Dir - Zarrar Kahn
Overall: MEH
A troubled full-length debut from Pakistani/Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames is a rarity in the horror genre as hardly any come out of the former country, yet it is also a movie that does not belong in that genre. Shot and set in Karachi where a mother and daughter find themselves in the unforgiving throes of a patriarchal society after the man of their home has died, the film brings up a concerning trend among up and coming writer/directors who frequently find themselves venturing into the only genre available that has a slight chance of getting some commercial eyes on their work. This is to say that horror elements are so vaguely and gingerly sprinkled throughout Kahn's film that they seem unnecessary at best and distracting at worst. There are no supernatural ingredients at all for almost the entire first half and enough to count on one hand after that, but the oppressive tone is well-suited to the material which shines an all-too-real light on the brutal conditions that women in Pakistani society have to endure. Sadly, the viewer is left asking "Why are there random kind of/not really ghost moments popping up here?" where we should instead be solely invested in the plight of our characters. Performance wise it is strong, and Kahn's intentions are all-too admirable, but it is unfortunate that in a cinematic era where independent debuts have an impossible time gaining any notice, filmmakers have found themselves at the mercy of shoehorning in horror tactics that would be better left alone.
Dir - Alice Maio Mackay
Overall: GOOD
Another indie-queer genre excursion from Australian filmmaker Alice Majo Mackay, T Blockers fuses a little Buffy the Vampire Slayer, John Waters, Gregg Araki, David Cronenberg, Kevin Smith, and Ed Wood together into its quirky, neon-colored, punk rock aesthetic. Best and most important of all though, Mackay, (herself transgender), channels the all too real trials and tribulations of the LGBTQ community into a story where people are just trying to be people amongst not only the rising tide of conservative oppression, but also a nasty parasite that turns already testosterone-fueled men into rage zombies. The horror elements are treated humorously and are even half-baked, but this is not a bad thing since it lends the story to focus more on its likeable band of characters who form a vigilante force to handle the otherworldly predicament. It all hits purposely close to home for the trans community, and there is a moment where our lead protagonist Lauren Last breaks down in defeat at the hopelessly unaccepting state of the majority of the populous who will make the life of her and others like her endlessly more difficult no matter how many parasite-ridden bigots they stomp out. These are the touches to Mackay's film that are the most paramount and immediate, and even if it bum-rushes through its horror elements and inescapably low-end production values still rear their head from time to time, it is still an impressive work that champions the more noble efforts that single-voiced DIY movie-making can offer.
Dir - Ariane Louis-Seize
Overall: GOOD
Many familiar tropes and themes run through Ariane Louis-Seize's full-length debut Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant, Humanist Vampire Too Sensitive to Kill); a French-language Canadian coming-of-age dark comedy with a benevolent hipster point of view. It immediately recalls Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In with its undead members having retro vinyl collections, being solemn outcasts, and/or connecting to equally lonely humans who they form a touching bond with. Seize's script never takes every last one of the elements from such an array of contemporary, cinematic blood-sucker revamps, (pardon the pun), but it fuses its ingredients together around a story that is more compassionate than poignant. Its two leads in Sara Montpetit and Félix-Antoine Bénard turn in likeable performances even if they lean into quiet, melancholic, and anti-social teenager stereotypes, and this could be said about the entire movie that forgoes offering up any surprises in the plot department in place of a refreshing tone that never lingers in cynicism. Sometimes it is just nice to see two young, (or comparatively young as far as vampires go), people bond together and live, (in a manner of speaking), happily ever after.
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