to turn into reality, until he wakes up. Until then, things get very, very scary.
While Hollywood keep on recycling their old formulas, Flanagan joins Jeff Howard, whom once again aren't scared to introduce a new refreshing idea for the horror genre, with a story that tips over into a fairy-tale. Nevertheless, it's scary moments, mixed with its very own surrealism, make Before I Wake one of my favorites of the festival, leaving me wondering what will Flanagan/Howard are doing next. Whatever it is, it'll definitely be worth it.
After that, came Norwegian The Wave, a natural-disaster movie. Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of the sub-genre of these catastrophes, but I figured best this one was worth a shot.
Nature has this thing where it can be horrible on its own. Much like the case of The Wave, that focuses its attention to how plates in a mountain and its subsequent collapse was able to put a small town in danger, along with the people who try very hard to solve the problem with science.
While the second half is reserved for this natural disaster and its consequences, the first half sets the backdrop for empathy of the people in this town, as we sit on the edge of our seat and hope for the best.
Closing movie The Devil's Candy had quite a reputation before I even stepped foot into the theater, as writer and director Sean Byrne previous film had made quite an impression.
Telling a story about a family that moves into a new house in rural Texas, things take a turn for the worst as Jesse, an artist trying to make an earning through his paintings, is overtaken by the voices that came with the house, creating some of the most horrifically awesome work he's ever done. In the meantime, son of the previous owners of the house also hears the voices, that tell him to kill this family.
This movie grabs a rather classic formula in the genre and turns it over to a modern day creepfest, with a soundtrack that will ll leave you banging your head and worshiping the Devil
To really finish off the festival, I stayed over for the midnight session, a magical night where I'm able to say my goodbyes, while watching a good movie. In past years, this session has proved to show me some of my modern favorites, like Starry Eyes and The Invitation. This year, it was the chance for Southbound, to make an impression.
Anybody that's knows me, knows I'm a sucker for anthologies, so I was looking forward to Southbound, that promised a different kind of movie. I'm happy to say it delivered, because this is going right to the top of the list as one of the best movies in the festival.
From the DJ on the radio, being a subtle narrator to the several events, to how each story connects, as one character gives the spotlight to the next one, shows that a lot of work was involved making sure that each segment was unique, but as well as part of some messed up universe, leaving us, the audience, never knowing what to expect next.
As different directors link their stories to each other, it's equally subtle change of style allows Southbound to surprise at every turn, while giving us relatively self contained segments, that will certainly leave you theorizing what this place is.
And this was my coverage of the 10th Edition of MOTELx, a festival I've been going to since the beginning. It's been a long journey, one I hope to keep on going for a long time. Happy 10th MOTELx! See you next year!