Brooklyn Horror ’16: Child Eater

When notorious serial killer Robert Bowery hatched the macabre idea to ingest the eyes of children to reverse his chronic ocular deterioration, it spurred a series of ritualistic murders that deeply scarred the upper Midwestern community. Not to be encouraging or condoning, but it apparently worked, considering he is not effectively immortal and darned near omniscient. People now like to think Bowery is just an urban legend (albeit of a distinctly rural variety), but a baby-sitter and her charge are about to learn otherwise in Erlingur Thoroddsen’s Child Eater (trailer here), the feature fix-up of his 2012 short film, which screens during the inaugural Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Matthew Parker just bought the old Bowery house, obviously because the price was right. Naturally, he didn’t tell his son Lucas anything, but of course the boy can run a google search, so he probably knows more than his dad. Frankly, Helen Connolly was not in the mood to babysit the creepy Parker kid, but her father the sheriff volunteered her anyway. Unfortunately, she dismisses his concerns about scary noises until Bowery has already abducted him right under her nose. Motivated by a sense of guilt and genuine concern, Connolly heads into the woods after them, dragging her disposable boyfriend with her.

Eater has the distinction of being an Icelandic and American co-production, but there is nothing that particularly distinguishes the film from a legion of similar horror movies built around Candyman-style bogeymen. In this case, Bowery’s backstory somewhat creepier than usual. Thoroddsen also displays a nice touch with the interpersonal relationships, particularly Connolly’s friendship with Casey, her gay best friend, who just started working as her father’s newest deputy. As the rookie law officer, Brandon Smalls is indeed the standout of the competent but not especially memorable cast.

Thoroddsen adroitly maintains a sense of mounting dread and cinematographer John Wakayama Carey gives it an exquisitely eerie look, but it is hard to keep invested in a film when you know the evilness will always get the final word. It earns some style points, but we have gone this wooded path many, many times before (it is safe to say Thoroddsen does not opt for the road less traveled by). Okay, but not great, Child Eater screens tonight (10/16) as part of the 2016 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Brooklyn Horror ’16: Eveless (short)

It is sort of like Joan Rivers’ Rabbit Test (her only film as a director), except more apocalyptic and dystopian. It is something like the year 2525 and men are still barely alive, but apparently women have not survived. Two desperate outlaw researchers try to rectify the sorry state of the human condition, but it won’t be pretty in Antonio Padovan’s short film Eveless (trailer here), which screens during the inaugural Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Apparently, a sinister monolithic corporation has taken control over human reproduction, because having a lot of consumers out there spending money is bad for business. Go figure that one. The upshot remains depressingly clear. There are no women left in the world. Hoping to strike a revolutionary blow, Man 1 is conducting a radical experimental procedure on Man 2. However, neither the sanitary conditions or their respective psychological states inspire a great deal of confidence.

In a way, Eveless would make a good pairing with Pablo González’s Cord, because both present dark but decidedly non-sterile visions of the future. In this case, the confined, claustrophobic setting is literally overflowing with intriguingly detailed yet vaguely disturbing props and trappings, representing quite a triumph from production designer Roxy Martinez. The nervous energy of its two-handed cast of Vin Kridakorn and Greg Engbrecht aptly completes the unsettling and unbalanced picture. At a mere seven minutes, Eveless is quite a distinctive piece of world-building. Definitely worth checking out, it screens this Sunday (10/16) as part of the Head Trip: Alternate Horror Shorts block, along with the uber-stylish Disco Inferno, at the 2016 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Brooklyn Horror ’16: Let Her Out

Vanishing Twin Syndrome (VTS) is probably even more legit and documented in the real world than multiple personality disorder, but it is just a well suited for horror film exploitation. Typically, there are few long term effects when an early gestating fetus dies in utero and is absorbed by its twin. However, little orphan Helen’s vanished Hellspawn twin will start asserting itself when it is reawakened by some especially unfortunate accident trauma. Violent anti-social behavior inevitably follows in Cody Calahan’s Let Her Out (trailer here), which screens during the inaugural Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Helen’s mother was a prostitute, who became massively and uncannily pregnant after a violent visit from a Mephistophelean client. Alarmed by her sudden supernatural pregnancy, she takes a drastic step, ultimately killing herself and the twin Helen never knew she had—except not quite. Years later, twentynothing bike messenger Helen is compulsively drawn to the now abandoned motel where it all began (or ended). It kind of creeps out her well-heeled bestie-roomie Molly, but she hasn’t seen anything yet.

When a hit-and-run accident revives the twins dormant tissue, Helen starts acting erratic, losing time, and sometimes even exploding in fits of rage. She also develops unhealthy anxieties over a sinister looking painting given to her by a regular customer.

Let Her Out works best when it focuses on the psychological aspects of VTS, far-fetched though they might be, rather than the more outlandish body horror. For what’s its worth, the film features some of the creepiest ultra-sounds ever. Frustratingly, Calahan and screenwriter Adam Seybold let the promising Rosemary’s Baby-ish subplot related to the portrait wither on the vine.

Regardless, Alanna LeVierge is terrifically unhinged Helen. Adam Christie similarly goes for broke as Ed, Molly’s sleazy as heck hipster boyfriend. Arguably, the film needed a bit more of the grounded authority provided by Kate Fenton as good Dr. Headly before lighting off into fever dream territory.

Produced by Canada’s Black Fawn Films, Let Her Out ranks somewhere between the company’s freshly original Bed of the Dead and the more conventional throwback, The Drownsman. Frankly, the attention to detail in LHO pays considerable dividends, in terms of mood and atmosphere. Although it is definitely uneven, Calahan and Seybold bring enough new stuff to the table to keep most genre fans intrigued. Worth a look, especially as part of the newly launched Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Let Her Out screens this Sunday (10/16), at Videology.

Brooklyn Horror ’16: Psychotic!

He is known as “The Party Killer” and he is a real Brooklyn slasher. In this case, he is both a killer of Brooklynites and a psycho-stalker who happens to be from Brooklyn. At least he deserves credit for killing some of the most annoying victims ever in Maxwell Frey & Derek Gibbons’ Psychotic! (trailer here), which screens during the inaugural Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

If you needed one more reason to avoid Bushwick, the Party Killer should certainly suffice. We will see exactly how he gets his name when he kills Shannon right smack in the middle of the birthday party she threw for her boyfriend Bill, the bass player in Stuart’s band. Since then, Bill has been a little uptight, whereas Stuart has always been ragingly insensitive. The inevitable conflict between them results in Stuart getting kicked out of the band he started.

Stuart’s square Craigslist roommate “Old Dog” Tim also wants him out, but fortunately he is preoccupied with stalking his old girlfriend. Stuart is quite smitten himself with sarcastic Roxy, but she is probably too cool for him. Unfortunately, he presumably left his wallet, keyboard, and weed at her place (but admittedly his memory is a little fuzzy on that score). As Stuart and Tim pursue their self-involved Seinfeld-esque lives, people in their social circles keep getting killed. Yet despite all the corpses, there never seem to be any cops around. This is indeed de Blasio’s New York.

Frey & Gibbons wear their Giallo love on their sleeves, but when it comes to satirizing the Italian horror genre, they can’t lay a patent leather glove on Astron-6’s The Editor. There is an awful lot of time devoted to the band and its internal discord, which might be very Brooklyn but tries our patience. Frankly, despite ostensibly tweaking BKLN hipster pretensions, Psychotic! often leaves us even more exasperated with Kings County denizens.

Still, Brian Stansfield’s woozy looking cinematography is absolutely spot-on. To their credit, Frey & Gibbons don’t hold back jack as Old Dog and Stuart, respectively. Kristen Martin also nicely boosts the energy and attitude as the mysterious Roxy. There is no question the Brooklyn Horror fest will be the perfect venue to watch Psychotic! with a like-minded audience, so if you are interested at all, see it there. However, it will be a more hit-or-miss viewing experience in other boroughs and other cities. It’s Brooklyn thing—screening this Saturday (10/15) at Throne Watches, as part of the first annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.