KNIGHTS OF HORROR: latest director discoveries on the Film Festival circuit…

Last week, I was once again a long distance judge, this time at A NIGHT OF HORROR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. It wasn’t hard to pick the winners. Best Film was THE REVENANT. Best Australian Film was THE HORSEMAN. Both movies were the feature debut of extraordinarily talented new directors, who, in my opinion, have big careers ahead of them.

First is D. KERRY PRIOR, who wrote, produced, directed and edited THE REVENANT,  a smart  zombie buddy comedy. Here’s the trailer: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerry Prior has extensive special effects credits, having worked on THE LOST BOYS, THE ABYSS, THE BLOB, BUBBA HO-TEP, and two of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series, amongst other titles. So you would expect the prosthetic work to be solid, which it was, considering the low budget. But what you might not expect is the attention that Prior paid to character and dialogue, his management of the droll tone of the piece, or his direction of the lead cast, who all have great chemistry together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While extracting plenty of laughs from the standard problems of a zombie dealing with his condition, and his best buddy dealing with him, Prior also throws in fresh, wry asides, like the African American lady, confronted with the Undead, offering Scientology as the solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the off the wall ending, a gear change into political satire, and a springboard for sequels. Judging by the reaction of festival audiences so far, THE REVENANT is destined for a long shelf life, and could even become another RE-ANIMATOR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HORSEMAN targets the other end of the horror spectrum, reality based horror. The extreme brutality of the violence gives this examination of revenge a visceral context. Here’s the trailer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like Kerry Prior, STEVEN KASTRISSIOS is an auteur, serving as writer, producer, director, editor, and even digital colorist of his film. He has been passionate about cinema from the age of 14, and it shows. He wrote a screenplay, made a 30 minute short from it, then used the awards it won to raise funds for the full length feature. But you can gauge how slender his budget was from the fact that his producing partner Rebecca Dakin did the catering. That’s dedication. But the short dollars don’t show. What shows is insight into the complex issues of revenge, and a skill at manipulating the audience’s loyalties, aided by a masterful performance from Peter Marshall.  Kastrissios is undoubtedly the next break-out director from Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the fights had been either sloppy or stagey, the picture would not have the grip that it does. So it was great to see Chris Anderson, with whom I have worked several times, be credited with the stunt choreography.

I have never seen a tire iron better used. Good on ya, mate, fantastic work.

Fantastic work too from both these new film makers. Hollywood will come a calling. Hopefully Prior and Kastrissios will be allowed to maintain their innovative ideas, and particular sensibilities, on bigger budget films.

SHE FLIES THROUGH THE AIR WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE,

THAT DARING YOUNG GIRL ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE…WIRE WORK, FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY, SWORD MOVIES, REIGN OF ASSASSINS -  GIFTS FROM ASIA.

Did you ever have those flying dreams as a teenager?  I still do, occasionally. It’s supposed to mean you want to escape from something. (I guess that’s low budgets in my case.) In my conscious life, I actually have a mild fear of flying ( In aircraft; I suppress it. ) but the one stunt I would love to add to my limited repertoire is wire work, for many years a Hong Kong technique which finally made an impact on western audiences in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. What fun it must be to swoop, soar and glide, under the control of skilled puppet masters. My friend Angeles Woo made her maiden flight on her father’s latest production REIGN OF ASSASSINS, starring Michelle Yeoh.  This is Michelle aloft on the blue screen stage.

Angeles plays a rival assassin, and in a preliminary trailer and you’ll see a cloaked and hooded Angeles fly through frame in an early shot.

 

 

When not working for her father’s company in several capacities, Angeles is an actress, and writer/director of experimental shorts. I look forward to her first feature one day. I know Angeles through fencing. We have fought many a foil and epee bout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here she is (on the left) winning the Vango Cup for Women’s Foil in Beijing in 2006, when her father was shooting RED CLIFF. She has now taken up Mixed Martial Arts, where I don’t intend to challenge her. I’ll stick to the blade. Fencing is gymnastic chess, a combat sport I try to practice at least once a week.  I do all three weapons to a standard of adequate mediocrity, and did once tie for bronze at the Southern California Veterans in a thin year.

The REIGN OF ASSASSINS promo reflects some of what I love about fencing. Look at the furious - but strategically complex - exchanges of parry and riposte in Michelle Yeoh’s fight scenes. Excellent camera placement maximizes impact.

I became hooked on Asian cinema in the early ’60’s. Initially Japanese, then when King Hu made his breakout hit A TOUCH OF ZEN, I broadened my taste to Hong Kong. Then I discovered Chang Cheh, with his sweepingly choreographed tracking shots propelling the hero through a line of adversaries, who spun their slashed bodies to the camera as it passed.

Assistant directors in HK in those days had wider responsibilities than western ADs, and Chang Cheh’s assistant for many years was John Woo. When I met Mr. Woo, I told him HARD BOILED was my favorite of his early work. He felt THE KILLER was his best. They are both great. Here’s that  amazing all-in-one-shot section of the HARD BOILED hospital gun battle.

I first went to Hong Kong in ‘73 to cover the Bruce Lee phenomenon for my quarterly magazine MOVIE , sold in Australian theaters and drive-ins (also to pitch THE MAN FROM HONG KONG to Raymond Chow of Golden Harvest, but that’s another story ). I came back talking of Hollywood East, but cultural differences prevented many of my colleagues from grasping the sophistication, efficiency and pure audience-pleasing power of Hong Kong film making. So I made a documentary - WORLD OF KUNG FU, and published a 2 issue  magazine to co-incide with the telecast across Australia. It rated well, and the magazine sold out.  After Bruce Lee’s death I made a follow up - KUNG FU KILLERS : Grant Page, Australia’s most famous stuntman goes to Hong Kong and investigates who will succeed Bruce Lee. ( We were told to ignore Jackie Chan..he was not going to last. Right…) Here’s one of my favorite DRUNKEN MASTER fights.

I watched Asian cinema develop to its present day level of style and innovative story telling. Now Hollywood remakes Asian hits, not just the other way round. The story of Hong Kong’s film industry and the progressive development of its unique visual style is available in an excellent on-line essay Anamorphic Adventures in Hong Kong by David Bordwell, PhD, a professor of film studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and an authority on a wide variety of cinema topics. Go to: www.davidbordwell.net/essays/shaw.php

His website in general is a treasure trove of information for cineastes.  This essay is meticulously researched, providing extensive background detail, and illuminating analysis of fight scene aesthetics. More importantly it reflects all the elements I found exciting when watching sword and fist movies in downtown backstreet theaters. So I look forward to REIGN OF ASSASSINS.

An epee bout with Michelle Yeoh would be fun too…