Grace Glowicki as Anna in a scene from "Booger." (Photo courtesy of Dark Sky Films)
Maybe it's the bright shades of crimson. Or the way the camera lingers on an open wound. It's probably the squelching sound you hear when a victim discovers something is very wrong with their body. Some of the most disturbing bursts of movie mayhem are contained in the disquieting subgenre known as body horror. These films are not for the squeamish, not for those viewers who like mysteries but turn up their nose in repulsion when it comes to gore.
The films showing at this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival do not water things down for mass audience consumption. They yank you by the hair and put you uncomfortably close to the action, giving you a front-row seat to some dastardly deeds. Many of these films are nasty, unpleasant and thoroughly, unabashedly gross. And devoted horror aficionados would not have it any other way.
Co-executive directors of the Popcorn Frights Festival, Igor Shteyrenberg and Marc Ferman, have thrown the net far and wide for the tenth-anniversary edition of their popular genre showcase. They've come up with 48 features and 83 shorts, a new record in terms of lineup size that includes world premieres and a generous helping of retrospectives. These celluloid trips down memory lane include a special screening of the original “Candyman,” one of the best horror films of the 1990s, with star Tony Todd in attendance to receive the Popcorn Frights Golden Skull Award on Friday. Aug. 16.
Grace Glowicki as Anna in a scene from "Booger." (Photo courtesy of Dark Sky Films)
Oh, and one more thing. This year's in-theater selections are being shown without a fixed general admission price. Ticket buyers are prompted to type in the amount they would like to contribute. It's a generous move by a festival that cares for its patrons.
Your intrepid reviewer got a chance to see three of the features that will be showing over the next week and change, both in theaters and as part of the festival's virtual program. Two of them are U.S. indie productions and one comes all the way from Turkey. Let's take a closer look at this visceral trio.
“Strange Darling”: The terrified blonde emerges from the woods, drops of blood speckled on her face and a dark smudge where her ear ought to be. She's trying to outrun a fearsome looking man whose red and black flannel shirt and loaded rifle underscore his alpha-male virility. It's a hunting season scenario that's played out countless times before, but this particular scene, set to Z Berg and Keith Carradine's evocative cover of “Love Hurts,” serves as a warning to viewers: Don't believe everything you see.
Writer-director JT Mollner's sophomore feature shuffles backward and forward in time to reveal the circumstances surrounding this apparent life-or-death showdown between these two characters, bearing the enigmatic monikers The Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) and The Devil (“Dinner in America's'” Kyle Gallner). (Ed Begley and Barbara Hershey round out the cast as a couple of “old hippies” who lend a helping hand to our damsel in distress.) The film's fragmented structure might set off alarm bells for some fearing that a gimmicky and derivative exercise in style will follow this primal opening sequence.
Relax and let your guard down. Mollner has made a sly subversion of the serial killer thriller, a lean and mean slice of neo-noir that uses its splashy visual curlicues as a smoke screen. Its pulpy gusto and nonlinear narrative naturally trigger comparisons to Quentin Tarantino's early films, but there are more influences on display, including the 1990s work from director John Dahl (“Red Rock West,” “The Last Seduction”). Its widescreen compositions, not to mention Gallner's pornstache, tip their hat to the 1970s. Kudos to Giovanni Ribisi, known to you as a reliable character actor, who steps behind the camera as the film's cinematographer. Shooting in 35mm, he fills the screen with saturated primary hues, a rich color palette that makes some really terrible events look absolutely gorgeous.
As Mollner drops more puzzle pieces, you discover that “Strange Darling” is a more intimate and character-driven film than its startling beginning suggests. It also becomes clear that it won't shy away from showing the different ways the human body can be harmed. An ego is far from the only thing being bruised here, but Mollner trusts the viewer to handle the more extreme bits, the better to revel in the kinetic charge his wicked, ultraviolent ride generates.
Gallner, whose naked torso during a lengthy stretch is clearly the object of the camera's gaze, continues to show he's leading man material, but the film belongs to Fitzgerald, who delivers the kind of star-making performance that demands our attention. She makes Mollner's portrayal of shifting power dynamics and control that much more delicious. Just watch out for that sting. It burns.
Willa Fitzgerald as The Lady in a scene from "Strange Darling." (Photo courtesy of Magenta Light Studios)
“The Funeral” (“Cenaze”): An aesthetic 180-degree turn from “Strange Darling's” sun-baked look, this brooding, morose, very gray tale of undead angst from Turkey is a slow burn that pays off. The dirge-like proceedings get underway when Cernal (Ahmed Rifat Sungar), a hearse driver, is offered a tidy sum of cash to babysit the body of a young woman. The details about her death and her family's strange request are vague and shady, but Cernal, a loner who strives to stay out of trouble, reluctantly agrees.
Cernal drives to a run-down motel to while away the days until his services are no longer needed. Then he hears the wheezing. That infernal sound is coming from the casket.
Kyle Gallner as The Demon in a scene from "Strange Darling." (Photo courtesy of Magenta Light Studios)
Surprise! It turns out the dearly departed young lady, Zeynep (Cansu Türedi), is not so dearly departed after all. She doesn't want water and is uninterested in snacks. She discovers what her rotting body hungers for when she takes a nibble out of Cernal's forearm. And here's what makes “The Funeral” a slash above typical zombie fare: He lets Zeynep feast on his flesh. In the immortal words of Claudia from “Interview with the Vampire,” she wants some more. Oh, and Cernal is only human. He starts to become attached to this ravenous beauty, so he willingly becomes her food provider. And develops feelings. It's complicated.
Writer-director Orcun Behram opts for a leisurely pace, which makes “The Funeral” feel lived-in and heightens its unsettling atmosphere. Its look can be described with one word: grimy. The interiors, in particularly, feel so dank that you can practically smell the mildew. A visit to Ayse (Gizem Erdem), Cernal's estranged sister, provides the film with much-needed insight into Cernal and his dysfunctional upbringing. You buy these two as siblings who have lost touch, even if Behram gives Erdem precious little to work with in terms of her character.
Behram wears his influences on his sleeve, but at least he's paying tribute to good movies, most notably the Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In.” He chooses to end “The Funeral” on a conventional note, with a climactic confrontation that would have felt tired if the filmmaker hadn't staged it with uncompromising, anything-goes brutality. He doesn't break any new ground, but “The Funeral” wraps its tendrils around you all the same. It burrows under your skin.
Cansu Turedi as Zeynep in a scene from "The Funeral." (Photo courtesy of XYZ Films)
“Booger”: A portrait of mourning from a distinctive Gen-Z vantage point, this quirky New York story turns its low budget and limited resources into assets in chronicling the furry dilemma facing our protagonist. Paralyzed by grief, Anna (Grace Glowicki) refuses to even think about moving out of the apartment she shared with her best friend Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin) following Izzy's sudden death. There is also the matter of what to do with the titular character, the stray cat Izzy took in.
One day, not long after his owner crosses the rainbow bridge, Booger is acting like a brat, and when Anna makes the mistake of reaching for him, he sinks his fangs into her hand and scurries off. The naughty kitty may be AWOL, but his bite is about to turn Anna's world upside down.
Writer-director Mary Dauterman knows it's no use being coy about what is happening here, as Anna finds her hearing amplified and starts coughing up fur. (Bast have mercy!) So she has fun depicting Anna's transformation while never losing sight of the crushing pain she's going through.
Dauterman relies on social media videos that show Izzy in a way that illustrates how these Gen-Zers view the world without overpowering the film. She also manages to balance the naturalism of the film's urban setting with some trippy hallucination sequences that convey how Anna is losing her grip on reality.
It's up to Glowicki (“Strawberry Mansion”) to carry “Booger,” and she is more than up for the challenge. She's given ample support by a cast that includes the prolific Marcia DeBonis (“13 Going on 30,” Uncut Gems”) and indie queen Heather Matarazzo (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”).
A scene from "The Funeral." (Photo courtesy of XYZ Films)
One fears “Booger,” a dark comedy with teeth, might continue to head down an increasingly downbeat path, but what's gratifying is how Dauterman manages to hold on to positivity, a defiant optimism in the face of a mighty bleak outlook. Even at 78 minutes, the film's slim premise feels stretched out for the sake of reaching feature length, but that doesn't get in the way of the film's low-key, disarming pleasures. Dauterman has crafted a character study that purrs with good vibes. Its hiss is worse than its claws.
“Strange Darling” screens at 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as part of Popcorn Frights' opening night gala, but don't fret if you can't make it, because it's coming out in wide release on Aug. 23, with a special early access showing in selected theaters Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 9 p.m. “The Funeral” screens tTuesday, Aug. 13 at 10 p.m. at Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale. “Booger” is showing as part of Popcorn Frights' virtual lineup. It will become available for 48 hours starting Saturday, Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. A limited theatrical release and Video On Demand is scheduled for September. Tickets for films showing virtually are $10. Information at popcornfrights.com.
