Dir - Jeff Barnaby
Overall: MEH
Unfortunately, what ended up being the final feature from Mi'kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby Blood Quantum hinges its Indigenous metaphor via a zombie outbreak concept on schlocky, macho-aggression and characters that range from dour to unnecessarily unlikable. The movie was shot at both Kahnawake and Listuguj reserves in Quebec, Canada and features an almost entirely Indigenous cast with a subject matter that tries desperately to squeeze some relevance out of the horrendously over-saturated zombie genre. Here, the historical context of European settlers wiping out large portions of Native people from centuries past being parallel to a corpse-raising plague that said contemporary Natives are immune to is both a weighty and interesting one, but the cliche pandering is still front and center. Though the perpetual rage and desperation of everyone on screen is understandable in such a context, the narrative grows increasingly muddled with their unnatural dialog and pointlessly idiotic behavior. It all creates a miserable, confused tone to say the least, one that is gritty and stylized yet punctuated by unintentional absurdity and potent, sociopolitical themes that are in messy contrast with each other.
Dir - Sol Charlotte/J. Oskura Nájera
Overall: MEH
A colorful, quasi, Euro-horror throwback from writer/director team Sol Charlotte and J. Oskura Nájera, Diablo Rojo PTY seems to be a purposely messy affair that basks in some of the more campy, gore-ridden genre tropes of yesteryear. Focusing on a Panama buss driver who veers off into a logic defying nightmare world on one particularly unfortunate evening, the movie has various elements of Lucio Fulci's Hell Trilogy and Zombi, along with Italian cannibal films and some of the more contemporary comedic horror elements of Álex de la Iglesia's The Day of the Beast. While much of it sounds delightful on paper and does provide a few gory chuckles on screen, the story has half-baked character moments and does a weak job of establishing the supernatural rules at play. Granted, this is probably on purpose to lock it into the old school philosophy of just having a bunch of wacky, weird, and violent things happen with narrative cohesion being an afterthought at best. Fair enough, but it seems aggressively backwards thinking in this regard and other elements like the incessant, inappropriate musical score, (another foreign, B-movie hallmark largely abandoned in recent decades), wretched digital effects, great practical effects, and inconsistent humor makes for a mangled affair that is merely enjoyable in parts while just kind of outdated and curious in others.
(2019)
Dir - Mati Diop
Overall: GOOD
Serving as the non-fiction, full-length debut from French-born, actor-turned-director Mati Diop, Atlantics, (Atlantique), adopts a rarely seen perspective for a genre film, being the worker corruption and class dynamics found in Dakar, Senegal. The "ghosts with unfinished business returning from the sea" tale is an age old one, given a unique, contemporary backdrop here and handled in a subdued manner by Diop. While supernatural elements are undoubtedly present, they are downplayed in a manner that makes them startling without having the agenda of being bone-chilling. In other words, the uncanny bits solely serve the story where wronged laborers were denied several months wages, only to take desperate measures from beyond the grave. The focus is particularly on Mame Bineta Sane's protagonist who is caught up in an unwilling, arranged marriage while struggling with her lost love's visits that ultimate serve as a positive, life-affirming awakening. This makes the film poetic and beautiful in its sincere themes and Diop creates many visually intimate sequences as well as an inviting yet haunting atmosphere. It could afford to trim about twenty minutes here or there along its slow-boil trek, but that is a minor and not at all universal complaint, and certainly not one that tarnishes what is a ultimately a compelling work.
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