Max Koch Hits SCREAMFEST 2011 (Day Two)

Day Two of Screamfest was a little more surreal than Day One and the weirdness hardly even involved the two films I saw!  

So I arrived a little early for a screening of the Aussie import "Crawl" and my badge STILL wasn't ready, so - once again feeling dejected - I fled upstairs for a glass of bubbly and an umpteenth perusal of the program...

"CRAWL" REVIEW

"Crawl", written and directed by Paul China, is "No Country for Old Men" on crank.  Moody, intense, utterly suspenseful and gorgeously shot, this film is a prime example of how, with the right script and game actors, SO much can be done with so little.  China himself admitted before the show that the film was influenced (I'd say heavily) by the likes of the Coen Brothers and Roman Polanksi.  And you most certainly feel their presence in these frames.  But China and company have a VERY clear understanding of the thriller they are making here.  This is confident genre film-making. 


I got so into "Crawl".  The score is spine-tingling and it's FULL of astonishing character faces.  Namely, Paul Holmes as Slim Walding and George Shevstov as "The Stranger", the Croatian demon cousin to Bardem's Anton Chigurh.  Shevstov's face and delivery is so weird and magnificent that at one point (I swear) he morphs into Roger Waters with an ax.  The hot blondie lead ain't half bad herself.  This is far and away the best Screamfest entry I've seen yet (wait, it's only the 2nd one).  

I love the Aussies.  "Wolf Creek"?  Forget it.  ADORE "Wolf Creek".


After "Crawl", I wanted to actually go up and congratulate the filmmakers.  I suck at "networking" and there are always a lot of sycophantic slimeys about, so I just said "fuck it" and shot them a wave they failed to notice.  Sometimes I just don't work well in these types of situations.  I mean, even though I have my OWN degree of (somewhat) creative success happening, I always wind up feeling like some useless, obsolete dumbass!!

After "Crawl", I headed upstairs to BoHo for lunch/Happy Hour.  The house salad and fish tacos and RED SANGRIA were divine.  And cheap!  Jeremy the bartender was a badass and I met a totally funky/cool chick named Lea who was also sitting at the bar.  She told me she had acted in a few horror films herself (topless!) and we talked shop about cinematic scares.  Then my friend Andy Rothenberg's lovely lady-friend who works at BoHo appeared, followed (eventually) by Andy HIMSELF who dropped everything and ran over from his home in Hollywood to join me for a drink!  How perfect that Malcolm the vampire from "True Blood" and Jim from "The Walking Dead" was hookin' up with his ol' bud Max at a Happy Hour above Screamfest.  He's even decided to join me this week for a screening or two.  Andy's cameo in my day made my day.  A mustachioed buddy of his at BoHo even made us some exclusive, homemade gourmet pizza (delicious)!  Now THIS is what I meant earlier about surreal...

Back down at Screamfest proper, I was finally presented with my badge!  I was so happy.  THRILLED even.  Then I noticed that the photo of me that I'd sent them for the badge hadn't appeared.  NO matter.  They spelled my NAME right.  I had received satisfaction.

"THE TUNNEL" REVIEW


The next film I saw was "The Tunnel".  Look, I'll be honest.  It's really not easy to bash these films because these people are out there DOING IT.  They have ALL my respect.  They're making full-length feature films with respectable budgets and showcasing them properly in important events like Screamfest.  That said, I'm afraid I was not moved by "The Tunnel".  It was "The Blair [Rec] Project" to me.  But something tells me the film will do JUST fine without my opinion.  And whatever the hell is dwelling beneath the city streets in the tunnels of "The Tunnel" is indisputably unsettling.


I did manage to meet (and dare I admit, "network" with) a very kind couple who were in the midst of making their own horror film entitled "Fear Lives Here" that I hope to see at the fest NEXT YEAR.  


Yeah.  It may be too soon to say... but I think I might be back.  We'll see.


MORE TOMORROW...