Olympia’s Cast and Crew on Capturing Millennial Malaise in Chicago (Interview)
We talk to star/writer McKenzie Chinn, director Gregory Dixon, and actor Charles Andrew Gardner about their vibrant, Chicago-set indie about a young woman navigating her thirties. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood As we continue to wrap up our coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival, it’s important to take a look at some ... Olympia’s Cast and Crew on Capturing Millennial Malaise in Chicago (Interview)
What They Had: Elizabeth Chomko and Robert Forster on Crafting Sensitive Family Drama (Interview)
The first-time filmmaker and the veteran actor sit down to talk about Chomko’s experiences with Alzheimer’s in her own family, the switch from studio to auteur filmmaking, and more. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood While dysfunctional family dramas are arguably a dime a dozen, Elizabeth Chomko’s Chicago-centric debut What They Had stands out substantially ... What They Had: Elizabeth Chomko and Robert Forster on Crafting Sensitive Family Drama (Interview)
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 2: Level 16, Rusalka
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In my last post I suggested that the unofficial theme for the 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is “horror is whatever you want it to be.” With that expansion of themes and ideas comes a flexibility in using both real life issues and fantasy to create something new ... Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 2: Level 16, Rusalka
CIFF Dispatch, Part 2: What They Had, Retablo, Maria By Callas, and More
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Chicago International Film Festival keeps chugging along this week, and so does our coverage. From upcoming big indie films to smaller local works, to foreign films that may never see mainstream distribution here, CIFF is a great time to stock up on works you may not get ... CIFF Dispatch, Part 2: What They Had, Retablo, Maria By Callas, and More
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 1: Tower. A Bright Day, Empathy, Inc., Antrum
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood As horror continues its gradual moving away from traditional monsters and slashers to rawer, more unsettling scares that are COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, we can look forward to more internet discourse about whether a movie qualifies as “horror.” This requires the sort of pedantry that is the ... Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 1: Tower. A Bright Day, Empathy, Inc., Antrum
CIFF 2018 Dispatch, Part 1 (Feat. Interview w/Felix van Groeningen)
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The 54th Chicago International Film Festival is more than just an amped-up pledge drive for Cinema/Chicago – it’s a huge showcase for some of the biggest, most interesting films of the year, foreign or domestic. It’s always a treat to cover – I spent two years as a ... CIFF 2018 Dispatch, Part 1 (Feat. Interview w/Felix van Groeningen)
Five Movies We’re Dying to See at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Now in its third year, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, taking place October 11th through the 18th, has become one of the fastest rising venues to catch the next best thing in scary movies months before everyone else gets a chance. This year’s line-up showcases both new faces ... Five Movies We’re Dying to See at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Five LGBTQ+ Films We Can’t Wait to See at the 36th Reeling Film Festival
The 36th annual LGBTQ+ film fest starts up this week in Chicago, and we talk about some of the queer films we most look forward to. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood For decades, Chicago Filmmakers has been one of the city’s greatest champions for arthouse and independent film. Part of that is the ... Five LGBTQ+ Films We Can’t Wait to See at the 36th Reeling Film Festival
Fantasia 2018: Hurt Is Blumhouse’s Latest, Spookiest, Most Uneven Scare-Fest
Blumhouse’s latest thriller is tense and deceptively clever, but undoes its thrills with no shortage of irritating fakeouts. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Trauma appears to be the monster in Sonny Mallhi’s Hurt, but things aren’t exactly as they seem. While the Blumhouse-produced thriller maintains an almost uncomfortable sense of tension, it suffers ... Fantasia 2018: Hurt Is Blumhouse’s Latest, Spookiest, Most Uneven Scare-Fest
Fantasia 2018: The Witch in the Window Scares Without a Drop of Blood
Andy Milton’s atmospheric haunted house film is inscrutably scary and beautifully lit, balancing bone-chilling existential horror with compelling domestic drama. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Here it is, 2018’s version of The Witch and It Follows, a horror movie in which half its audience will appreciate its slow, moody burn, and the other ... Fantasia 2018: The Witch in the Window Scares Without a Drop of Blood
Unfriended: Dark Web Elevates Its Premise to Scarier Screen-Based Dimensions
The web-footage sequel to the first Unfriended sees the series move in more believably conventional directions, eschewing supernatural scares for more haunting domestic terrors. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood We live in an age of overwhelming technology. Most of us spend most of day in the digital world, our computers becoming individual microcosms ... Unfriended: Dark Web Elevates Its Premise to Scarier Screen-Based Dimensions
Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger is a Bleak & Eerie Story About Identity & Never Letting Go
Justin McConnell’s lean, fascinating horror-drama blends an intriguing structure with some novel investigation into the psychology of its shape-shifting horror monster. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood There’s stalking, and then there’s what the narrator of Lifechanger does. Canadian horror-drama from writer-director Justin McConnell, it jumps right into the action right away, with Drew, ... Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger is a Bleak & Eerie Story About Identity & Never Letting Go
Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger’s Justin McConnell on Shape-Shifting, Memory and Toxicity
The writer/director of Fantasia-debuting horror film Lifechanger talks about the origins of the project and getting into the mind of his film’s main monster. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Lifechanger is a sneakier, more fascinating thriller than it might seem at first glance – the tale of a man doomed to feed off and ... Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger’s Justin McConnell on Shape-Shifting, Memory and Toxicity
Fantasia 2018: Blue My Mind Is a Different Kind of Mermaid Story
Lisa Brühlmann’s Swiss coming-of-age mermaid tale is admirably shot and performed, but inadvertently hews too closely to similar teen-horror dramas of recent years. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood It’s almost a shame that Lisa Brühlmann’s Blue My Mind came out so close on the heels of Julia Ducournau’s Raw. One of the freshest, ... Fantasia 2018: Blue My Mind Is a Different Kind of Mermaid Story
Fantasia 2018: Satan’s Slave Review – Ghosts, Zombies and Sex Cults, OH MY!
A loose remake/prequel to the 1980 film of the same name, Satan’s Slave is a chilling story of how the sins of our parents haunt us in the present from director Joko Anwar. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood A grief-stricken family comes face-to-face with the aftermath of their recently deceased mother’s deal with ... Fantasia 2018: Satan’s Slave Review – Ghosts, Zombies and Sex Cults, OH MY!