The Monsters Eye, MIFF, Night Shift
Night Shift at MIFF, a peek under the sheets (Pt.2)
Okay Monsterfreaks, lets delve back under the sheets of the MIFF Night Shift program…
Check out this bevy of bloody beauties!
LESSON OF THE EVIL
In an unassuming Japanese high school, young, good-looking Mr Hasumi is everything a teacher should be: popular with staff and students; kind, talented, sympathetic; highly deranged. Obviously the stage is set for the kind of gleeful all-out massacre that only Takashi Miike (Ace Attorney, MIFF 2012) could possibly pull off.
If his recent films suggested that Miike might be slowing down, Lesson of the Evil takes those concerns, locks them inside a school and kills them all one by one. Dark, extreme and gloriously trashy, Lesson of the Evil does what Miike does best: takes the rulebook of acceptable cinema and throws it out a window. Along with quite a few of Mr Hasumi’s students…
Takashi Miike has become a staple of MIFF, every year he seems to feature and he’s back once again. LESSON OF THE EVIL is a return to form for Miike with this new flick being compared to some of his earlier gems such as AUDITION and ICHI THE KILLER. LESSON OF THE EVIL (Yes the weird Janglish is part of its charm) is a dark and brutally violent film that fans should not miss.
Sat 3 Aug 11:30 PM Greater Union Cinema 3
Sat 10 Aug 9:15 PM ACMI 2
MAGIC MAGIC
When Alicia (Juno Temple, from Killer Joe, MIFF 2012) flies from California to Chile in order to spend time with her cousin Sarah, she finds herself taken on an island holiday with Sarah’s friends. Unable to speak the language, Alicia grows anxious at her unfamiliar surroundings and when Sarah has to leave, Alicia’s social isolation and insomnia take hold, leading to increasingly erratic behaviour.
Writer/director Sebastián Silva (Old Cats, MIFF 2011) scored a Golden Globe nomination and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for his breakout film The Maid (MIFF 2009), and returns with this horror film unlike any other: an unsettling, claustrophobic tale of schizophrenia and sexuality. Temple leads an impressive cast that includes an against-type Michael Cera, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Australia’s Emily Browning, while Christopher Doyle’s hypnotic widescreen cinematography lends the piece a suitably creepy, otherworldy tone.
Okay you know we love nasty gory violence but there is always a place in our hearts for good atmospheric, claustrophobic horror, and MAGIC MAGIC is fast gaining a great reputation as exactly that. Starring Juno Temple who wowed us at last years MIFF with KILLER JOE and Michael Cera who seems far removed from his usual type, MAGIC MAGIC could be just the thing for those in need of a good subtle horror fix.
Sat 3 Aug 6:30 PM Hoyts Cinema 11
Tue 6 Aug 9:00 PM Greater Union Cinema 6
PATRICK
Patrick, a young coma patient, has been lying in a hospital bed for years, unable to communicate with anyone. When a beautiful nurse catches his eye, Patrick’s latent psychic powers begin to emerge, and soon threaten the lives of everyone in the hospital.
Supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund, Mark Hartley moves into the realm of fiction, remaking the 1978 Ozploitation classic he so famously celebrated in his 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood (MIFF 2008). With a cast including Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under), Sharni Vinson (You’re Next, MIFF 2013), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Damon Gameau (Balibo, MIFF 2009), Patrick is a confronting horror that pays tribute to its predecessor as it reinvents it for the 21st century.
PATRICK could very well be the most anticipated film of the entire festival, Melbournian Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD) steps away from his documentary past and takes a bold step into the world of horror film production. There is an enormous buzz emanating from this film – Hartley is as passionate a genre fiend as anyone alive, with a particularly affection for the local variety, so PATRICK, a remake of the Richard Franklin’s 1978 Ozpolitation classic, should be a something to behold. For mine, this is the jewel in this years MIFF crown and in all honesty I am quite surprised it wasn’t chosen as the opening night film. Get behind this baby Monsterians, we need a local film to fly the flag!
Sat 27 Jul 6:30 PM Greater Union Cinema 6
Fri 2 Aug 11:30 PM Greater Union Cinema 3
Fri 9 Aug 9:00 PM Hoyts Cinema 6
V/H/S 2
V/H/S/2 seriously ups the ante as a whole new set of horror wunderkinds follow in the grisly footsteps of last year’s VHS. When a PI searching for a missing kid enters the boy’s home, he finds a room full of TVs and a stack of mysterious VHS tapes containing a series of increasingly terrifying tales: zombie POVs, blood-frenzied cults and 80s-era alien abduction abound.
Playing to great acclaim at Sundance and SXSW, V/H/S/2 features instalments by Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project), Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun, MIFF 11) and Adam Wingard (You’re Next, MIFF 13), with Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre) and Gareth Evans (The Raid) providing the malevolent centrepiece. One for the hardest of horror fanatics, V/H/S/2 is bound to be the talk of the festival.
V/H/S screened with last years Night Shift, and this year we get the follow up! V/H/S 2 boasts some of the hottest horror directors on the planet and take it from us, it is one of the most exciting horror thrill rides to grace the big screen in eons. Shocking, sickening, seriously good – SEE IT!
Sat 27 Jul 11:30 PM Greater Union Cinema 5
Fri 2 Aug 9:00 PM Hoyts Cinema 11
YOU’RE NEXT
Aubrey and Paul are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary, and their four grown-up children have returned home with their partners to help them do so. During the party, a group of violent assailants wearing animal masks burst into the room, clearly intending to kill everyone there. The family must find a means of escape, all the while continuing their petty arguments.
Playing to huge acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and SXSW, You’re Next is a horror that doesn’t skimp on the violence, or the laughs. Featuring a breakout performance from Australia’s Sharni Vinson (Patrick, MIFF 2013), and strong support from Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz and Ti West (The Innkeepers, MIFF 2011), this is the full-on gore-fest that horror fans have been waiting for.
YOU’RE NEXT has been wowing festival audiences across the globe and now it’s Melbourne’s turn to get a taste of the sickness within. The buzz says it all really – we haven’t had a chance to screen it yet but from all accounts its nasty and brilliant – a bit like your good selves!
Fri 26 Jul 11:30 PM Greater Union Cinema 3
Sat 3 Aug 9:00 PM Hoyts Cinema 11
Be sure to visit the Official MIFF website to secure your tickets – MIFF.com.au
