Relaxer
Early on in Relaxer, the protagonist—a shirtless, pantsless slacker named Abbie—vomits what looks like a quart of milk all over himself. I can’t think of a better metaphor for the cinematic experience the film offers. The plot—at least, what passes for it—requires Abbie to best the world-record Pac-Man score* before he can leave his couch. If you think spending ninety minutes watching someone fiddle with a Nintendo controller sounds dull, guess what: it’s actually worse than it sounds. The script, largely devoid of incident, tends to focus on the largely unlikable characters engaging in interminable bickering (Abbie spends what seems like 10 to 15 minutes arguing with a “friend” over a bottle of cherry-flavored Faygo), separated by long, silent sequences focusing on lead actor Joshua Burge’s slack, dead-eyed stare. Not even a half-assed attempt at a subplot involving a pair of 3-D glasses that give Abbie telekinetic powers can relieve the monotony. If there’s an allegory here, I’m not finding it. Pointless, tedious, and actively unpleasant.
* Long story short: the world-record Pac-Man score (something in excess of 3.3 million points) cannot ever be beaten, because it represents reaching level 256 and scoring every possible point on all of those boards. Due to a quirk in the game software, it’s impossible to progress past 256, the game’s legendary “kill screen.”
United States. Directed by Joshua Potrykus.
Heavy Trip
Scandinavian black metal gets its very own equivalent to The Blues Brothers with this strangely feel-good comedy. The “symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandic metal” band Impaled Rektum has been practicing at their guitarist’s father’s small-town slaughterhouse for twelve years but has never played an actual gig. That all changes when the promoter of a Norwegian heavy-metal festival pays a visit to the slaughterhouse, and soon the band finds itself on a quest to play said festival (even though they’re not actually invited). While the ensuing plot is more than a little familiar, the film succeeds with flying colors thanks to a rapid stream of hilarious gags and situations, strong performances and endearingly goofy characters (particularly Max Ovaska as the guitarist, who gets the film’s by-far best line). Probably the best tribute to heavy metal and its fandom since Saxon’s “Denim and Leather.”
Finland/Norway. Directed by Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren.
The Appearance
Jake Stormoen and Game of Thrones fan favorite Kristian “Hodor” Nairn play a pair of inquisitors investigating accusations of devilry at a medieval monastery in Kurt Knight’s historical horror The Appearance. Remixing a number of standard elements from the sub-genre—including a wide-eyed girl accused of witchcraft, a hard-assed, cruel abbot, a series of ghastly murders, and more secrets than you can shake the Latin mass at—The Appearance occasionally threatens to collapse under the weight of its familiarity (its overlong run time—I’m not sure how long it is, but the 90-minute time cited in the Cinepocalypse program was definitely wrong—doesn’t help matters). But Knight maintains a thick, eerie atmosphere throughout, and most of the cast (particularly Stormoen, Nairn, and Baylee Self) put in fine performances. If only they could have done something about those accents…
United States. Directed by Kurt Knight.
Short Films
My Monster
Screened alongside Await Further Instructions.
Brea Grant finds herself plagued by both a hideous monster and a clueless husband(/boyfriend/partner/whatever) in this brief horror-comedy. I’ll pretty much watch Brea Grant in anything, and she didn’t disappoint me here, but overall My Monster didn’t do much for me.
Canine
Screened alongside Gags.
A man searches his neighborhood for his missing dog. I sussed out the twist pretty early, but I still enjoyed it.
Spell Claire
Screened alongside Relaxer.
The titular ’80s-obsessed Claire finds a Speak & Spell at a garage sale. It doesn’t like her. Have you ever wanted to watch a movie about an evil Speak & Spell? Here’s your chance. I’ll say it again for the kids in the back: EVIL SPEAK & SPELL! Winning performance by Wendy Jung.
Festival Overview
Ranking of all the movies I watched
The great:
- Heavy Trip
- Await Further Instructions
- Empathy Inc.
The good:
- Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss…
- Clara’s Ghost
- What Keeps You Alive
- The Devil’s Doorway
- The Appearance
- Satan’s Slaves
- The Russian Bride
The meh:
- The Ranger
- Gags
- Malicious
The bad:
- The Brink
- Hover
- Relaxer
Various achievements
Best director: Yedidya Gorsetman, Empathy Inc.
Best actress: Paula Neidert Elliott, Clara’s Ghost
Best supporting actress: Abby Elliott, Clara’s Ghost
Best actor: Zack Robidas, Empathy Inc.
Best supporting actor: Max Ovaska, Heavy Trip
Best screenplay: Gavin Williams, Await Further Instructions
Best original score: Omri Anghel, Empathy Inc.
Best use of non-original music: “Georgy Girl,” performed by the Seekers, Clara’s Ghost
