Fantasy Filmfest Nights Will Thrill in April

So maybe this year gives me a brand-new second chance, an opportunity just like I have been wanting, having missed a big part of my beloved Berlinale due to sickness. I was really thrilled to see that there's a four day mini-fest, The Fantasy Filmfest Nights, taking place in April and their selection is perfect! A mixture of very international horror, action and humor, including one feature I painfully had to miss in February, awaits its audience at the beautiful Zoo Palast in spring. I decided to go full program this time to make up for the Berlinale debacle and pamper myself, but there's still some flicks I'm more enthusiastic about than others. Here they are! 

La Morsure/Bitten (France 2023)

It looks like the 70s aesthetic is big among upcoming horror productions and Romain de Saint-Blanquat's vampire/gothic/occult coming of age movie is only one of them. The cinematography reminds me of those movies they used to show us at school in French lessons in the 90s, like La Boom, only with vampires.

Cobweb (South Korea 2023)

A very fun trailer of a "movie within a movie" about the boisterous work of a filmmaker.

Concrete Utopia (South Korea 2023)

Another South Korean production which apparently has been competing for the international Oscars. Seoul lies in ruins after a natural disaster, only one apartment complex stands and there's a bitter fight to survive.

Cenaze/The Funeral (Türkiye 2023)

What a nice surprise for me, to find a zombie love story from Turkey! There isn't even a trailer yet, so I can't really say if there's some light hearted elements like humor as the synopsis makes it sound so. It features one of my favorite Turkish actors, Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, so I'm excited about that. Although Turkish cinema has come a long way, especially technically, like some movies really aren't distinguishable from western films, and the actors are generally fantastic, I think the plot and writing still falls a little short and doesn't tap its full potential. I wonder how this film will be.

The Invisible Fight (Estonia 2023)

Now there we have a movie with more than likely potential to become a cult classic with lots of following. Humor, Orthodoxy, Black Sabbath, rebellion and Kung-fu? What crazy mind has this story generated from? It's nice to have funny movies in such a generally grave and grim selection. Plus, I don't think I've ever watched a film from Estonia, so it will be a first. 

Late Night with the Devil (Australia, UAE 2023)

THIS! This is the movie that I think will be the horror movie of the year and the movie I have been waiting for. Me and my horror friends often speculate about whether or not we'd watch a show which features like really real horrors, like an exorcism, and I'm personally usually stuck between a devilish curiosity but also remorseful guilt for making entertainment of someone's pain. At least it's all fictional here and I can insanely anticipate it without being plagued by a bad conscience.

This is another movie who makes use of the 70s feeling that I've been talking about above.

Pendant ce temps sur Terre (France 2023)

A movie I missed during the Berlinale. A science fiction drama about a woman whose brother disappeared in space and who is being contacted by extraterrestrial entities who claim to bring him back. Let's hope nothing comes up this time and I can watch it.

 

Oddity (Ireland 2024)

A Must-See-Horror from Ireland? Mysterious as there isn't even a trailer to check? Count me in immediately!

The Soul Eater (France 2024)

To be honest I was sold the moment I saw that horned creature on the poster. Did I ever mention that I'm insanely freaked out by horned monsters and also animals? I once had a goat fall in love with me who wouldn't leave my side and wanted pets and scratches. I was unnerved by that poor thing and it stank too. So did I by the end of the day...

Fortunately there's no risk this thing will follow me anywhere, as it is stuck in this seemingly solid folk horror - a village, a malevolent creature from an old legend... Sounds good to me.

Sting (Australia 2024)

If you know me you know of my love for spiders. They represent so much more to me than a literal "creep"y crawly animal which can be poisonous too. I carry a relatively big tattoo of a spider on my left shoulder because to me they represent diligence, hard work, patience and resilience - all qualities I hope to guide me in life. Whenever someone destroys my net, I hope to stand up and start webbing it anew. That's what it represents to me. So I'm amused to see how people go crazy, especially people here in Central Europe who don't really need to fear any hazards by these small animals (I once had a woman shout at me in disgust as if I had a real spider on my arm, lol).

It is significant, of course, that Sting was made in Australia, where even I wouldn't be as relaxed as I am. A movie about spiders is still not really a horror to me, though.

Suitable Flesh (USA 2023)

I first heard about this movie through an article on Bloody Disgusting, and couldn't forget about it since. Nowadays it is hard to find any of Lovecraft's writings genuinely scary, but if I had to choose, I think I would say that The Thing on the Doorstep is a story of his that scares me. A twisty, action-laden adaptation is now brought to us by horror director Joe Lynch.