Film Matters Magazine

Tucked into the gorgeous mountain village of Telluride, Colorado, the Telluride Horror Show (telluridehorrorshow.com) captures an intimately local, if eerily secluded feeling. I had to fly to Denver, make a connecting flight to tiny Montrose Regional Airport, and then take an hour-and-a-half shuttle to finally reach the destination. The three-day event, this year’s seventh edition running from October 14-16, is held during the resort town’s tourist off-season. As a younger, smaller film fest, it has not yet receiving the deserved publicity that will inevitably and imminently turn it into another overwhelmingly crowded affair of the festival scene. Being able to actually talk with programmers and special guests (I actually rode the shuttle into Telluride with a guest speaker) is not something that can be said for, say, Sundance. Of course, watching something you realize you adore, before any studio has even picked it up for distribution, something that would not otherwise be consumed in its proper theatrical form, is always a pure and joyous feeling in itself.      Continue reading →

Raw (Focus World, 2016)

The Body Horror Hype Machine Raw Is Surprisingly Delightful

Raw was one of the secret screenings at Telluride Horror Show. No one going into the theater knew what they were about to see. One of the festival programmers stood at the front to introduce the film without naming it—quite impressive showmanship. He talked about it winning the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes and how some viewers had apparently fainted at the Toronto International Film Festival, unable to stomach the body horror elements. At this proclamation two uneasy audience members near the front, unwilling to risk fainting themselves, promptly exited to a humorous uproar from the rest of the crowd. Yes, this film has a reputation.
Continue reading →

The Eyes of My Mother (Borderline Films, 2016)

The Eyes of My Mother Will Make You Feel for the Killer

The Eyes of My Mother (2016) is writer/director Nicolas Pesce’s debut film, feature or otherwise, but something this affecting and beautiful has no business as a first effort. (Literally the only other credit listed on Pesce’s IMDB page is “miscellaneous crew” for the remake of the Mel Brooks classic The Producers (1967), starring Matthew Broderick instead of Gene Wilder.) Young horror filmmakers tend to either go for something brutally self-aware—dumb fun—or, in a genre overflowing with homage, wear their influences on their sleeves. But Pesce has created something truly singular that can still make you squirm. Continue reading →

We Are the Flesh (Arrow Films, 2016)

We Are the Flesh Doesn’t Quite Win My Filthy Heart

This is definitely a weird one. We Are the Flesh (2016) is feverish, often abstract, artsy, and almost plotless, but its most glaring trait, what everyone will be talking about, is its transgressiveness, primarily through very, very explicit, and often distressing, sexuality. It can be a difficult watch, and I find these sort of “dare” movies fascinating. (“You gotta watch this movie. She makes him eat her menstrual blood!”) And it is perversely fascinating in the moment. However, I found myself unable to connect on any deeply meaningful level; I always felt one final step removed from euphorically dirtying myself along with it. Continue reading →