It’s that time of year again – Twin Cities Film Fest is in full swing, and we’re also drawing closer to Halloween, meaning I have a prime opportunity to watch independent horror movies. There were only three horror movies in the lineup this year, all screening this past weekend, so I had a very entertaining Friday and Saturday night.

Directors:
David Bruckner (segment “Total Copy”)
Scott Derrickson (segment “Dreamkill”)
Natasha Kermani (segment “TKNOGD”)
Mike P. Nelson (segment “No Wake/Ambrosia”)
Gigi Saul Guerrero (segment “God of Death”)

The first film I attended was easily my favorite out of the three. The latest installment in the anthological found footage franchise, V/H/S/ 85 features five segments set in the 80’s interspersed with clips from a television documentary about a horrific incident at a research lab. This movie is not for the faint of heart; blood and gore usually don’t freak me out, but there were some brutal practical effects that made me full-body cringe, despite being incredibly impressive. There were a couple makeup effects that came across as unintentionally goofy, but overall, the movie looks fantastic, which isn’t an easy feat for found footage-style films.

The cast is also excellent. The actors in nearly each segment shine, but the standouts for me were all of the actors in the first segment, “No Wake” (Alex Galick as Rob, Anna Sundberg as Robin, Chelsey Grant as Kelly, Toussaint Morrison as Drew, Tyler Nobel as Kevin, Anna Hashizume as Anna, and Tom Reed as Jared) thanks to their likability and chemistry, and Chivonne Michelle as Ada in the segment “TKNOGOD” thanks to her ability to go from “pretentious theater person” to “genuinely terrified victim of a digital eldritch horror” so naturally.

My biggest complaint is that the segments feel a little too disjointed. I liked that “No Wake” and “Ambrosia” had a connection, and it would have been interesting to see more connective tissue between the other segments as well, especially if they were all somehow connected to the TV documentary interludes. Overall, though, this is a brilliant installment of a fun horror franchise, and I absolutely plan on re-watching it.

Directed by: Jason Miller

My second film, Ghosts of the Void, was just as terrifying as the last film, despite being completely different in style and tone. The movie follows Jen Wilson (Tedra Millan), a 20-something-year-old woman struggling with homelessness, debilitating debt, and a crumbling marriage as she and her husband Tyler (Michael Reagan) try to spend the night in their car in an empty park, only to be menaced by the appearance of threatening masked strangers.

I loved watching a horror movie that is almost entirely set inside a car in a dark, empty park- it felt like a spin on the “maniac with a hook for a hand” urban legend. The overt horror from the masked strangers combines so well with the real-life horror of debilitating debt and unhealthy relationships. My only gripe writing-wise is that the ending feels a little weak; it’s foreshadowed somewhat, but there are at least a couple scenes that don’t make sense with the direction things go, and it feels like a cheap way to throw off the audience.

That said, the acting is wonderful. With only two characters carrying the bulk of the dialogue, it could have been boring, but Tedra Millan and Michael Reagan are so engaging, and they convey an unhealthy marriage at different stages of the relationship realistically.

While Ghosts of the Void might fall more under a “thriller” category rather than “horror,” it’s still a great, suspenseful, atmospheric film that is absolutely worth checking out.

Directed by: Joe Lynch

I fully expected my last film, Suitable Flesh, to be my favorite of the three, considering how many horror icons are involved in both the cast and production, but I was let down. The movie begins with Dr. Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) being approached by a college student, Asa (Judah Lewis), who displays signs of a serious personality disorder; however, Elizabeth soon discovers Asa’s problems aren’t mental but supernatural.

With direction from Joe Lynch, an executive producer credit for Brian Yuzna, and a script adapted from an H.P. Lovecraft story, I expected Suitable Flesh to be a totally campy joyride. And while they clearly tried to deliver camp, it fell flat. It feels like they wanted the acting to come across as over-the-top, but because the performances aren’t cranked up to 11, it just feels like bad acting, and considering the actors have shined in other movies, I’m guessing it was a direction problem. Barbara Crampton is the only one who gives a consistently competent performance as Dani, Elizabeth’s friend and colleague.

I assumed that a movie based on a Lovecraft story produced by the guy behind Society, the Re-Animator movies, and a couple of the weirder installments in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise would at least have a good amount of unique body horror and practical effects, but even that ended up being a disappointment. There’s a bit of creativity toward the end of the movie, but it’s not enough to make it an interesting watch.

Despite my disappointment with Suitable Flesh, the first weekend of TCFF was a mostly perfect way for me to really dive into the spooky season. I highly recommend checking out V/H/S 85 and Ghosts of the Void once they’re released.

Stay tuned for more TCFF reviews in the coming days!

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