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Crónica del Festival de Cine Fantástico de Sitges (III)

Chronicle of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival (III)

We have already passed the halfway point of the Festival and little by little, movie by movie, we are getting closer to the final stretch of the event. Fans are already murmuring in the queues about their favorite films, the surprises they have encountered, the disappointments, and starting to place bets on which titles will win awards in this edition. The accumulated dream begins to take its toll on all those who wander like happy zombies through the streets and theaters of Sitges. But coming face to face with Paul Schrader or Dolph Lundgren, and discovering a horror gem of Indian origin or a supernatural love film just arrived from Laos are things that deserve all that dreaming and all that waiting.

Wednesday started again with rain, something that has been a trend for several days, but it has not managed to keep fans and spectators away from the movie theaters. The first film we saw was "Grave (Raw)" (Julia Ducournau, France/Belgium, 2016), which has become one of the revelations of the festival. Impactful, original, harsh, realistic, and raw as the title suggests, it tells the story of a young woman who discovers the pleasures of human flesh. "We Are the Flesh" (Emiliano Rocha Minter, Mexico, 2016) immerses us in a bizarre and strange closed universe where sex becomes the driving force of a story of incest. "Remainder" (Omer Fast, UK/Germany) tells the story of a man who suffers an accident and loses his memory; after being compensated, he will start having visions of possible memories or moments not yet lived. In the vein of products like "Following" or "Memento" and the universe of Christopher Nolan, it does not bring anything new, but it is a quite enjoyable film. Wednesday ended with "Attack of the Lederhosenzombies" (Dominik Hartl, Austria, 2016), a zombie prank designed for enjoyment and fun. Ideal for late-night sessions, it takes zombies to a ski station. Gore, violence, black comedy, and a ending that pays homage to "Braindead" (1992).

Thursday started with "Ja Me Tue à la Dire (Death by Death)" (Xavier Seron, Belgium, 2016), which portrays a bizarre and freakish universe. Filmed in black and white, it tells the story of a hypochondriac obsessed with hair loss and a lump that seems to be growing on his chest. An ode to the strange, with a very entertaining first half that gradually loses strength and interest as everything becomes stranger. We also saw "Like Cattle Towards Glow" (Zac Farley, Germany, France, Canada, USA, 2016), a daring film composed of six unrelated stories but all revolving around the same theme: sex and desire. Explicit, harsh, and disturbing, it has a couple of very successful stories, especially in terms of performance. "Alipato- The Brief Life of an Ember" (Khavn de la Cruz, Philippines, Germany, 2016) is another example of recent Filipino cinema. Radical, unclassifiable, full of black humor, violence, desolate landscapes, it is a tour de force that leaves no one indifferent. "1974" (Victor Dryere, Mexico, 2016) is an excellent horror film. Despite being filmed in a style that seems to have worn out, the "found footage" style keeps your attention constantly and gains momentum as the plot progresses, leading to a final half-hour full of scares and terror. "La Valija de Benavidez" (Laura Casabé, Argentina, 2016) is a well-made mystery and horror film, elegant with a very successful atmosphere. Its plot is focused on the art world and features good acting work.

During these two days, the red carpet shone again to welcome more stars from the fantasy universe. The great Bruce Campbell, eternal Ash from the "Evil Dead" saga and an absolute icon of horror cinema, received The Time Machine and gave us a fun "masterclass." Walter Koenig, who portrayed Chekov in the series Star Trek, was also honored with The Time Machine. Following the award ceremony, we could enjoy on the big screen "Star Trek The Motion Picture" (Robert Wise, 1979), the first adaptation for cinemas of the famous original series. Another highly anticipated moment of this festival was the presence of Rob Zombie and the actress Sheri Moon Zombie, his wife and frequent protagonist in his films. Zombie presented his latest feature film, "31" (USA, 2016). We also had the opportunity to enjoy an interesting "masterclass" by him. It is worth noting that the beloved and great actress Terele Pávez received the Nosferatu Award for her outstanding career, an award granted by the "Brigadoon" section.

  • We have already passed the midway point of the Festival and little by little, film by film, we are getting closer to the final stretch of the event. Fans are already whispering in the queues about their favorite movies, the surprises they have encountered, the disappointments, and the betting begins to know which titles will win the awards in this edition. The accumulated dream is starting to take its toll on everyone who wanders like happy zombies through the streets and the theaters of Sitges. But coming face to face with Paul Schrader or Dolph Lundgren, and discovering a little gem of horror from India or a supernatural love film recently arrived from Laos are things that deserve all that dream, and all that wait.
  • Wednesday started again with rain, something that has been a trend for several days, but it has not managed to keep the fans and viewers away from the movie theaters. The first film we saw was "Raw (Grave)" (Julia Ducournau, France/Belgium, 2016), which has become one of the revelations of the festival. Impactful, original, tough, realistic, and raw as the title suggests, it is the story of a young woman who discovers the pleasures of human flesh. "We Are the Flesh" (Emiliano Rocha Minter, Mexico, 2016) introduces us to a bizarre and strange enclosed universe where sex becomes the engine of an incest story. "Remainder" (Omer Fast, United Kingdom/Germany) tells the story of a man who suffers an accident and loses his memory, after being compensated he starts having visions of possible memories or moments not yet lived. Very much in line with products like "Following" or "Memento" and the universe of Christopher Nolan, it does not bring anything new, but it is a quite enjoyable movie. Wednesday ended with "Attack of the Lederhosenzombies" (Dominik Hartl, Austria, 2016), a zombie prank designed to be enjoyed and have a good time. Ideal for late-night sessions, it takes the zombies to a ski resort. Gore, violence, black comedy, and an ending that pays homage to "Braindead" (1992).
  • Thursday started with "Ja Me Tue à la Dire (Death by Death)" (Xavier Seron, Belgium, 2016), which shows a bizarre and freaky universe. Filmed in black and white, it tells the story of a hypochondriac obsessed with hair loss and with a lump that seems to be growing on his chest. An ode to the strange, with a very fun first half that loses strength and interest as everything gets weirder. We also saw "Like Cattle Towards Glow" (Zac Farley, Germany, France, Canada, USA, 2016), a risky film consisting of six unrelated stories all revolving around the same theme: sex and desire. Explicit, tough, and disturbing, it has a couple of really well-developed stories, especially in terms of acting. "Alipato- The Brief Life of an Ember" (Khavn de la Cruz, Philippines, Germany, 2016) is another example of recent Filipino cinema. Radical, unclassifiable, full of black humor, violence, and desolate landscapes, it is a tour de force that leaves no one indifferent. "1974" (Victor Dryere, Mexico, 2016) is an excellent horror film. Despite being filmed in a style that seems to have been exhausted, the "found footage," it keeps your attention consistently and gains momentum as the plot progresses, leading to a final half-hour full of scares and terror. "Benavidez's Suitcase" (Laura Casabé, Argentina, 2016) is a well-made mystery and terror film, elegant with a very successful ambiance. Its plot is centered on the art world and features good acting work.
  • During these two days, the red carpet shone again to welcome more stars from the fantastic universe. The great Bruce Campbell, the eternal Ash from the "Evil Dead" saga and an absolute icon of horror cinema, received The Time Machine and gave us a fun masterclass. Walter Koenig, who portrayed Chekov in the Star Trek series, was also honored with The Time Machine. After the ceremony, we could enjoy on the big screen "Star Trek The Motion Picture" (Robert Wise, 1979), the first adaptation for cinemas of the famous original series. Another highly anticipated moment of this festival was the presence of Rob Zombie and actress Sheri Moon Zombie, his wife and regular protagonist in his films. Zombie presented his latest feature film, "31" (USA, 2016). We also enjoyed an interesting masterclass from him. It is worth noting that the beloved and great actress Terele Pávez received the Nosferatu Award for her outstanding career, an award given by the 'Brigadoon' section.