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[REVIEW] ‘Daughter of Dismay’ Crafts a Dismal Tale

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Daughter of Dismay James Quinn

Imagery is a powerful tool in horror films, and the most powerful movies have images that stick in your head long after you leave the theater, or when you’re trying to sleep at night. Director James Quinn (Flesh of the Void) knows this well; his films have often been cited and even criticized for their shocking imagery. He often relies on framing the perfect image that represents the mood of his films, a skill learned from his experience with photography.

While his past work has featured disturbing and shocking imagery and storylines, his newest short, Daughter of Dismay, has a more muted and dreary approach, showcasing a more restrained and gothic filmmaking style. 

The short also boasts many impressive feats. It is the first narrative short film shot in 70 mm film for IMAX and boasts multiple award-winning crew members, such as Joseph Bishara (Insidious, The Conjuring) who did the score, producer Justin Schenck (The Exorcist TV show), foley artist Martin Langenbach (Suspiria) and sound engineer Steve Maslow (Empire Strikes Back). 

Without giving away the plot too much, the silent short follows an emotionally damaged witch who enters a forest to make sacrifices to fulfill her desires. 

Overall, Daughter of Dismay creates a slow and “dismal” atmosphere that permeates throughout the landscape, which is almost a character itself here. While in some areas the short is held back by pacing issues and the character designs are a little over-the-top, some of the disturbing imagery near the end holds up to Quinn’s previous work, making a more mature and, dare I say, audience-friendly film.

The short begins with some imposing and grand landscape shots, which look all the more impressive in the IMAX format. The forest is a huge part of this short, and so the setting, Ohio, works here. 

The first half’s landscape and music builds tension steadily throughout the short until an act of mutilation halfway through the film. In this otherwise relatively tame short, the mutilation scene is  satisfying and nicely executed right in the viewer’s face. Where his other films have much more frequent gore in them, this buildup makes the scene much more meaningful and disturbing. 

The whole short, which is about 8 minutes in length, feels like an ethereal nightmare. The actions of the characters are slow and drawn out. A feeling of dread permeates the short, with the viewer in the dark especially with the absence of dialogue.

One downside of the short is that the costuming and acting are too dramatic within the realistic setting and storyline. Some of the props and makeup seemed out of place and unnecessarily complicated. For example, the witch’s hair or the mask worn by another character. While they would have been more normal for Quinn’s other films, it just didn’t work here (although, I was a big fan of the witch’s nasty look). 

While it is very moody and foreboding, not a lot happens. It would have been nice to see a little more story. If you were to see 10 images from the short, you would basically get the plot. 

It’s nice to see Quinn expanding his work and getting more opportunities to create with his subversive take on cinema. I am excited to see where he takes Daughter of Dismay –especially since he is planning on extending it into  a feature- but hopefully he will have the opportunity to smooth out some of the problem areas in that process. 

 

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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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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