Official Selection of the 25th San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival
Here you’ll find some of the feature films that will participate this year at the Official Selection of the 25th San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival, that will take place between October 25 and November 1.
Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (Død Snø 2, 2014). Tommy Wirkola. Norway-Iceland
If the worst day of your life consists of accidentally killing your girlfriend with an axe, chopping her arm off with a mechanical saw and seeing your best friends devoured by a battalion of Nazi zombies, you have to assume that things can’t get much worse. In Martin’s case however, this is just the beginning. Sequel to one of the funniest, most original and successful horror films in the last few years, starting where its predecessor left off, with the zombie soldiers commanded by Coronel Herzog attempting to hunt down Martin, once again directed by Tommy Wirkola after his trip to Hollywood to direct Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).
The Guest (2014). Adam Wingard. USA
David is the perfect guest. Friendly and likeable, this young soldier arrives at the Peterson’s home saying he is an old friend and colleague of their son who died in combat. The Petersons welcome David into their home and their lives but when many people in the city start dying mysteriously, the family’s teenage daughter starts to think that there is more to David than meets the eye. New film by Adam Wingard, responsible for You’re Next (2011), who also participated in collective films V/H/S (2012) and The ABCs of Death (2012).
The Last Days on Mars (2014). Ruairí Robinson. United Kingdom-Ireland
On the last day of the first manned mission to Mars, one member of the team thinks that he has made an extraordinary discovery: evidence of fossilised bacterial life. In an attempt to take all the credit for the discovery, he disobeys orders and returns to look for a sample before leaving the red planet. But he has an accident and the life-form that he has discovered is maybe not as dead as it seemed. Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai and Olivia Williams star in Irish Ruairí Robinson’s directing debut.
The Man in the Orange Jacket (2014). Aik Karapetian. Latvia-Estonia
After losing his job in the port, a young man begins to stalk his boss and his wife. After a bloody turn of events, he moves into their mansion and gradually begins to turn into another person. His former self and the person emerging from his new home come into conflict. Dry, worrying and austere film directed by Armenian Aik Karapetian who is launching an assault from the Baltic to conquer horror festivals throughout the world.
Puzzle (Pazuru, 2014). Eisuke Naito. Japan
The high school in a small Japanese city is taken by force by a mysterious armed group. They set a strange puzzle that has to be solved to save the life of a female teacher they have taken hostage. However, unexpectedly, the kidnappers disappear along with the teacher and some of the students from the school. Small mystery and horror puzzle that is gradually revealed as the film goes on.
[REC]4 (2014). Jaume Balagueró. Spain
Fourth and final episode of the saga that changed the face of contemporary horror. On this occasion, Jaume Balagueró is on his own behind the camera telling the end (?) of the story. The action begins at the moment when Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) is evacuated from the building as the only survivor of the terrible infection. When the situation finally seems to be under control, chaos breaks loose again and the bad seed is reborn, taking on new and terrible forms. In the words of its director: “Aware of the responsibility that this represents, I have decided to make the fourth film different although faithful to its predecessors, a return to the saga’s sinister, dark origins. A new turn of the screw, one more step towards the unknown, towards pure horror. We are going to build a new fear and anxiety theme park. And this time, we are going to try and make it bigger, more terrifying, more intense… and aquatic…”.
Shock Value: The Movie. How Dan O’Bannon and Some USC Outsiders Helped Invent Modern Horror (2014). AEB
In this fascinating feature-length horror anthology, archivist Dino Everett proves that USC students O’Bannon, John Carpenter and others began redefining the horror genre while at the School of Cinematic Arts in the 1970s. Using New York Times writer Jason Zinoman’s book Shock Value as inspiration, USC Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive archivist Dino Everett assembled a feature-length compilation of SCA student works from the late ’60s and ’70s entitled.
V/H/S Viral (2014). Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Gregg Bishop, Marcel Sarmiento, Nacho Vigalondo. USA
Third episode in the saga, on this occasion comprising four episodes directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead –Resolution (2012)–, Gregg Bishop –Dance of the Dead (2008)–, Marcel Sarmiento –Deadgirl (2008)– and Nacho Vigalondo –Open Windows (2014)–. A disturbed magician who gets hold of a cape that gives him greater powers, a homemade machine that opens a door to another world that seems the same but is not, skaters that turn into the victims of a witchcraft rite and a dark organisation that pursues a serial killer all star in these narrated stories whilst a group of teens follow a car chase in Los Angeles.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014). Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi. New Zealand
Viago, Deacon and Vladislav are flatmates. And they are vampires. They try to adapt to the new age they are living in and behave like everyone else… except that they are immortals and live off human blood. When their other flatmate Petyr, aged 8000 years old, turns into a twenty-something hipster called Nick, they have to teach him the rules and guide him through his recently acquired eternal life. In exchange, he will teach them a thing or two about modern society, fashion and the Internet. Documentary that takes an unusual look at classic horror characters and their unknown everyday lives.
Zombeavers (2014). Jordan Rubin. USA
Three girls in a cabin in the middle of the woods, by a lake. They’ve gone there to get away from their daily lives, their studies, their parents, their boyfriends… But the boys turn up as a surprise and what was going to be a peaceful weekend of sunbathing becomes a party. Or something like that. Because, in the meantime, a drum of dangerous material has accidentally fallen off a truck and into the river, spilling all over the beavers who have mutated and become… Zombie Beavers!
