Movies
Deathcember
Extensive seasonal horror anthology presented as an advent calendar. It's like the ABC's of Death, only with Christmas-themed shorts. It's a great way to start any movie run-up to Christmas, at least if you're into horror cinema (and all its genre relatives), as it's a lot less jolly than the usual Christmas fare. 24 shorts, about 5 minutes each, is quite a lot for an anthology, especially when you also count the two bonus shorts hidden away in the credits. It makes for a good 2.5 hours of cinema where every 5 minutes your mind needs a little reset. While I appreciate the high level of diversity, I think it would've been better if this had been 30 minutes shorter. Otherwise, there's very little to complain about. There's always going to be shorts that stick out while others fade away in the background, but the broad international selection, the varied mix of styles, genres and topics (while all holiday-related of course) and the many inspired ideas really keep Deathcember interesting and entertaining. I hope they turn this into a yearly tradition.Read all
A brave attempt to make an edgy dark comedy, even though the film isn't quite as zany as it tries to be. Haaga struggles with the structure of the film and tries to hold back for too long, possibly because the finale isn't quite as over-the-top as it should've been. That said, there's quite a bit to like here. The presentation is pretty decent, the actors are well in on the joke and the introduction/finale deliver. The problem is the middle part, where Haaga fails to build up to a crescendo. The entire segment with Violet probably should've been cut (though through no fault of Boe, who plays her part well). Still, decent, fun and entertaining filler, just not as mad as it pretends to be.Read all