Category: Movies

Hide (2018)

~ Bacon Kractor ~ Leave a comment

The latest short film from Jason Koch is a fairly brief affair at just under 11 minutes in length, but there’s a fair bit to enjoy packed into those eleven minutes. Strong performances from the two leads (Shante DeLoach and Alex Barone) give the piece a solid foundation to build on, but with some excellent albeit brief supporting work from J.D. Brown and Vito Trigo you’re not left leaning solely on those two characters.

Being a fan of both “7th Day” and “Pig Pen” I was certain I was going to like the directing style that Jason employs. He makes good use of the camera, utilizing everything from close up action with loads of movement to things shot from further back that take a slower, more measured approach (there’s even a little bit of slow-motion used that didn’t completely pull me out of the moment).

The sound work on “Hide” is nicely done. Everything is clear and audible, the audio levels are in range (I hate it when you have to turn something up for the talking parts and re-adjust volume down for the louder parts), and none of the music seems out of place or unnecessary. All the parts work together without any one part of it really standing out on it’s own. I do not in any way intend that to be a criticism, but rather very much a compliment as it suggests to me a very considered approach to the audio.

Without giving away too much of the story, we’re presented with a young couple who appear to not be on the most stable of footing relationship wise. Just when you start to think you have a handle on things, the action picks up and we get some well paced action sequences nicely broken up by brief occasions to catch your breath. Then begins the journey to … we’re not sure where, as it’s never really explained…

.. and that’s one of the things I like most about Jason’s work. When you get to the ending, it usually isn’t quite what you’re expecting it to be and this one is no different. I don’t want to spoil anything, but when the payoff hits it will NOT be from the direction you’re expecting it. The final two minutes of this will completely upend everything you thought you knew about what was going on and the motivations behind people in a very satisfying and topical way.

Daughter of Dismay (2019)

~ Bacon Kractor ~ Leave a comment

Being a fan of much of James’ other work, I have been following the progress of this piece for some time. If memory serves it was announced initially that they would be shooting on 35mm. I was stoked, because the analog medium seems to suit James’ style quite well. Then James and producer Justin Schneck went and completely destroyed me by announcing that the film was in fact to be shot in IMAX. When discussing this change, I remember James posting some pictures to his FaceBook account of the expanded possibilities this larger frame size would afford him from a shooting standpoint…

None of that, however, prepared me for THIS …

At a shade under nine minutes run-time I was absolutely glued to the screen for every second of the film. The initial shot alone got an out loud “jesus christ” out of me. This thing is beautiful. That massive frame is utilized fully by the skillful composing of the shots and the deliberate movements of the camera.

Having seen some of James’ earlier works, the way he uses the camera in this one is a big surprise and a real treat. The tone of this piece as a whole is much slower, with a real ominous aura about it. One almost gets the sense that the camera is an observer of sorts, flowing through the scene and creeping among the brush passively observing the events as they unfold. If this aspect had been any less skillfully handled I think the piece as a whole would not have been as good. He knocked it out of the park, however. There’s a sense of almost tenderness to the way the whole thing is shot that really gets my curiosity up to see how that approach would play out over a feature length run-time.

The sound editing (Stephan Ortlepp) and score (Joseph Bishara) are fantastic, serving to accent the on screen images without over-shadowing or fighting against the atmosphere. Each crunching leaf, every disembodied whispering voice, every subtle clatter of bone, the twisting of taught rope, it is all allowed to breathe without having to fight through mountains of unnecessary noise thanks to a refined sound mix (Steve Maslow). Especially at around the 4:10 mark I get a literal shiver up my spine at how effective the sound work combines for that particular scene (as an example).

I haven’t discussed many details about the plot, entirely on purpose because at only nine minutes long it would only take me two or three sentences to lay it out for you. Suffice to say however that it is a brief and powerful one that touches on themes of loss, death, desperation, and the terrible places that a sense of desperation and longing can lead people to.

Do yourself a favor and see this short if you can, on as big a screen as you can, and as often as you can.

Le Prince des Cieux (2014)

~ Bacon Kractor ~ Leave a comment

I first heard about this movie when a friend of mine posted a review for it on Extreme Horror Cinema. To be perfectly honest, the art-house style of film making has always been fairly binary for me, the piece either works and there is enjoyment, or it doesn’t and it’s a very difficult experience. Based on what was said in that first review however, I was quite intrigued and if memory serves commented as such on a Facebook post concerning the review. Shortly after that I was contacted by the director (David Thouroude) who asked me if I would be interested in a free copy of the film provided I made a post and let them know what I thought of it.

Fast forward a few years and I am currently coming out of a fairly prolonged period of depression and inactivity, and long story short I decided that in order for me to give myself something to do I’d start a blog of sorts where I “reviewed” various movies and bits of music out of my collection. When it came time to pick with which title I wanted to get the ball rolling , “Le Prince des Cieux” popped into my mind (for a number of reasons).

Similar to a great number of art-house films, the viewer is not going to be presented with any sort of obvious linear story-line. From a review standpoint this presents a bit of a challenge, because how does one accurately describe a series of scenes and images that evoke such heavy emotion without resorting to a bland and stale point form list of what the viewer is going to see?

Doing that would in no way approach doing this film justice. Some of the things you will see in this film will stick with you because they are confusing, or shocking, or offensive … and often times all three in combination. At several points I actually paused the film and rewound almost frame by frame because I wasn’t sure I had actually seen what I thought I had … turns out I had, and that particular image I still think about years after seeing the film for the first time.

While the film is from France and the packaging is all in French, don’t let that deter you if you aren’t a French speaker because as far as I could tell there wasn’t a single spoken word in the entire movie. Not one, and there’s only one actor (Abdou M’Bodji). He relies entirely on his body movements, facial expressions, and playing off the scenery around him to put across his performance. Without words, or backstory, the viewer is left with a sense of unease when the film wraps up with nothing resembling a neat conclusion. One minute the movie is playing, and then it is done.

There are parts of this film in black and white, and parts where color is very effectively used. Some shots are frenetic and alive, while others are slow and lingering almost to the point of being stationary. At no point are you allowed to get comfortable or complacent, you either strap in and come along for the ride or I suspect you’ll be turning the film off before it’s done.

A huge part of the sense of unease and foreboding produced in the film is the soundtrack (done by Billy Dranty), which unfortunately you cannot get on it’s own or I would pick it up in a heartbeat. At times loose and ambient and at others harsh and pressuring, the palette of sounds used to score this film is paired perfectly with the visuals. More than simply mirroring what’s going on, the music and sound design for the film function as two parts of the same puzzle rather than a list of songs burped up by bands who have albums coming out.

In conclusion, this film is definitely not for everyone. Those easily shocked or offended, stay clear. If you find yourself reaching for the remote when a movie doesn’t lay things out for you with neat explanations and tie it up with a pretty bow for you, you won’t enjoy this. However, if you like to see and hear things that are interesting and cause you to think, this might be your cup of tea. I find myself coming back to this film periodically and even now will notice something I hadn’t before. Check out the trailer (and no worries about it being spoiler filled, it’s enough to give you an accurate picture without giving away too much), and if it looks like something you’d enjoy hit them up at the provided contact information and I’m sure they’d be happy to help you out.