Midnight Madness
As is a TIFF tradition, a midnight screening is held for films that present interesting proposals in the areas of action, horror, shock or fantasy. I was able to attend some of the screenings and wanted to share some insights about them.
The Substance (Reino Unido e França, 2024)
Original title: The Substance
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer/Screenplay: Coralie Fargeat
Main cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Alexandra Barton and Oscar Lesage
Runtime: 141 minutes (2°21’)
With the radical idea of creating a younger, more perfect version of yourself, the substance that gives the film its title seems like something created for an advertisement for a dermatologist’s clinic. But much more than that, the film creates a fierce analysis of the role of women in the entertainment industry as they age.
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is a former actress who has a fitness program on television and finds herself being fired for reaching the age of 50. When she takes the substance and transforms into Sue (Margaret Qualley), she can once again enjoy her beautiful appearance – but she doesn’t understand the consequences of not following the rules of the proposed process. So, the work that already worked as a body horror due to the physical ills of this transformation, also ends up becoming an existential horror about what it is to be a woman who exists in the world.
Taking advantage of a colorful and fun aesthetic and mixing it with tons of blood and distressing scenes, the result is a work that manages to terrify and entertain in equal measure.
The Gesuidouz (EUA, 2024)
Original title: The Gesuidouz
Director: Kenichi Ugana
Writer/Screenplay: Kenichi Ugana
Main cast: Yûya Endô, Leo Iamamura, Kutaka Kyan, Natsuko e Rocko Zevenbergen
Runtime: 93 minutes (1°33’)
The film’s peculiar title comes from the punk band it portrays in a fake documentary that follows them when they have to leave Tokyo to live on a farm in the Japanese countryside to earn some money. With a peculiar way of breaking the rules of both the country and its cinematography, the work talks about youth and the creative process in a way that few gaijin would have access to otherwise.
With the eccentric humor of mocking the fictional band it creates, the result is a humorous work that manages to use its text to make really interesting points by mixing Japanese tradition with British attitude, with consequences from the costumes to the cacophony of the lyrics, which mix classic horror characters with a perfectly Japanese performance. Some scenes, such as those of the writing process for the new album, create a deep memory in the viewer both for their idea and for the dynamic way in which the scene is filmed and edited.
Taking viewers on a crazy journey through their own identity, the band reinforces the need for a solid foundation in order to conquer the world – or at least the part of the world that really matters.
Ick (EUA, 2024)
Original title: Ick
Director: Joseph Kahn
Writer/Screenplay: Joseph Kahn, Dan Koontz and Samuel Laskey
Main cast: Mena Suvari, Brandon Routh, Malina Pauli Weissman, Mariann Gavelo, Taia Sophia, April Clark and Cory Hart
Runtime: 87 minutes (1°27’)
Whenever you think of an alien invasion movie, the first thing that comes to mind is whether or not humans and aliens will be able to reach an agreement on planet Earth, right? According to Ick, this may not be the case. If the aliens, even if they look strange, don’t show up to attack, humanity may react completely passively to them. And then, when everyone gets used to it, the real threat begins.
In homage to classic fantasy movies, we follow Hank (Brandon Routh), the guy who could have had the perfect American life if he hadn’t had a debilitating sports accident. So, along with his 2000s pop punk, he becomes a teacher in the small town where he was born. But that town is being attacked, and he needs to overcome his fears to get out of it alive.
It sounds like a joke from a coach, but the film reaches new heights when you think about the amount of gore, blood, and the songs that you’ll recognize from the soundtrack. So, with a highly stylized format and editing so fast it can make you dizzy, the film feels like an afternoon session classic from the moment you understand its main axis – but it also doesn’t advance much in style or narrative to rise much above that.
It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This (EUA, 2023)
Original title: It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This
Director: Rachel Kempf and Nick Toti
Writer/Screenplay: Christian, Rachel Kempf and Nick Toti
Main cast: Christian, Rachel Kempf e Nick Toti
Runtime: 83 minutes (1°23’)
Another one that falls into the category of the less you know about the film at the time you watch it, the better. And this is still a special case because the directors say they will not make the film available on any streaming service, so it will only be possible to watch it in theaters and festivals. The less you expect, the more fun the experience will be.
The film plays with the found footage subgenre by telling the story of a couple of directors who bought an old house and began filming the renovation process for a horror film they wanted to make. Mixing part of the strange reality of the house with many moments in which they are clearly fictionalizing the story, the result is a hybrid that will scare you a lot, but mainly will make you laugh.
Although the lack of planning about the direction of the film is quite clear, the work’s still remarkable when you consider that, as a basis, they only had videos of themselves exploring an old house that came with some surprises. Looking like a film that would be shown in the sessions dedicated to “stoner” films, I was curious to see other works by the directors because with virtually no money they still managed to create a film that gives good scares.
