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TADFF Review: ‘The Furies’ is a Brutal, Bloody, Battle Royale

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the furies

From writer/director Tony D’Aquino, The Furies follows Kayla (Airlie Dodds, Killing Ground) as she wakes up alone, in a box, in the middle of the Australian outback. She soon discovers that she’s not as alone as she had initially thought — there are other young women all on the run from a collective of hulking masked men who are hunting them down one by one. 

It feels like a familiar concept, but The Furies brings enough blood and guts to the table that it all evens out. The film is chock-full of gnarly practical effects and clever character designs that pay homage to some of the great killers in horror. Visually, the film has that same frantic, sun-scorched quality as visceral slasher classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and it works to heighten the tension. There are no shadows to hide behind here. 

One thing that D’Aquino did not pull from the slasher films of yore is the hyper-sexualization of their female characters. In The Furies, the focus is solely on our leading women, who always remain fully dressed and in uncompromised positions. There’s never any discussion of boyfriends coming to save them or romantic partners who might miss them; the film absolutely smashes the Bechdel test. As a female horror fan, it’s good to see a group of young female characters with distinct personalities, flaws, and fears — particularly in a film where they’re being hunted down as prey. It would be far too easy to slip into the trap of triviality, but D’Aquino steers clear. 

The film’s titular Furies — in Greco-Roman mythology — were the chthonic goddesses of vengeance, each with their own distinct role. We can see the characteristics of the three Furies represented in the film’s characters, sealing their fate as the story unfolds. It’s a lovely nod to the mythology while keeping the creative focus on the classic horror elements. 

via IMDb

One of the film’s hiccups is the plot. It’s not particularly complex, but the somewhat incomplete explanation ends up just overcomplicating the whole ordeal. There are unanswered questions, which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing — sometimes it’s better to leave it up to interpretation — but the ends feel a bit too loose for it to be a nice tight finish. It sets up a conclusion that has a lot of built up energy, but it doesn’t quite stick the landing. 

Performance wise, The Furies gets exactly what it needs from its actors. Dodds as Kayla dives head-first into the role, sinking her teeth into every scrap of meat she can find. Taylor Ferguson (Glitch) only has limited screen time as Sheena, but she makes a big impression. The character of Rose, however, (Linda Ngo, Mako Mermaids) is perhaps a bit heavy-handed for the purpose she has to serve. She’s a bit too childish, and it’s a little on-the-nose. 

When we first meet Kayla, she holds herself in a state of timid unease; she’s reluctant to indulge in a bit of anarchic fun as her best friend Maddie (Ebony Vagulans, My Life is Murder) goads her on. It builds her as a self-restrained character who makes excuses for herself. She’s not one to joyously scream at the top of her lungs. Once both Maddie and Kayla are abducted and brought into this battle royale nightmare, we see Kayla gradually letting herself — letting everything — go. 

Kayla is determined to find her friend and get the hell out; in order to survive, she pushes herself beyond what she could possibly imagine. The strength she finds within herself is a dramatic shift away from the Kayla we met at the beginning of the film. As with any classic Final Girl, she walks through fire and comes out on the other side a changed woman. She’s shaped by her trauma, but she finds a way to harness that fury.    

The Furies TADFF

via IMDb

For even the pickiest of gore hounds, The Furies delivers some truly satisfying effects. One scene in particular that involves an axe had me clenching in my seat (and I was so happy about it). D’Aquino lingers on the action, selling the hell out of every drop of blood. In cooperation, the foley work and sound effects are maximized for the ultimate cringe factor. Though the more gruesome aspects are used economically, there are some memorable moments that make it worthwhile. 

The Furies is a blood-drenched female-focused take on the hunter-and-hunted subgenre that plucks out the tired tropes of classic slashers. It’s an homage to horror that works hard for its scares, even though it can get a bit bogged down by its own ideas. But if you’re looking for a night of tension and pristine practical effects, pop this one on. It just might kill your expectations.

 

For more from Toronto After Dark, check out our coverage here, and click here to read my interview with writer/director Tony D’Aquino.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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