NEGATIVE SPACE

Die 80er-Jahre sind die neuen 70er (Maika Monroe in "The Guest")

Da lacht doch das Herz des Genrefans angesichts eines solchen Überangebots an interessanten Horrofilmen in den ersten Tagen des Sundance-Festivals 2014. Genrefestival-Chefs und DVD-Anbieter reiben sich schon die Hände. Dazu gibt es gleich in mehreren Werken die so schmackhafte wie trendige 1980er-Nostalgie serviert. Wie singt doch so passend die schweizerische Künstlerin Sophie Hunger: Cannon und Amblin sind das neue New Hollywood ... na dann, Bon appétit!


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Most-Wanted 2014:

01. The Guest - Adam Wingard
02. Boyhood - Richard Linklater
03. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Ana Lily Amirpour
04. What We Do in the Shadows - Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi
05. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter - David Zellner
06. Cold in July - Jim Mickle
07. The Babadook - Jennifer Kent
08. Life After Beth - Jeff Baena
09. Obvious Child - Gillian Robespierre
10. Cooties - Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion
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★★★★★

"The Guest" (Adam Wingard): "THE GUEST was not what I expected at all. Slyly funny, great cast and a batshit crazy third act straight out of Cannon's heyday. My only complaint about it is that there wasn't enough." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "It's like every '80s movie ever." (Matt Patches, FitWR) "If John Carpenter directed THE TERMINATOR in 1987 for Cannon Films, it would be THE GUEST." (Drew McWeeny, Hitfix) "THE GUEST is a magical blend of half remembered 80s video rentals, a fever dream of neon, synths, automatic weapons, and super soldiers." (Evan L. Katz, director of CHEAP THRILLS) "A willfully over-the-top, giddily violent exercise landing between slasher horror and ’70s crazy-Vietnam-vet-returns action-thrillers." (Dennis Harvey, Variety) "Really enjoyed THE GUEST. Adam Wingard grows with each film in big ways." (Devin Faraci, Badass Digest) "THE GUEST is big, bad, bold action filmmaking from YOU'RE NEXT duo Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett. Atmospherically explosive." (Matt Patches, FitWR)

★★★★½

"Boyhood" (Richard Linklater): "The title feels insufficient. How we build and rebuild lives, personalities, families, homes. Vast and yet beguilingly small." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "2 years in the making, a quiet, sweeping epic of normal (waking) life. Feels like Before Before Sunrise." (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) "Softly unique, at its best feels totally effortless. Like a synthesis of several of Linklater's most personal films." (Russ Fisher, Slashfilm) "Richard Linklater's remarkable BOYHOOD is immersed in the mundane but interested in the sublime." (Steven Zeitchik, L.A. Times) "Predictably great, but what's particularly impressive is that despite the 12 year production cycle it's unassuming throughout." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Still feeling the glow from the screening of BOYHOOD last night. It's like reading a big, satisfying, great novel. You're sad when it ends." (Lars Nilsen, Alamo Drafthouse) "The laidback dramatic equivalent of time-lapse footage showing the larval stage to the opening of the chrysalis." (Mike D'Angelo, TimeOut) "Is Richard Linklater the greatest director at work in America today? BOYHOOD offers compelling evidence. Funny, sad, tender, wise, beautiful." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "BOYHOOD is far and away the best film I've seen at Sundance." (Xan Brooks, Guardian)

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (Ana Lily Amirpour): "It's gorgeous and sad and singular. Man, what a day I've had." (Drew McWeeny, Hitfix) "It's wholly unique. Hypnotically beautiful b/w anamorphic photography, great leads, inspired direction." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "It's great. This will not be the majority opinion but it is the correct opinion. Total Kier-La core. It's SINGAPORE SLING plus MONSTER DEMOLISHER plus DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z. If this means anything to you: see it!" (Lars Nilsen, Alamo Drafthouse) "If you loved the cat in INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, wait until you see the one in Iranian feminist vampire movie A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT. They may even be related." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "Moody and gorgeous film." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR)

★★★★

"What We Do in the Shadows" (Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi): "I am genuinely sore from laughing at WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. Holy crap. Team EAGLE VS. SHARK for the win." (Drew McWeeny, Hitfix) "WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is a hilarious faux documentary about the thriving vampire, werewolf, witch & zombie population in Wellington, New Zealand." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "Vampire mockumentary WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is 90 hilarious minutes of NZ ridiculousness. Not disappointed." (Ryland Aldrich, Twitch Film) "Hilarious mock-doc is a shift from the shock humor of zombie comedies." (John DeFore, THR)

"Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" (David Zellner): "It's a poetic stunner, shot through w/ Zellner Bros' blend of empathy and black humor but with a new sense of majesty." (Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine) "It's more great dark comedy from the Zellners. Rinko Kikuchi gives one of the fest's best performances." (Ryland Aldrich, Twitch Film) "KUMIKO is far and away the Zellners' best movie. True story about a Japanese girl who goes searching for the Fargo case of cash." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "Rinko Kikuchi takes Coens' FARGO way too seriously. Slow cinema, not for everyone, but I loved it." (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) "It's ok until it becomes spectacular. Ending left me with tears in my eyes." (Devin Faraci, Badass Digest)

★★★½

"Cold in July" (Jim Mickle): "A History of Violence smashed to (a) pulp, 80s synths a-tremble. Prefer lean first half to bonkers second, but a blast." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "I really dug Jim Mickle's southern fried bit of violent weirdness COLD IN JULY. His best yet." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "Damn, COLD IN JULY is some tough, stylish southern crime shit. Absolutely excellent. Mickle is it for Americana soaked genre." (Sam Zimmerman, Fangoria) "Jim Mickle continues to show that he’s among the most distinctive genre filmmakers on the indie scene with this cracked but flavorful thriller." (David Rooney, THR) "For old-school, '80s-style genre thrills, you can't do much better than Jim Mickle's COLD IN JULY." (Scott Foundas, Variety)

"The Babadook" (Jennifer Kent): "BABADOOK is a bit Guillermo del Toro-lite, but I dug the myth building and the proactive weapon-constructing 6 year old lead." (Eric Vespe, Aintitcool) "A stylish, aurally assaulting and often tremendous feature debut." (Samuel Zimmerman, Fangoria) "BABADOOK is the best possession movie in years, a vigorous and very intense horror film about a family on the edge of sanity." (Russ Fisher, Slashfilm) "Kent proclaimed her love of German Expressionist films and the pioneering cutout animation of Lotte Reininger." (Sam Adams, indieWIRE) "You can't stop THE BABADOOK, which is creepy as all hell." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE)

★★★

"Life After Beth" (Jeff Baena): "Fantastic, unique zombie film. Funny, aggressive, gross break-up movie. Aubrey Plaza is amazing." (Sam Zimmerman, Fangoria) "It's a comedy first and foremost, and it showcases a great cast, including two leads who both seem to be stretching here in ways that are exciting to see." (Drew McWeeny, Hitfix) "One of the most emotionally credible zom-coms since SHAUN OF THE DEAD." (John DeFore, THR)

"Obvious Child" (Gillian Robespierre): "It's funny, barbed and the most purely enjoyable film I've seen at Sundance so far." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "First real Sundance charmer: warm, gangly quarter-life crisis comedy with salty feminist undertow. Jenny Slate rocks it." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "A very funny and likeable first feature." (Todd McCarthy, THR)

"Cooties" (Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion): "A horror-comedy that manages the very difficult trick of fulfilling both halves of that equation with equal skill." (Drew McWeeny, Hitfix)