Tag Archives: Short Films

From Fantasia 2024 : «Hell Is a Teenage Girl»

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I rarely review shorts (I just mostly recommend them). However, this Fantasia 2024, I saw several synopses that got my interest and made me think: “Why the hell not??” The first one to draw blood is “Hell is a Teenage Girl”, written and directed by Stephen Sawchuk.

I want to cut to the chase, so let me copy/paste the official synopsis and jump to the best stuff!

‘HELL IS A TEENAGE GIRL’ OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:
 Every Halloween, the small town of Springboro is terrorized by its resident SLASHER – a masked serial killer who targets sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’ – don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex! At the center of it all is Parker Campbell, the Slasher’s estranged biological daughter. In an attempt to clear her name and make things right with the town, Parker sets out on a life-or-death mission in hopes of ending his reign of terror once and for all…

Ok,  

Let’s dig in!

I really liked this short. And I was surprised that it went for a serious route, when I am sure that other directors would take a comedic route, if not plain parody.  This is a straight-up Slasher, and a good one at that!

Being only 15 minutes, it is understandable that a lot of background information could not be explained, but I think Stephen Sawchuk gave us all the information that we needed to understand Parker and her struggles. She is very likable, and it was cool to see that even when her life is a social living hell, she is not bitter at the whole world and nor wants to see it burn. 

If anything, she wants to see only her father burn. 

I think this could be expanded into a full feature, but it would need a lot of caution to not pad the plot with useless fillers or exposition. It would be tricky, but I am sure that we could see some moments of the original massacre that started the whole thing, without stealing the spotlight from Parker’s story.  Continue reading →

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival: The shorts pt 2

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June 17 LogoContinuing our coverage of the shorts films shown on the Berlin Final Girls Festival, (which is running from June 9th to 11th), we will talk now about two more blocks, you can see the previous covered blocks here.

Again a minor disclaimer: Please note that there were some blocks and titles that we could not cover due time restrictions, and in no way it means that the shorts not mentioned are bad or anything like that, they could be very good, so take a chance and seek them out. Also, while I will try to bring your attention to the short films and do them justice with the synopsis, I will keep it spoiler-free.

From the block “Sweet Revenge”

Rites of Vengeance (dir. Izzy Lee, US, 2017)

Rites of Vengeance Sweet Revenge
The house of the Lord can’t keep a bad man safe from someone determined to right the wrongs.
I am sure that there could be some controversy and division in the audiences due the main theme, but I would focus more on the way the story is delivered, there is no almost dialogue, and in this case, there is no need for it.

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Final Girls Berlin Film Festival: The shorts pt 1

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June 17 Logo The “Final Girls Berlin Film Fest” is currently running its second year from June 9th-11th with the main focus of presenting films and shorts written, directed and/or produced by women.

We have been honored with the chance to do remote coverage of some of the features and shorts playing there, and while I will try to bring your attention to the short films and do them justice with the synopsis, I will keep it spoiler-free.

The shorts are being presented in several curated blocks: “Mommy Issues”,”Phantasmagoria”, “Is it dead?” “Body Horror”, “Dying Of Laughter”, “All In The Family” and “Escape”, please note that there were some blocks and titles that I couldn’t cover due time, and in no way means that they are bad or anything like that, so if you get the chance to see them, check them out.

Continue reading →