Since its inception, the SMALL GAUGE TRAUMA block has shocked and engaged audiences around the world, representing some of the strongest and most eccentric horror highlights from the festival’s trailblazing history which has turned into a must-watch for lovers of the unusual, aficionados of gore and anyone with an interest in world cinema.
So with that, let's take a look at the series of shorts in this block:
The Invaders (2018)
Director: Mateo Marquez
This opening feature, about a young terrified teens' quest to get home before something monstrous happens to come for her, would be a spectacular opening pre-credits sequence on a feature-length film. The concept of the eerie invaders coming after her is quite impressive, the photography and practical tricks used to hide their identity yet still signal their presence leads to some suspenseful moments and the final twist offers a somber closing note for this one. It might be a bit of a cheat, but it's still rather enjoyable and comes off as a great opening to this.
The Dead Man Speaks (2017)
Director: Marco Mereles
This second short is a bit more experimental and avant-garde, about a man narrating the supposed conscious of a dead person, is a bit confusing as to what it's supposed to accomplish. The overall setup is impressive and the concept is unique, but that's about all that happens here with this one.
Aurore (2018)
Director: Mael Le Mee
This next entry, about a teen with a strange teen who discovers she has an ability to deform her body through touch, is an incredibly enjoyable and effective story about the journey into adulthood as told through an intriguing body-horror message. The sudden realization that she can perform this penetration trick with her finger allows for some fine sexual imagery as they play around and test it out, but at the end that ability is turned into a stellar body-horror style which turns this into a bit of a whimper instead. However, this doesn't really do much to derail this as a fine entry overall.
Damage Control (2018)
Director: Ryan Oxenberg
This entry, about a man trying to show his fiancee a new property only to confront a mysterious and deadly woman from his past, has a lot to like even though it's quite a cliche as to how this plays out and what's in store for the victim here. This type of setup is so rushed through in the brief running time that there's no time for context, suspense or chills, and being used as a longer setup would've given this more impact even with all the fine technical work on display.
Devil Woman (2018)
Director: Heidi Lee Douglas
This stylish entry, featuring a woman out trying to protect a supposedly endangered species in the wild but ends up becoming the thing she wanted to protect, is quite an enjoyable effort that really takes more of a creature feature bent here with the inclusion of the turn at the end and her subsequent rampage against the loggers which is even better captured with the night-time photography that adds a stellar atmosphere to the short. With a fun idea that could've been expanded outward into being a rather exciting feature length effort for the most part, this is quite the highlight overall.
Entropia (2018)
Director: Marinah Janello
This stellar piece, about a woman who has surrounded herself with stuffed animals from a taxidermy hobby who later undergoes a series of graphic and brutal self-care pieces in order to become happy in life, is a thoroughly unnerving and chilling short. Taking place in a dark and disturbing setpiece already, the way this shows her slowly going through the decisions to undergo the tortures she does here, which is a terrifying idea on it's own, allows for this to reveal in a darker series of imagery than expected and goes alongside the fine physiological breakdown that runs throughout here. Overall, a disturbing and creepy effort.
Riley Was Here (2018)
Director: Jonathan Rhoads, Mike Marrero
This special entry, featuring a woman who must come to terms with the return of a victim lost to a devastating disease that ravaged mankind who suddenly returns, was a fun enough entry. The striking visual imagery throughout here is coupled nicely with the strong drama that plays out in the main storyline. With that comes a nice horror bent in the final half which is quite well-handled in the various tortures that we see get played out here in the name of love which has some impressive moments and makes this a strong and enjoyable outing.
The Day My Mother Became A Monster (2017)
Director: Josephine Darcy Hopkins
This entry, featuring a woman who realizes that her daughter's attempts to make her a better person are coming at a very grave and serious series of circumstances, is a rather enjoyable if slightly troublesome effort with the vast majority of this one not really offering much as to why there's supposed to be happening with the happy-go-lucky daughter and the mother who's completely a wreck physically and emotionally although that sets the stage for this one to really turn it up in the final half. This mixture of emotional resonance with their relationship coming into play as well as the creature horror which makes this a striking entry.
Besoin Dead (2017)
Director: Aurelien Digard
This final piece, about a woman staying with a priest to get ready for her wedding day only to have a vicious zombie outbreak occur, was a bi of a downer to end this series on. The fact that so much of this is dependent on the priest and the preparations that are going on which don't have any connection until much later, causes this to be quite confusing until it finally reveals the true extent of what's going on as the apocalypse takes centerstage with a fine series of violent and silly zombie battles. An exercise in gore and a few laughs if nothing else, there's not much to this one which is quite fun if slightly confusing.
This ran as part of our series of 2018 Fantasia Festival reviews.
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